A flight recording apparently capturing a pilot reporting a UFO to air-traffic controllers has captured the public’s imagination after it was shared on an aviation social-media channel.
The audio clip was published on a YouTube account called You Can See ATC, which uploads videos featuring pilots’ accounts of emergencies or unusual situations during flights, such as equipment failures or fights on board. Most of the channel’s viewers seem to be those working in the industry. However, a video published on the site two weeks ago has received more than 22,000 views so far, as a pilot describes seeing a 30-foot triangular object moving at speed from his cockpit window as he flew about 50 miles northwest of Frederick, Maryland, on December 20.
The topic of UFOs has been in the news recently as a Pentagon report released in October 2023 detailed a list of all the sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) from 2022 to 2023, while two ‘alien’ corpses were displayed to Mexico’s Congress in September.
Just last week, the Miami Police Department was forced to release a video statement to reassure residents that an alien invasion was not underway after aerial footage of a crime scene went viral online. Some viewers said it showed a 10 foot-tall gray alien walking past squad cars.
The video currently garnering thousands of views on YouTube shows a graphic of the flight path of a private Piper Cherokee Arrow (P28R) aircraft, registration N30024, en route from Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County Airport, Pennsylvania, to Maryland’s Frederick Municipal Airport.
An audio clip plays simultaneously, which is said to be a recording of a conversation between the pilot and an air-traffic controller while the aircraft was at about 6,500 to 6,800 feet and about 50 miles away from its destination. A shorter version of the clip was released by You Can See ATC on X (formerly Twitter). Newsweek has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration by email, seeking comment.
The audio begins with the pilot’s voice, as he says: «30024… passed to the northwest… We observed something approximately 30 feet tall. Not sure what it is. At about 6,500 to 6,800 feet.»
Incredulity can be heard in the voice of the official replying to him: «You said it was 30 feet tall?»
«It was pretty tall, probably about 30 feet tall. It was going opposite direction of us,» the pilot says.
«NO25, was it moving at a fast pace?» the controller replies.
«It was moving away, affirmative, for 30024,» says the pilot.
The pair then begin to discuss the plane’s scheduled descent, before the official asks: «Arrow 024, what does the object look like?»
The pilot replies: «Er, it’s kind of hard to describe. It was just tall and, er, pointy.»
«Like a triangle?»
«It was in the shape of a triangle. It was bottom and flat on top. I’m not sure what it is. I do have a picture of it. And 30024 did not appear to be any danger,» the pilot says.
«Cherokee 024, and that object was about 300 feet from you?»
«It was pretty far away form us. Just noticeable enough for caution to other aircraft,» the pilot says.
The controller then asks for the pilot’s number so he can ask his supervisor to call him if necessary, before giving the pilot his supervisor’s number instead. Later, he comes back on the radio to say: «NO24, yeah, my supervisor said [inaudible] talk to you. Just wanna make sure everything is safe up there for future aircraft flying through that. So give him a call once you’re on the ground safely please.»
«Roger, will do, thanks, 30024,» the pilot replies.
The video sparked plenty of discussion among the viewers of the YouTube channel.
Some were sceptical, with one saying: «If you saw it you should be able to describe it.»
Given the timing—the audio was reportedly from December 20, and it was published on the site on Christmas Eve—several people wrote that it was more likely to have been Santa Claus rather than aliens.
Others offered more mundane ideas for what the triangle could have been. One viewer wrote, «Haha. I live right near there. I see Canadian geese all the time,» with another agreeing that «flocks of geese are triangle in shape.»
Some thought, «30 feet tall and pointy at the bottom is a helium balloon,» with several also saying that they thought it could have been a weather balloon.
Others posted that it could have been another plane, such a new model being tested by the military. One wrote: «I’m old enough to remember when the stealth fighter was still a secret and there was all sorts of UFO reports due to it’s funky shape.»
Many of those commenting wished they could see the photo the pilot mentioned, but the channel did not have access to the image.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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