Other over Huntsville (Owens Cross Roads), AL

The report, as filed

My wife and I saw something burning and leaving burning parts behind it as it flew in a trajectory parallel to the ground. We've seen meteors falling before, but this seemed to be flying much more slowly, closer to us, and very large. We stopped the car near our home in Owens Cross Roads, AL. The object or objects were in the sky to the east, moving right to left, south to north, at about 10 degrees up in the sky. My wife got out with her i-Phone and tried to film it, but because it was so dark, the camera would not focus. Towards the end of the trajectory, before the stream of fiery objects went behind trees in the distance, we saw one particularly big piece light up into a huge yellow flame. We tried calling 911 but they were too focused on their script and were no help. We called local police, but they just said they'd "check into it." It would be good if other people reported seeing the same thing, and if we could determine what it was. We really hope it was not an airplane. ((ADDENDUM FROM WITNESS)) We're near Huntsville in Northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee border. Not sure whether someone in NC or Georgia could have seen what we saw...it would depend on the time. If they said 1:30 am, then it was probably the same thing (0030 Alabama (CST) time + 1 = 0130 EST). ((END ADDENDUM))

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #119816). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.