Light over Winnipeg (Canada), MB · Canada

The report, as filed

On the morning of October 2, 2016, at just before 1:30 AM, I wandered over to the open shipping door at my workplace to grab a bit of fresh air. I was looking outside when an orange light caught my attention. The light was to the southeast of where I was standing. I assumed it was an aircraft coming in to land at the airport—this is something that I see at night all the time as my workplace is just to the east of the airport. The light was about the same size and color as the incandescent street lamps that were across the street, maybe 100 feet away. As the light approached I became very curious. When normal aircraft do their approaches you often start out seeing just the bright white 'headlight' but you eventually see the red and green lights on the wings and tail. This object did not display any other lights. The light continued heading directly towards me, flying on a northwest course. As it was going to pass directly over the building I went outside into the parking lot so I could continue observing it. The light passed directly over me at what I assumed was the normal altitude for landing aircraft. I did not see any other lights—just the orange light. I did not see the shape of an aircraft which is very strange to me as at that altitude I would have seen at least the outline of a conventional aircraft, even at night. There was no sound. The light did not change shape or luminosity. It moved at roughly the same speed as a normal aircraft. There was a light breeze at the time but I don't recall the direction. As the light passed overhead I saw what looked to me like a 'shock-wave' in front of the light. This was the only time I saw anything other than the light itself. The light continued on its northwest course, moving past the roof-line of the building. I backed up in the parking lot to try to regain sight of it but failed to do so. The total time spent observing the light was 1-2 minutes. I do not know what to think of this light. I have worked nights at this location for over 5 years and have never seen anything like this. I see normal aircraft in the sky at night all the time, several times a night. This thing did not look like a normal aircraft. I suppose it could have been a meteor but I feel it was moving too slowly for that. I feel it was moving too precisely to be a balloon, flare or firework, and the light was too consistent and bright for that, unless I drastically overestimated its altitude. I have a feeling that this is just a conventional phenomenon but it was weird enough to me and something I've certainly never seen before so I felt I should report it.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #130480). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.