Aircraft unknown to me . . .

Looking for some wisdom from this knowledgeable forum-

I recently moved to a place with a large view to the west and have been gifted with a panorama which includes some air traffic new to me. Honestly not as much as I would have guessed but the view is hard to complain about.

Last week I watched what I believed to be a smaller private jet appear from the south and what caught my attention was that it seemed to be traveling much slower than I would've thought. As it moved north it continued at this pace until it turned SW and with a substantial roar shot off at a very rapid pace disappearing at the horizon within less than half a minute.

My knowledge is very limited on aircraft, but I have kept an eye to the sky for many many years and this was a new one on me. I will say it did not appear to be one of the fighter jets which are around this area from time to time.

Location is Central Willamette Valley, Oregon by Salem.

Thanks for any thoughts,
Nexo

a reply to: nexotop

You seek the help of Zaphod or others knowledgeable in this field - although based on your description I'm sure the possible aircraft that would fit the description are quite numerous. Hope you can find some answers from our intelligent members here!

a reply to: nexotop

The aircraft could have been encountering severe headwinds that would result in a slow ground speed and then when it turned those same winds could have increased it's speed.

If it makes you feel any better I have spent the better part of 20 years around military airfields working on military aircraft and your description does not ring any bells, also I have seen things in the sky that do not fit anything I experience in two decades of experience.

Keep in mind that the direction of flight and whether the aircraft is climbing or descending can play all sorts of tricks on your eyes and mind when it comes to perceived direction and rate of travel. Eyewitness reports of air incidents are notoriously inaccurate as a result.

I was talking to an NTSB investigator one time and he stated that 9 out of 10 eyewitness reports are usually in error for one reason or another. He stated that investigators usually focus on everything else BUT reported angle of flight and direction of travel from an eyewitness.

I'm around aircraft every day (all day) and I still see things which make me have to look twice.

download flightradar24 or other flight tracking app. You will be able to look at its altitude, speed, and route, along with aircraft type when you see it again

a reply to: FredT

Thanks for all the info - Absolutely get the e-witness inaccuracies. I ought to have said, 'appears to be a private jet type-who knows what it was honestly. Certainly the speed at which it moved off SW was far less then other 'unknown' type craft I've seen which were gone in a flash, or two .... Will get the flight radar as suggested- I'm sure that'll be a something I enjoy.

Appreciate your time,
Cheers,
Nexo

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

In the late 80's early 90's I was working towards being an air crash investigator. I went to a seminar that had a professional interrogator. He asked a question that I'll never forget. You as an investigator are at the scene of a crash. You have two witnesses. One witness knows nothing about aircraft. The other witness has an extensive aviation background. Which witness would you prefer to interview?

I was surprised, along with everybody else that the answer was the witness that knows nothing about aircraft. His reason was that the person with the extensive aviation background may have subconsciously formed an opinion about the cause of the crash and may slant their statement to go along with their belief.

Just remembered this, 100% anecdotal second hand information but...

I have a friend (ultra serious, very literal kind of guy) in the AWACS community, that was doing some counter drug work... he was called a scope dope, almost an ATC in the sky without communication portion... anyways he got back from that trip and told me about a weird tacking he did, happened every day, after the third day of reporting it they got a visit from guys in suits that took all the tracking information and basically told them that they did not see anything and ignore it from that day forward.

What he said he saw was a track taking off at very slow speeds, like twin engine type low speeds, this would go till it cleared about 10k feet roughly before accelerating well past mach 3, and would rapidly get our of radar range.

read into that what you will...

a reply to: JIMC5499

Thanks for that - I see the wisdom there. An open mind and what it reveals....

a reply to: Irishhaf

Interesting indeed.... Certainly the initial thing that caught my eye was the slow speed of a craft which in size and shape seemed to ought to have been moving along at a faster rate. The change of course was also quite abrupt for the usual flight patterns in this particular field of view. Not turn on a dime stuff which defies current physics, but enough to strike me as rare. Thanks for the thought-