The Night the Sky Took Control
On the evening of 18 October 1973, Captain Lawrence J. Coyne and his Army Reserve crew flew a routine medical transport mission in a Bell UH-1H helicopter from Columbus to Cleveland, Ohio.
The crew consisted of Coyne (pilot), Lt. Arrigo Jezzi (co-pilot), Sgt. Robert Yanacsek (flight engineer), and Specialist 5 John Healey (crew chief). They cruised at 2,500 feet above sea level, 120 knots airspeed, heading north-north-east over rural farmland near Mansfield.
Everything was going along fine and dandy, nothing out of the ordinary at all to report. But then, at around 11:05 pm, Yanacsek spotted a single red light far off on the south-eastern horizon but it was moving towards them at high speed.
Then something incredilbe happened...
The Approach and Collision Course
Yanacsek immediately alerted the crew of what he'd seen. The light was closing distance very rapidly, at a much greater rate than any conventional aircraft. Coyne took manual control and initiated a powered descent at 500 feet per minute to avoid collision. The helicopter dropped down to around 1,700 feet.
The object continued straight toward them at high speed. Coyne pushed on his flight collective control and increased descent to 2,000 feet per minute. Strangly, the altimeter still read 1,700 feet when the object filled the windshield.
"It was coming right at us. I thought it was going to ram us."
– Captain Lawrence Coyne
Then something unexplainable happened...
Contact and Electromagnetic Effects
The red light that the crew had seen was now a cigar-shaped metallic object that stopped abruptly directly in front of the helicopter, hovering at close range. Then a brilliant green light suddenly flooded the cockpit, illuminating everything inside with its eerie glow.
Coyne checked instruments. The helicopters magnetic compass spun wildly while the radio was filled with the noise of static. The crew felt a gentle "bump" as if the helicopter had been caught, or grabbed, by an invisible force.
Then the helicopter altimeter began climbing rapidly despite full collective down and descent rate. The helicopter rose uncontrollably from 1,700 to 3,500 feet in a matter of seconds before the object accelerated westward at incredible speed and vanished from their sight.
"The collective was down, but we were climbing at 1,000 feet per minute. We went from 1,700 to 3,500 feet with no control input from me."
– Captain Lawrence Coyne
They regained control of the helicopter and proceeded, all of them stunned by what had just happened.
Ground Witnesses
A family driving near Mansfield (mother and four children) independently reported seeing a bright object pace a helicopter, flood it with green light, then shoot away at incredible speed. Their account matched the crew's timeline exactly.
Official Investigation
The crew filed an official report with the Army. UFO researcher Jennie Zeidman interviewed them extensively. Dr. J. Allen Hynek called it one of the most credible cases on record due to trained military observers and electromagnetic effects.
The incident appeared in the United Nations UFO testimony and still remains unexplained in official files.
Location / Anomalies:
- Primary site: Airspace near Mansfield, Ohio, USA (Coords: approx 40.7584° N, 82.5154° W)
- Secondary reports: Ground witnesses on Route 430 near Charles Mill Reservoir
- Anomalies: Cigar-shaped metallic object with red leading light and green illumination, rapid approach and stop, electromagnetic interference (spinning compass, radio static), involuntary ascent of helicopter against controls, independent ground corroboration.
Sources / Balance:
Official Army crew statements (Coyne, Jezzi, Yanacsek, Healey)
Jennie Zeidman detailed investigation report
Dr. J. Allen Hynek case file and interviews
Ground witness family testimony (name withheld)
United Nations UFO hearing documentation
Contemporary newspaper coverage (Mansfield News Journal)
Final Verdict
THE NIGHT CONTROL WAS TAKEN AWAY. Four experienced Army aviators watched a metallic cigar override their helicopter's physics, flooding it with a green light, scrambling instruments, and lifting it thousands of feet against full descent input. Ground witnesses saw the same impossible sequence and reported it exactly as they saw it. No conventional aircraft could perform the maneuvers or exert such force, right?
The Coyne encounter still stands as one of ufology's most credible vehicle interference cases. When the green light filled the cockpit and the chopper rose helplessly skyward, the crew learned something undeniable: Whatever paced them that Ohio night had technology far beyond human capability. The question pilots still ask: If it could lift a helicopter at will... what else can it do?