SIGHTING: CLARENDON (NORTH OF), AR

Witness Testimony

"observed an object leaving a contrail and emitting an orange glowon this particular morning I was returning home to Clarendon, AR. I was about 9 miles north of town turning onto highway 302 from highway 86 which would point me toward the south. After I traveled about a mile I noticed an orange glow with a contrail behind it out of my drivers side window at about a 11 o'clock position traveling toward the east. It was a clear night and where I was in in the flight path for airplanes from Little Rock to Memphis. I am an avid airplane fan and I have observed many jets but this object was moving way to fast for a plane and had no visible navigation lights. It was emmiting an orange glow from the back which made the contrail more visible. I couldn't determine a shape from the angle I was from it but I could make out a large form. I thought it might be a fighter aircraft with it's afterburners on but it was to large to be that high up and still be seen. The contrail was also very wide. After it got low in the East, I saw the orange turn to red for just a brief moment and it started to fade. It seemed like it was losing altitude and making a southeast turn and it was about the 9 o'clock position at this time, very low and far to the east. I am 43 years old, I drive a tractor trailer truck coast to coast each week. I am a novice astronomer and have never seen anything close to this before."