Former Military Pilot: "Every Pilot Says You Won't Believe This"

Show Transcript

What do you do when a black cube flies past your aircraft at 16,000 feet? That's exactly what happened to a commercial flight crew in December of 2024. The same week, multiple radar targets swarmed Wright Patterson Air Force Base, home to some of America's most classified aerospace technology. And now a former Navy fighter pilot is about to release nearly 900 similar encounters that have been hidden from public view. But first, we need to understand who's been tracking this phenomenon and why their latest announcement matters. I'm Cristina Gomez, and welcome to this episode of UFO News Updates.

[CLIP - Ryan Graves from Vertical Space Podcast]: "You know, there are a number of pilots in the hundreds, I would garner, that have seen things that immediately change their worldview on this topic while flying an aircraft to hundreds of people. Is that an environment that we want to continue, or is that something we want to mitigate the risks associated with, right? It's not an easy thing for someone just getting in this conversation to consider, 'cause it sounds like baloney and fantasy, but that's the mental state that professional pilots sometimes find themselves in."

That's Ryan Graves, a former Navy lieutenant and F/A-18th Super Hornet pilot, speaking on the Vertical Space Podcast. Graves was the first active duty pilot to publicly discuss regular UAP sightings, and his organization, Americans for Safe Aerospace, has been quietly collecting reports from pilots worldwide. But here's what makes this different from typical UFO discussions. We're not talking about blurry photos or second-hand stories. We're talking about trained observers with access to military-grade sensors, documenting incidents with the same precision they use to track enemy aircraft.

And that methodical approach becomes crucial when you look at what happened at one of America's most sensitive military installations, such as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. That base is home to the Air Force Research Laboratory, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. And historically, it's where recovered aerospace technology gets analyzed. So when multiple unauthorized objects start swarming this facility, people pay attention.

According to a newly released FAA Skywatch document obtained through FOIA request published by the Black Vault, five major incidents occurred between December 14th through the 19th back in 2024, but the most striking part an aircraft craft crew reported a black cube drone passing 500 feet beneath them at 16,000 feet in the air, an altitude far beyond typical drone capabilities. But there is more. On December 17th alone, the Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center radar detected between 7 and 17 targets within 40 miles of the airport. Security forces on the ground confirmed these were drones, leading to airfield closures and emergency NOTAMs, official notices that alert pilots to potential hazards.

And what makes these incidents significant is how they fit into a larger pattern that Graves has been documenting. His organization has collected a little under 900 reports, and he's revealing some really fascinating trends.

[CLIP - Ryan Graves from Vertical Space Podcast]: "More generally, objects are being seen in the atmosphere as well, sometimes at close proximity, within hundreds of feet of the wing, going underneath the aircraft, coming up on the far side. Some of these are described as, in the daytime, spherical. Metallic spheres, about 10 feet of diameter or so is very commonly reported. One might imagine that's what the colored spheres are at night that are observed, right? It's not just point lights, but, you know, seem to have a center of mass. Amber, red, white, blue, these are all various colors. Sometimes they'll be seen operating as a group next to an aircraft in a playful manner, it seems, zipping around each other off the wing and then shifting sides, going in front of the aircraft on occasion. There's this kind of sphere and daytime sphere, nighttime sphere. Is it a high altitude sphere? All kind of cohort. We don't really know what to make of it at that point. Another trend is black triangles, all almost exactly described the same as far as three lights on the bottom at the apex, slightly non-equilateral triangle with the two sides being longer than one, I guess, obviously, but it's kind of to do with my hands. So that's a very consistent description. These have been seen from South America, military bases in the United States, over the Pacific Northwest, near Australia. Europe, all very consistent reports, one coming within 500 feet of a commercial airliner, fully loaded 737."

As reported by Defense Scoop and their analysis of similar incidents, there has been a significant uptick in drone incursions at military installations nationwide, with over 340 report incursions in 2024 alone. The Pentagon has acknowledged this as a growing security concern, particularly around sensitive nuclear facilities.

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Here's where things get really interesting. Graves just announced that his organization is about to make these reports public, something that's never been done at this scale.

[CLIP - Ryan Graves from Vertical Space Podcast]: "My organization is going to start publishing the reports that we've gathered and that we've assessed. And we've quietly used these reports over the past year and a half or so to motivate members of Congress, right? We always hear how we've talked to various pilots and they've seen pretty incredible things. It's not just me anymore. It's other witnesses that we've been able to bring forward in this area."

This is great. Instead of relying on government disclosure, we're seeing a grassroots documentation effort led by the very people flying in these spaces daily. The timing couldn't be more crucial. Just last week, Arrow's director, John Koslowski, speaks about how a police saw a triangular UFO, and even people in Congress can't stop talking about UFOs, such as Vice President JD Vance, DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and Eric Burleson.

The Wright-Patterson incidents highlight a crucial issue that goes beyond curiosity and unknown objects. This is about flight safety.

[CLIP - Ryan Graves from Vertical Space Podcast]: "The biggest threat I perceive from UAP to aviation safety is twofold. First, it's the pilot's reaction to what they're seeing when there's uncertainty in their airspace, whether that be a Cessna off their left wing that they dismiss because they thought it was nothing or thought UAP were silly and that looked like a sphere and they don't look back and now they have an incident with a 737, or they do have an incident and they are approached by a sphere and they have a violent reaction with a stick displacing the aircraft because they're seeing something totally unexpected. Nevermind the psychological implications of seeing something that really doesn't fit your worldview."

Graves explains how uncertainty in the cockpit can lead to very dangerous situations, from missed traffic conflicts to violent aircraft movements, when pilots encounter something unexpected. And this isn't theoretical. It's happening regularly.

[CLIP - Ryan Graves from Vertical Space Podcast]: "I mean, I only know what we get, of course, and I know we only get such a small portion of all the reports, but every time I talk to a pilot, it just, I feel like you would not believe how common this is. And everyone's talking about it now. It's not this dirty secret anymore. And it's not just military, it's commercial pilots. Commercial, absolutely. 100%. Yep."

The convergence of the Wright-Patterson incidents with Graves' upcoming release of nearly 900 documented encounters represents an unprecedented moment in aerospace monitoring. Real-time documentation of anomalous phenomena by trained observers now backed by government records obtained through official channels. The FAA documents confirm that during the same week as the base incursions, radar systems detected multiple formations and pilots reported objects with characteristics that challenge our understanding of current drone technology, including a black cube, operating at 16,000 feet in airspace that requires sophisticated systems most commercial drones simply don't possess.

As lawmakers increasingly focus on the national security implications of these incidents around sensitive military installations, we're witnessing a fundamental shift in how we monitor and understand our airspace, entering a new phase of transparency where government agencies are acknowledging the scoop of these incidents rather than just dismissing them.

So here's my question. When pilots, radar operators, and government documents all confirm the same thing, what's your best guess? Advanced foreign tech, secret U.S. programs, or something we haven't considered? Drop your theory below. I'm Cristina Gomez and that's it for today. I will see you next time. Be safe and remember, keep your eyes on the skies.

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