The pilot of a private jet was visibly astonished after spotting a small silver cylindrical object hovering near the wing of his aircraft at thousands of feet above Rhode Island.
A recently released video taken from a live air traffic control (ATC) transmission captures the tense moment. In the audio, the pilot tells ground controllers that the object “appears to be stationary” as it floated alongside the aircraft.
According to the report, the object remained near the wingtip for several moments, briefly matching the aircraft’s movement before disappearing from view.
Air traffic control confirmed that there were no other similar reports in the area at the time and asked whether the object could have been a drone or a balloon.
Flying a Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II, an aircraft capable of carrying up to five passengers, the pilot said he could not see anything attached to the object and described it simply as “impressive,” while maintaining an altitude of approximately 3,500 feet.
Other pilots operating in the region also chimed in over the radio, with one remarking, “I want to believe him,” while the air traffic controller made a lighthearted comment that stood out: “Good luck with the aliens.”
So far, no official report has been released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is relatively common in cases involving unexplained aerial phenomena unless they pose a direct safety risk.
The video was uploaded to the YouTube channel VASAviation, run by a corporate pilot and certified flight instructor from Spain, who regularly publishes recordings of real air traffic control communications.
The video, which has already surpassed 14,000 views, was published about a month ago, indicating that the sighting likely occurred around that time.
Recently, the transmission reached social media, appearing on X this week, where it quickly went viral.
Although the pilot did not believe the object was a balloon, some so-called experts offered alternative explanations.
The well-known skeptic Mick West suggested that a weather balloon was the most plausible scenario.
Other social media users speculated that it could have been a military test involving some new technology.
“UFOs are a shiny facade,” one user commented on X, while another questioned, “Do you really think they would test this near a civilian flight?”
Michael Harrison added, “Honestly? Yes, I agree. That also has the advantage of keeping the UFO narrative in the spotlight.”
Anthony Dohrmann, an aviation enthusiast and founder and CEO of Electronic Caregiver, an artificial-intelligence-based virtual caregiver company, also offered his perspective.
He suggested that the object could have been a weather balloon, which is usually launched at night and often carries cylindrical payloads.
“They are made of a translucent material capable of reflecting city lights or catching sunlight at higher altitudes, making it difficult to assess their true altitude,” Dohrmann explained.
He added that these balloons can appear to hover or rise slowly, sometimes at a rate of about 300 meters per minute, and noted that many are launched in the neighboring state of Massachusetts.
Dohrmann also pointed out that amateur enthusiasts frequently conduct experiments with balloons and other small devices at lower altitudes.
However, do we really know what the pilot saw? His astonishment at what he witnessed suggests that the sighting was legitimate. A legitimate “cigar-shaped UFO” may indeed have been observed by him.
What remains intriguing is the fact that he did not film it, which could have resulted in a remarkable record.
