United Airlines Flight Crew Witnesses

Commercial Airline Pilots

On November 7, 2006, approximately 12 United Airlines employees, including pilots, mechanics, and ramp workers, witnessed a dark gray metallic disc hovering silently above Gate C17 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The object, estimated to be 6 to 24 feet in diameter, remained stationary for roughly five minutes before accelerating vertically at extreme speed, punching a clean circular hole through the cloud layer.

The incident gained significant attention after journalist Jon Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, revealing that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had initially denied the sighting despite internal radio logs confirming reports of a "disc" or "UFO." While the FAA concluded the object was not on radar and likely a weather phenomenon, independent investigations by groups like NARCAP and a team of NASA scientists argued the object’s behavior could not be explained by conventional means.