Tag

Civilian Aviation

5 events

Sighting

Featured

November–December 2024

The New Jersey drone wave: thousands of reports, a federal 'no threat' verdict, and an unclosed file

Beginning in mid-November 2024, residents across northern New Jersey report waves of large, slow, often car-sized 'drones' at night, with early clusters near Picatinny Arsenal. The FBI logs thousands of tips, the FAA restricts airspace, and a December 12 joint DHS/FBI statement finds no threat and attributes many sightings to misidentified manned aircraft. A January 2025 White House statement calling the flights 'authorized' closes the news cycle without reconciling the record.

Northern New Jersey, New Jersey — United States#Multiple Witnesses #Civilian Aviation #Law Enforcement #Drone Wave

Sighting

November 7, 2006

Ground crews and pilots report disc above O'Hare gate C-17

United Airlines ground personnel, mechanics, and pilots at Chicago O'Hare International Airport report a metallic, disc-shaped object hovering at low altitude above gate C-17, then ascending rapidly through the cloud deck. The Federal Aviation Administration confirms the report but declines to investigate.

O'Hare International Airport, Illinois — United States#Multiple Witnesses #Civilian Aviation #FOIA

Official Statement

January 27, 1994

State Department cable: 747 + 3 Americans witness 'enormous' bright light at 41,000 ft

A 1994 U.S. State Department diplomatic cable from Kazakhstan, declassified in PURSUE Release 01, records a Tajik Air 747 captain plus three U.S. citizens on board observing what the cable describes as a 'bright light of enormous intensity' at 41,000 feet over Kazakh airspace.

Kazakhstan airspace, Central Asia — Kazakhstan#Multiple Witnesses #Civilian Aviation #International #PURSUE Release 01

Sighting

Featured

November 17, 1986

Japan Airlines Flight 1628 reports objects over Alaska

Capt. Kenju Terauchi reports two small craft and a much larger, walnut-shaped 'mothership' alongside a Japan Airlines 747 cargo flight transiting Alaskan airspace. The objects are corroborated by FAA ground radar at Anchorage Center.

Near Anchorage, Alaska — United States#Radar Confirmed #Multiple Witnesses #Civilian Aviation #FOIA

Sighting

June 24, 1947

Kenneth Arnold reports nine high-speed objects near Mount Rainier

Civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reports nine crescent-shaped objects flying in formation near Mount Rainier at speeds he estimates at more than 1,200 mph. His description gives rise to the term 'flying saucer' and is widely treated as the start of the modern UFO era.

Roswell, New Mexico — United States#Civilian Aviation #Project Blue Book