Clouds of black smoke were observed by several people on agricultural properties to the west of Winton. One was a station hand working on the tower of a windmill. He was aware of the noise of an aircraft in the distance. The noise suddenly stopped so he looked up and saw a cloud of black smoke in the sky. Two burning objects were falling from the smoke towards the ground. When one of the falling objects struck the ground he saw a bright flash followed by a rising column of black smoke. A number of people in Winton observed the cloud of black smoke in the air to the west of the town, followed by two columns of dense black smoke rising from ground level.
