Pilots report close encounters with UFO over Arizona: 'Something just passed over us' - ABC News

📍 Location

📝 Description

As of December 13, 2025, there have been no credible new updates identifying or debunking the February 24, 2018 Arizona sighting involving Phoenix Air Learjet 36 N71PG and American Airlines Flight 1095. The most authoritative documentation remains the FAA audio exchanges released in 2018, which show two pilots reporting an unidentified object passing overhead at about 37,000 feet, with another pilot noting it was several thousand feet above and moving in the opposite direction. The object was described as bright with a large reflection and not clearly an aircraft; radar did not confirm additional aircraft in the area. The FAA suggested high-altitude weather balloons as a possibility, but no definitive explanation has been publicly announced. The incident occurred over Southern Arizona near the US–Mexico border, between the Sonoran Desert National Monument area and New Mexico, and the encounter sequence lasted roughly 45 minutes in the late afternoon. Subsequent coverage has treated this as an unexplained historical UFO encounter, with no official attribution to a known aircraft or phenomenon.

🔍 Circumstances

Two commercial aircraft (Phoenix Air Learjet 36 N71PG and American Airlines Flight 1095) independently reported unusual objects in the same general airspace over Southern Arizona on February 24, 2018, around 3:30 p.m. local time. Air traffic control prompted the nearby American Airlines flight to check for any object in the next 15 miles. The object was described as not resembling an airplane, with a big reflection, and its direction appeared opposite to the planes’ paths. Radar in the area showed no corroborating targets. The FAA subsequently released audio recordings of the exchanges.

👤 Physical Description

Witness descriptions included a bright object with a large reflection; not clearly an aircraft; no visible wings or propulsion noted in reports; the object was detected visually, and there were comments about brightness and reflection rather than defined shape. The exact morphology was not confirmed in official releases.

ℹ️ Additional Details

The incident occurred during a period of renewed public and media interest in unidentified aerial phenomena and the U.S. government's prior and ongoing investigations into such sightings. The Defense Department’s earlier program to study UAPs (AATIP) and subsequent related efforts are frequently referenced in coverage of this case, though no official connection to the Arizona sighting was established. Multiple reputable outlets reported on the audio release and the lack of radar corroboration.

🔗 Sources (8)

👥 Community Contributions

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