In the early hours of January 21, 1988, Faye Knowles and three of her sons were driving across the Nullarbor Plain on the Eyre Highway when they saw a big glowing object over the road. They described it as "like an egg in an egg cup".
The family said the object came down on the roof of their car, lifted it off the road and shook it, that their voices changed and a black ash-like dust came into the car. When it let them go, a tyre burst and they took cover in the scrub before driving on.
They reported it to police, who examined the car and the roof. The story made news around the world. Skeptics have suggested a burst tyre at speed, a meteor or ball lightning; the family stood by their account.