What Are You Afraid of? UFOs

Pilots and air traffic controllers are in a unique position to help us understand what’s happening above us.

Jason Judy

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

Artist’s rendition of UAP over the New Jersey coast [Credit: Americans for Safe Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

The author, a former air traffic controller and pilot, recounts multiple personal UAP sightings, including an inexplicable radar event involving the Chinese spy balloon, highlighting controllers' professional concern over unknown airspace hazards.
The article emphasizes how the reclassification from "UFO" to "UAP" and official disclosures have significantly reduced the professional stigma, encouraging pilots and controllers to openly discuss unexplained aerial phenomena.
The author advocates for greater openness and collaboration among aviation professionals to understand UAPs, believing their unique perspectives are crucial for uncovering the truth behind these encounters, whether they are human technology or something unknown.

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Back in 1999, when I was working as an air traffic controller at Fort Worth Center, one of my
co-workers ended up on Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell.

He had submitted audio of unusual aerial activity over the Dallas-Fort Worth area, something people now refer to as UAPs (unidentified anomalous/aerial phenomena). I remember listening to the show and laughing as Bell treated the recording as if it were a leak from a secret government source.