West Coast Drones?
I live in West Seattle, and at 1:40 AM this morning, I spotted what appeared to be a large, silent flying object—possibly a drone—gliding slowly in a S/SE direction at a low altitude. The lighting configuration was quite peculiar.
It had a leading light and a tail light, along with two conventional wingtip lights, all in white. Additionally, there was a single red beacon underneath the body. Notably, there was no green starboard light. The object was completely silent and seemed to be about the size of a large sedan or minivan, giving the impression of being very low in the sky, though it was dark out.
Since I’m within 10 miles of SeaTac International Airport, my first thought was that it might be a regular plane. However, the unusual arrangement of the navigation lights, its atypical flight path, and the complete lack of noise made me reconsider.
If it were an airplane and I were seeing its landing lights, I wouldn’t have noticed them as prominently as I did while it moved away from me, since landing lights typically shine forward.
I’ve seen a few posts in local groups about sightings over Elliott Bay, but I haven’t found any mentions of last night’s sighting on any page or forum.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my phone camera ready in time—just typical human error!
Interestingly, I’ve come across some photos from the East Coast that look remarkably similar to what I observed.
Did any other Seattleites have a similar experience in the early hours of this morning?
Wow, that sounds like quite an intriguing sighting! It’s interesting that you mention the unusual lighting configuration and the lack of sound, as those are often characteristics of drones. Given how close you are to SeaTac, it’s definitely worth considering if it could be an unconventional aircraft or even a drone in the area.
I haven’t seen anything specific about sightings from last night either, but it might be worth checking in local social media groups or community forums to see if others experienced similar things. Drones have become more common, but unusual sightings like yours certainly raise questions, especially with the unique light pattern.
If possible, you might want to keep an eye out in case of additional sightings. If it’s happening frequently, it could be helpful to gather more reports to see if there’s a pattern. Thanks for sharing your experience!