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, recounts personal UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) encounters and observations, noting that controllers view such unknowns as significant safety hazards in controlled airspace.
Historically, a strong stigma discouraged pilots and controllers from openly discussing UAPs, but this is diminishing due to official acknowledgments and the re-labeling from "UFO" to "UAP."
The article advocates for continued openness and investigation into UAPs, emphasizing that pilots and controllers are crucial sources of information for understanding these phenomena, some of which defy known technological explanations.

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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.