What happened
A red light approached on a collision course and Coyne put the helicopter into a descent. The object stopped in front of them. The crew described a cigar-shaped, gray metallic, slightly domed object that filled the windshield, with a red light at the front and a white light at the rear. A green beam swept through the cockpit. The altimeter then showed the helicopter climbing to about 3,500-3,800 ft with the collective down. Ground witnesses at Charles Mill Lake saw the object and helicopter together. Philip Klass called it an Orionid fireball. Investigator Jennie Zeidman's second-by-second timeline found the object in view for at least five minutes, which rules out a meteor.