TIFFIN: Two pilots reported seeing a silver, pill-shaped object near their private jet over Ohio on August 16, according to a civilian investigation update published on Monday.
The National UFO Reporting Centre (NUFORC) said the crew encountered the object while approaching thunderstorm clouds at 41,000 feet. The charter aircraft carried no passengers.
One pilot described a vertical cylinder with a reflective surface, no visible wings and no lights. He believed it might have emerged from the clouds before passing to the aircraft’s left.
Concerned about nearby traffic, the crew contacted Cleveland Centre controllers to ask about other aircraft or weather balloons.
According to NUFORC’s account, controllers reported no corresponding radar contact. The pilots also saw no matching traffic on their aircraft’s traffic collision avoidance system. The sighting lasted about two minutes.
A pilot photographed the object with his iPhone after it had passed the jet. He based his description of its shape on an earlier, closer view rather than the photograph alone.
NUFORC investigator Ben Hansen interviewed the captain and subsequently obtained Federal Aviation Administration radar data and radio communications through a Freedom of Information Act request.
However, the case documents contain differing estimates of the object’s size and distance. The initial filing described a smaller object farther away; the later interview revised those impressions.
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Investigators considered a balloon explanation. NUFORC said it found no matching planned launch in the databases it checked, but it has not definitively ruled out that possibility.
The captain questioned whether a balloon could have survived the nearby storm. He reported that the jet later experienced engine icing and moderate turbulence after entering cloud.
NUFORC continues to classify the encounter as unexplained.
