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American Airlines pilot reports UFO with 'big reflection' 40,000 feet over Arizona

Submitted
Pilots on two separate aircraft reported an unidentified flying object high over southern Arizona last month. One of them, a commercial pilot flying a passenger jet for American Airlines, said the object was above 40,000 feet and "had a big reflection." (www.huffingtonpost.com) More...

Tom Novak
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RDLoven
Richard Loven 1
He should adjust his medication. People that are seeing things shouldn’ Be flying airplanes.
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rstephens91350
roger stephenson 1
On 3/23, I was in Antigua and saw HBAL187 and HBL191 at 62K and 62.3k altitude and 15 and 11 KT’s speed. Guessing weather balloons?
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Bratfalken
Jan Strömbäck 1
They are a test to provide with Internet through ballons, What I wonder is what happens to these once they run out of juice in some way, do they just drift away...showing up as non transmitting objects that pilots can call UFO:s? Checking them on Flightradar24 the tracks they are making suggest they are risen or lowered to different winds to try to keep them in a general area?
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bpapilot
Devin Dice 0
I had a similar experience and it was the space station in formation about to dock with another space craft. Was high and disappeared over the horizon in front of us. Both had lights and strobes.
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PegLegJim
Jim Welch 3
I’m going to ask what may be a stupid question.
Why aren’t weather or Google balloons required to have an active transponder so they can be seen/tracked by ATC?
The thought of a heavy with 200+ souls on board flying into one of these balloons can only have one ending.
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n9341c
n9341c 1
It's actually the real reason most new modern airlines have winglets. They SAY its for improved fuel efficiency.....but I know as a FACT its so they can pop weather balloons....I have a friend who is an engineer for Airbus, and was previously an engineer for Boeing, and was an actual train engineer for Burlington Norther Santa Fe. Top THAT!
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olddoc22
James Mering 1
This is an April Fool post, right?
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CoughlinAir
Colten Coughlin 1
Most of the time, they are too high for airliners anyhow.
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AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
Except for when they're just released and still in lower altitudes?
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bbabis
bbabis 1
No stupid questions here Jim. I had the same ones after seeing a few. They are not released willy nilly. Their launches are in notams and may even be in restricted areas such as space launches. Most are tracked by ATC, at least until they get above commercial flight levels, which doesn't take very long.
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Aireps
Aireps 3
Meteorological weather balloon launch locations and times are mentioned in AIPs, but the balloons are *not* being tracked by ATC. It is impossible since radiosondes don't have transponders. Australia is one of the very few countries where weather balloons are fitted with radar reflectors (https://vimeo.com/19826431 ). These provide primary radar targets but I doubt that Australian ATC is routinely tracking them.
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bbabis
bbabis 0
Thanks. Good info. It’s clear that caution is taking place because, as far as I know, there has never been a balloon plane collision.
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SteppCo
Craig Stepp 3
With all the cell phone out there someone had to take an awesome picture of it? All UFO pics I have seen are out of focus. Same goes with Bigfoot pics.
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alan75035
alan75035 7
Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.
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duane270
Duane Osman 10
Could have been a Tesla RoadStar?
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ArthurNetteler
Arthur Netteler 1
I believe we have had Visitors for Thousands of YEARS!
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Bratfalken
Jan Strömbäck 1
These are looking for intelligent life in the universe....they still haven't found any! ;)
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AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
Mea culpa all ... just found an earlier posting reporting the same event.
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AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Little Green Men ?

Two pilots from separate aircraft notify ATC of UFO over Arizona Feb. 24th.

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/pilots-report-close-encounters-ufo-over-arizona-something-193900912--abc-news-topstories.html
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AWAAlum
AWAAlum 4
I wonder why duplicate squawks are down voted. It isn't something done intentionally. When I discovered the prior post, I submitted a "mea culpa" on my posting ... unsure as to how it ended up on this posting. However, I attempted to rectify my error to no avail. You people who down vote duplications need to relax.
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zxxy4u
Martin Cooper 2
Just show me ONE clear image of a supposedly UFO, all the images I've seen are some old GRAINY Kodak pics. Our cell phone can take a still image of a HUMMINGBIRD wing that flaps hundreds of times per second, and we still doesn't have a CREDIBLE image of a UFO, so what does that say about those "SIGHTINGS?"
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xtoler
Larry Toler 1
Just because an object is unidentified doesn't mean a pilot is claiming to see an alien space craft. It makes for an eye catching news headline.
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Bernie20910
Bernie20910 2
The men in black confiscate them of course.
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RECOR10
RECOR10 5
Duh, they have blockers.....

http://lynncinnamon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/tinfoilhat.jpg
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xtoler
Larry Toler 0
That's funny!
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bbabis
bbabis 7
I've seen plenty of weather balloons out there. Yes, they are high, put off a very large reflection when the sun is right, and their relative motion can appear to move with you or against you. Last one I saw I asked the controller if there was any traffic at my 9 o'clock high and maybe 20 miles. He said no. I said its definitely there but no controller had anything. 10 minutes later, as the other pilot and I still watched it, the controller came back and said he had the info. He had done some checking and there was a balloon 120 miles away out there presently going thru 130,000 feet. It put off a huge reflection.
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shenghaohan
Shenghao Han 5
UFO is just any un-identified object, so alion belivers claim your pants down.
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Bernie20910
Bernie20910 6
I'm gonna claim my pants are UP, thank you very much. Not gonna catch me with my pants down, no sir.
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RECOR10
RECOR10 1
In high school I was living on Pensacola Beach (FL) during Gulf War One. There were CONSTANT claims of UFO's just about every night...well, turns out the B2 would leave Eglin, bomb some Iraqi ass and return to Eglin AFB...not ever stopping in between. Now, years later the B2 is public info...and, explains much of the UFO reporting (however, to think we are 'alone' in the galaxy is foolish).
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CoughlinAir
Colten Coughlin -4
There is only one other being other than what is just here on earth and that is God.
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AWAAlum
AWAAlum 4
You've been traveling around the galaxies and found no one?
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RECOR10
RECOR10 2
I hate Jodie Foster more than just about any other of the Hellywood elite... ALMOST as much as I hate matthew mcconaughey...but, this is a very fitting scene...

https://youtu.be/L5BdLVRg7Lo
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abowland
Andy Bowland 1
I thought B-2's only operated from Whiteman Air Force Base until just a few years ago...but I could be wrong.
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RECOR10
RECOR10 5
Your right (I looked it up). There was something flying out of there (cruise missiles???). I know the UFO stigma was boiled down to something going from Eglin to Iraq or Trashcanistan.
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xtoler
Larry Toler 0
I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall, UK during that time. During Desert Shield a lot of bombers were staging out of... I want to say Farnborough or Farnham. There would be no room on the ramp and they would take up space on our already crowded flightline. It was chaos back then. I wouldn't doubt B-1's we're staged out of Eglin and being refueled in flight, bomb some mud huts and inflight refuel back home like the B-2's. I'm not sure, but somewhere they also had extra crew on board to rotate with duties. On bombers I don't know. I was in airlift and our cargo aircraft had extra crew to take over flying after the original crew flew up to their duty day.
As far as UFO's back then we had some hinky stuff spotted near Luchers, Scotland.
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JillMccarron
Jill Mccarron -9
Larry Toler, to say they bombed “mud huts” is untrue. they blew up innocent people in an illegal war.
What a horrible and racist remark, shame on you.
Iraq (unlike the USA) has a proud and nobel history going back thousands of years, and because of that illegal war the whole of the Middle East has become destabilised.
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SmittySmithsonite
SmittySmithsonite -1
Triggered liberals are even posting on aviation sites! I can't get away from it ...

They post on gun sites (which they hate, yet they always seem to be on ...), and any other site trolling for perceived racism and "injustice" (translated to "anything against the progressive agenda").

Get a life, libs! The election is over! America rejected progressivism. DEAL WITH IT!
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JillMccarron
Jill Mccarron -2
Ha ha, I certainly riled y’all up, with my comments. Thank God I live in a democratic country, unlike your own.
There is a big world out there guys and you are not the centre of it!
Hope you do not call yourselves Christians.
Over and out.
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Gearrhead43
David Wood 4
Thats right We are rejecting the Liberal Progressive movement.. Thye what to redo the US Constitution.. And that alone will be rejected.. if NOT, well you had better prepare yourself for a Civil WAR.. Because that is what is going to happen.. The LPM is nothing but Socialist / Communist in disguise ...
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kw77
katty wompus 3
The First Gulf War was not "illegal".

Saddam invaded Kuwait. UN Security Council said "get out or else".

He decided on else.

The second war is a different story.
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AAaviator
AAaviator 5
It was just a matter of time before someone, still losing their mind with Bush derangement syndrome popped off with old and untrue bumper sticker rhetoric.
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666adt
Andrew Turnbull 9
Yes, the Middle East was a paragon of stability and peace, until "that illegal war." And nice obligatory trotting out of the race card. "Mud hut" is racist? Denigrating poor people, perhaps. But racist? No. You and the Left discredit yourselves, and in the process diminish and do a disservice to true victims of racism, when you play the race card at every turn. "Shame," indeed.
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kevinbest
Kevin Best 1
Except the B2 was not operational in combat until 1999 in Kosovo. And they never flew out of Eglin for bombing missions. They have always been based in Whiteman, MO.
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Moviela
Ric Wernicke 1
Can't be real unless its been on Coast to Coast with George Nory.
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xtoler
Larry Toler 1
It also must be over a trailer park. I miss working nights and listening to his show. Entertaining and funny.
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dbaker
dbaker 2
Jump to 45s in the video to hear the audio, again at 4m20s, and again at 5m40s
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