A pilot flying a private aircraft over Rhode Island experienced a startling encounter with an unidentified flying object, captured in a newly released air traffic control broadcast. The incident, which has sparked widespread speculation online, involved a small, silver cylinder seen hovering near the aircraft's wing at an altitude of roughly 3,500 feet.
The Tense Mid-Air Encounter
The pilot, at the controls of a Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II, alerted ground controllers to the presence of a mysterious object. In the audio, he can be heard describing the cylinder as appearing to stand still beside his aircraft. The object hovered near the wing tip, briefly paced the jet, and then drifted out of view. The pilot emphasised he could see no attachments and called the sight 'astonishing'.
Air traffic control confirmed there were no other reports in the area and queried whether it could have been a drone or a balloon. The exchange prompted reactions from other pilots listening on the frequency, with one remarking, 'I want to believe him,' while ATC joked, 'Good luck with the aliens.' No official FAA or NTSB report has been made public, which is standard procedure for unexplained aerial phenomena unless they present a direct hazard.
Expert Theories and Plausible Explanations
The video was uploaded to the YouTube channel VASAviation, run by a Spanish corporate pilot and flight instructor, and has been viewed over 14,000 times. As the clip went viral on social media platform X this week, experts weighed in with possible explanations.
British-American science writer and conspiracy investigator Mick West suggested a weather balloon was the most plausible scenario. Aviation enthusiast Anthony Dohrmann, CEO of Electronic Caregiver, supported this view. He explained that weather balloons, often launched at night with cylindrical payloads, can reflect light and appear to hover. Many are launched in nearby Massachusetts, and their ascent can be slow, around 1,000 feet per minute.
Dohrmann also noted that amateur hobbyists frequently experiment with balloons at lower altitudes, which may not behave as predicted. Meanwhile, some social media users speculated about military technology tests, with one commenting that UFO narratives provide a useful cover for such activities.
A History of Unexplained Aerial Phenomena
This incident follows another high-profile account from a veteran US fighter pilot earlier this year. Major Ryan Bodenheimer, a retired F-15 and F-16 pilot, broke his silence about a near-collision with a rectangle-shaped UFO over southern Wyoming.
Bodenheimer described a large craft, 30 to 50 feet in height, that appeared suddenly during a training mission with the Air Force's Thunderbirds squadron. The object had no radar signal, no visible engine trail, and was travelling at approximately 400 knots, seemingly defying known aeronautical laws. His report to air traffic control was met with 'dead silence' before being dismissed as an 'anomalous object.'
These consecutive accounts from experienced aviators highlight the ongoing mystery and debate surrounding unexplained sightings in controlled airspace, leaving both pilots and the public searching for answers.
