Sept. 19, 1982 at approximately 7:00pm EST Gilbert, WV 25621 (on Browning Fork Road near Katy Fork)

Background information on the observer: I am a private airplane and helicopter pilot.  I am a self-educated software engineer, and I now own a software development company based in Austin, Texas, developing high-speed machine vision systems for clients all over the U.S..
Description:  A formation of 3 lights, appearing in the sky above a ridgeline, with mechanical and precise motion.
I was in my backyard after carrying several buckets of coal to the basement for our fireplace.  I was looking westward along a mostly flat ridgeline approximately 7 miles away.  From the north end of the ridgeline, noticeably well above the ridgeline itself (i.e. in the sky), a single light emerged, moving at a relatively slow speed.  Once it had moved along for a few seconds, a 2nd light appeared in trail behind it, emerging from the same location the first one had.
The lights continued to move southward, in lock-sync, above the ridge until approximately halfway across.  At that point the lights stopped, in a very odd, mechanical fashion (i.e. there was no deceleration, just instantaneous cessation of movement) and immediately a 3rd light appeared from "behind" the southern-most light and stopped at a symmetrical point with the other 2, forming 3 lights in a straight line and spaced equidistant from each other.
The lights sat there motionless for approximately 10 seconds.  At that point, the new light continued southward, and the original 2 lights retraced their original path northward, and all disappeared behind neighboring hills.  The motion again was completely mechanical; instant acceleration and completely synchronized.
The lights themselves were single-point white lights, with no other observable characteristics.
((personal data deleted))
We spoke with this witness via telephone, and he seemed quite sober-minded to us.  That fact, combined with his technical background, suggests to us that he probably is an excellent witness.  He provides a diagram, which shows the motion of the objects he witnesses.  PD