The Empire State close call was among 757 cases of unidentified anomalous phenomena — more commonly known as unidentified flying objects or “UFOs” — reported to US authorities within the past year, according to the annual report released Thursday.
In that case, the airline crew had reported to the Federal Aviation Administration that its commercial plane had a “near miss with a ‘cylindrical object’ while over the Atlantic Ocean” just off the coast of New York.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the sighting happened, or which airline was involved.
The Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is still investigating the incident, the office’s report stated.
The New York instance was also the only case recorded where a “possible flight safety issue” was encountered “during the event,” the report added.
Of the hundreds of cases reported, investigators found explanations for nearly 300 of the incidents.
In many cases, the unknown objects were later identified as balloons, birds, aircraft, drones or satellites.
But hundreds of other apparent sightings remain unexplained — though the report stressed it is often because there isn’t enough information to draw firm conclusions.
For witnesses who provided visual descriptions, common reports included unidentified lights or round, spherical or orb-shaped objects.
Other reports included a witness who reported a jellyfish with flashing lights.
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system was an increasingly common source as people mistake chains of satellites for UFOs, according to the report.
AARO officials said, though, there’s no indication that any of the cases they looked into have unearthly origins.
“It is important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,” the report’s authors wrote.
AARO officials said, though, there’s no indication that any of the cases they looked into have unearthly origins.
The 757 cases identified in the report were made between May 1, 2023, and June 1, 2024.
The total includes 272 incidents that occurred before that period but hadn’t previously been reported to US authorities, the report noted.
With Post wires