Mystery airship

The Mystery Airships were unidentified flying objects reported in newspapers in western states of the US, starting in 1896 and continuing into 1897.

While the range and variety of reported sightings is analogous to twentieth century flying saucer flaps, most, though not all reports assumed the crafts to be airships of human invention.

States where sightings were reported included California, Texas and Michigan. An airship or spaceship was reported to have crashed in Aurora, Texas in 1897, killing the pilot.