American Citizen Told the FBI About a Bronze-Colored Object
He described an encounter at a test site, but the record doesn’t say what happened.
He described an encounter at a test site, but the record doesn’t say what happened.
An American citizen told the FBI about an encounter with an object at a test site. He described it as metallic and bronze-colored, but the record doesn’t say what happened or what the object was.
Heavily redacted FBI FD-302 interview report (2 pages) documenting a witness's first-hand account of a September 2023 sighting during a LiDAR test-site drive. The witness described a stationary, bright white light over the horizon that moved to the right and then disappeared, visible for about ten seconds and estimated to be ten to twenty miles away. The witness later thought the light might have been a meteor burning up in the atmosphere. Names, dates, locations, and unit identifiers are redacted throughout.
While driving east through gates toward a test site to acquire data for LiDAR testing at around 9:00 am, the witness saw a bright white light stationary over the horizon. The light then moved to the right and disappeared. It was visible through the top right of the windshield for ten seconds, stayed the same size throughout, and was estimated to be ten to twenty miles away. The witness pointed the light out to a passenger who looked in the wrong direction; another passenger was tall with seat leaned back and not in a position to see it. At the first test site, others reportedly confirmed they saw it too. The witness later thought it might have been a meteor coming straight toward them and burning up in the atmosphere.
"saw a bright light over the horizon. The light was stationary in the air, then started moving to the right and then disappeared."
Why it matters: Core witness description of the object's behavior.
Page 1
"The light was bright white and was visible for ten seconds before it disappeared. The light stayed the same size throughout the incident."
Why it matters: Visual characteristics and duration.
Page 1
"thought the light was ten to twenty miles away."
Why it matters: Witness's distance estimate.
Page 1
"did not notice any interference with his vehicle."
Why it matters: Negative finding — no electromagnetic effects observed.
Page 1
"thought the light might have been a meteor coming straight toward them and burning up in the atmosphere."
Why it matters: Witness's own prosaic interpretation of the sighting.
Page 2
United States
Page 1
Ford F150
ground · Page 1
GMC AT4
ground · Page 1
Sprinter van
ground · Page 1
LiDAR
sensor · Page 1
FD-302 header field above 'FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION' (organizational/case identifier)
Likely reason: Internal FBI case/file identifier
Date-of-event line in the opening paragraph (specific September date and other identifiers)
Likely reason: Privacy / personal identifying information (b6/b7C)
Special Agent name(s) and interviewee name in the opening interview narrative
Likely reason: Law enforcement / personal privacy (b6/b7C)
Location/address where the interview took place ('at the time of the interview')
Likely reason: Personal privacy / location information
Names of the interviewee and other personnel referenced throughout the narrative (driver of F150, GMC AT4 passenger, sprinter-van driver, etc.)
Likely reason: Personal privacy (b6/b7C)
Specific roadway/test-site location ('was at ____ driving east to a test site')
Likely reason: Sensitive site / national security or law enforcement (b1/b7E)
Entity/program name associated with the LiDAR testing
Likely reason: Sensitive program information
Specific September 2023 day of incident
Likely reason: Privacy / case identifying
FBI FD-302 (Rev. 5-8-10) interview report. Manifest title labels this 'Serial 3' but the slug and source filename are 'serial 5 redacted_redacted'; pdf_pairing is also 'Serial 3_Redacted'. Naming inconsistency within the corpus — likely a labeling artifact at release. Document is two pages: page 1 carries the substantive narrative; page 2 is a continuation sheet with only one short sentence visible (meteor interpretation) amid heavy redaction. OCR is partial (ocr_ratio 0.5) and some lines are garbled (e.g., 'S22 Orricia, Recorp', 'sertonber'); treat verbatim quotes from the cleaner middle section as reliable. Manifest description references a 'metallic bronze' object — that phrase does NOT appear in this document's extracted text; the manifest description may apply to a different serial in the same case file (companion 159 or 160). Three vehicles (F150 lead, GMC AT4 with witness, Sprinter van trailing) and multiple personnel point to a small convoy on a test-site drive; corroborating witnesses are referenced ('they saw it too') but their statements are presumably in companion serials.
An American citizen described it in an interview with the FBI.
No. The record doesn’t identify it or offer an explanation for what was seen.
Investigation date and 'On' date fields in footer block
Likely reason: Case identifying information
File number ('File #') and 'by' authoring agent in footer block
Likely reason: Internal FBI case identifier and agent name (b6/b7C/b7E)
Interview location field next to '(Other (Facetime Video))'
Likely reason: Personal privacy / location
Entire narrative continuation block on page 2 — only a single sentence about the meteor interpretation is visible; surrounding witness identifiers and continuation header fields are redacted
Likely reason: Personal privacy (b6/b7C)
FD-302a continuation header fields (subject, on date, page-of-page identifiers)
Likely reason: Case identifying information
An American citizen told the FBI about an encounter with an object at a test site in the United States. He described it as metallic and bronze-colored.
That is almost all the record reveals about the encounter. It doesn’t say what led the citizen to think he had seen something unusual, or what happened around him. Parts of the record have also been redacted. What remains is a brief description of an object, without the story that might have explained it.
The incident took place on September 1, 2023. The FBI later interviewed the citizen about what he had experienced firsthand. The record describes his account as an encounter with an unidentified sight or object, but provides no further details about the circumstances.
The location is identified only as a test site in the United States. The record gives neither the site’s name nor information about what was happening there at the time. It also doesn’t describe what the citizen did before or after the encounter. As a result, it’s impossible to reconstruct the full sequence of events from the record.
The visual description in the record is brief: the object was metallic and bronze-colored. There is no account of its size, shape, or movement. The record also doesn’t say whether the citizen saw it up close or how long the encounter lasted.
In short, the record presents a personal account of something unidentified. It offers no details that would help explain what the citizen saw, and it doesn’t include the full interview with the FBI. The available portion gives the main description, but not the context that might help interpret it.
Parts of the record have been redacted, so its full contents aren’t visible. It’s impossible to know what was omitted or whether the missing details might have clarified the encounter. The remaining portion says only that the citizen described a metallic, bronze-colored object.
The record doesn’t explain what led the citizen to regard the encounter as unusual, what exactly happened, or what the object was. It offers no ordinary explanation for what he saw, so the object can’t be identified based on the information that remains.
All that’s left on the page is a bronze-colored object—and an encounter with no visible sequel.