In leaked audio, a US Air Force pilot describes a startling close encounter with a ‘football-sized’ UFO, saying it was positioned right under his wing.
Pilot spots mysterious ufo during classified flight
A U.S. Air Force pilot reported a shocking midair encounter with an unidentified flying object (UFO) last September. The object, described as “football-sized” and cylindrical, passed dangerously close to the jet.
The incident took place on September 17 over California during a classified flight. The pilot, identified only as “Troy 21,” was flying a Beechcraft 350 C in controlled airspace.
At 2:30 p.m., he radioed air traffic control in Los Angeles, stating:
“This is going to sound weird, but I just had something pass underneath my wing. Maybe a football-sized object right under my wing.”
Air traffic control investigates pilot’s report
The pilot was engaged in a military-related mission with the Department of Homeland Security.
When asked if he believed the object was a drone, he expressed uncertainty.
Flying at 20,000 feet, he explained that drones capable of reaching such altitudes are rare, though some military and hobbyist models exist.
The pilot quickly asked his sensor operator to search for the object on the jet’s camera system.
Unidentified object flies dangerously close to jet
Troy 21 provided more details about the object’s appearance.
“It was like a dark gray, cylindrical object. It was probably the size of a football and passed maybe 10 feet under our right wing.”
A minute later, the pilot detected an object on the jet’s air-to-air system.
Forty seconds after that, radar picked up another object 60 miles away. However, it remains unclear if it was the same one.
For the objects to be identical, the UFO would have needed to travel over Mach 2 (1,500 mph) within that short timeframe.
Atc acknowledges ‘ufo report’ but offers no explanation
Later in the leaked audio, another air traffic controller is heard commenting:
“There was a UFO reported here, but that’s all taken care of now.”
The National UFO Reporting Center received an official report about the sighting. However, no further details have been disclosed.
Similar sightings add to growing mystery
This incident mirrors another close encounter reported by former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao.
Last summer, Chiao witnessed two cylindrical, metallic orbs flying past his private aircraft over Texas.
The objects, traveling just 10 feet beneath his wings, displayed no visible propulsion.
“There was nothing around me other than the panhandle of Texas at 9,000 feet. Then, suddenly, these things appeared,” Chiao said.
His experience resembled a Pentagon-released radar footage of a cylindrical UFO seen in Iraq in 2023.
“That was my first thought: this must be a secret military program. But why are they flying it where civilian aircraft operate?” Chiao questioned.
The latest incident adds to growing reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) appearing in controlled airspace.
Pilots and aviation experts continue to raise concerns about potential safety risks.
As the U.S. government increases efforts to study UAPs, many hope for answers about these mysterious objects navigating the skies.