Two pilots flying a private jet over Ohio spotted something very unusual outside their aircraft, and even after an investigation, nobody seems to know exactly what it was.
The object, described as a metallic, pill-shaped UFO approximately 30 feet tall, reportedly appeared near the plane as the pilots approached a thunderstorm. Even stranger, neither air traffic control nor the aircraft’s collision avoidance system detected anything in the area.
The encounter occurred on August 16 near Tiffin, Ohio, but details weren’t made public until October 26, when the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) released its investigation.
Pilots Describe Encounter With Mysterious UFO Over Ohio
According to NUFORC, the pilots were flying at about 41,000 feet when they spotted a strange, cigar- or pill-shaped object that appeared to emerge from storm clouds ahead of them.
The UFO appeared to be traveling toward the aircraft before passing on the left, coming within an estimated two to three miles of the plane. The encounter lasted about two minutes, during which the aircraft was traveling at around 380 mph. One pilot photographed the UFO with his iPhone after it passed their plane.
One of the pilots, identified only as “J,” described it as silver, highly reflective, and pill-shaped, standing vertically. He also reported seeing no wings, seams, or other visible flight controls.
Initially, the pilot suspected it might be a weather balloon. However, he questioned that explanation because of its unusual shape and the severe weather conditions. The thunderstorm clouds reportedly reached as high as 55,000 feet, and the pilots later experienced engine icing and moderate turbulence while flying through them.
Investigators Still Haven’t Identified The Mysterious Object
The pilots contacted Cleveland Center air traffic controllers to ask whether any aircraft or weather balloons were nearby. They were told that nothing matching their description appeared on radar.
In fact, according to NUFORC, the air traffic controller jokingly told them to report the incident and “make sure you include what color the alien was.”
NUFORC investigator Ben Hansen subsequently obtained FAA radar information and air traffic control communications. He couldn’t find a corresponding balloon launch, although they haven’t completely ruled out that possibility.
“Coupled with the witness’s estimate that the object was at least 30 feet in height and uniformly shaped without tapering at the top or bottom, it presents some challenges to the balloon theory,” he wrote.
The sighting is similar to two other incidents. One involved a Southwest Airlines passenger who filmed a mysterious Tic Tac-shaped UFO flying over California. In that case, the passenger also reported that the object had “no visible means of propulsion.” A few months later, a man in Clovis, California, filmed what he believes was another “Tic Tac” UFO sighting over the Golden State.
The most famous “Tic Tac” UFO sighting occurred in 2004, when several Navy pilots and crewmen on the USS Nimitz warship reported encountering what they called “Tic Tac” UFOs that they said broke the laws of physics.
Of course, none of this means the pilots in Ohio encountered an alien spacecraft. However, two pilots photographing an unidentified object at 41,000 feet with nothing appearing on radar definitely makes it worth investigating.