Phoenix-bound pilots report strange sight in the sky
Cockpoint audio records observation - KPNX's Rachel Cole has details
PHOENIX, Ariz. (NBC News/KPNX) - The cockpit audio from a Phoenix-bound flight out of New Mexico sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie.
"Do you have any targets up here? We just had something go right over the top of us - I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing - moving really fast right over the top of us."
The radio transmission from American Airlines Flight 2292 appeared on an aviation blog called "Deep Black Horizons." The airline confirms the audio is real.
"The pilot obviously saw something, he saw a UFO." said Dr. Larry Wasserman, an astronomer at Flagstaff's Lowell Observatory.
Dr. Wasserman finds the new audio fascinating.
"Pilots have been reporting strange anomalies that can't be explained from their vantage point." he says.
So does Dr. Lynne Kitei, who's written a book on the 1997 Phoenix lights, and appeared in an award winning documentary about the phenomenon. Since that famous case, the Southwest has been home to many strange sightings in the sky, including one last April.
"I saw what appeared to be a star moving."
Space-X later revealed it was one of the company's satellites reflecting light back to Earth while being in perfect alignment with the Sun.
As for what the American Airlines crew saw...
"The excitement in their voices, seeing something so unusual but we have to remember that it's in New Mexico and white sands missile range is nearby." says Dr. Kitei.
In a statement, the FBI says it's aware of the incident. Meanwhile, the FAA confirms the pilot made a claim about seeing an object over New Mexico.
"If they can figure out what it was that would be good, I would be curious to know what it was." says Dr. Wasserman.
Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque says it has "no knowledge of any object." And, FAA air traffic controllers did not see any object in the area on their radarscopes.
"This new sighting, wakes people up to the possibility of something else possibly visiting us here." says Dr. Kitei.
"I think we wait and see but I would not jump on the alien hypothesis as the first choice." says Dr. Wasserman.
