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, an experienced air traffic controller and pilot, recounts personal encounters with unexplained aerial phenomena (UAPs), including a specific sighting and unusual behavior from a tracked balloon.
Historically, a significant stigma discouraged aviation professionals from reporting UFOs, but this is evolving due to the re-labeling to UAP and official acknowledgments like Navy video releases, leading to more open discussions among pilots and controllers.
The article emphasizes the crucial role of aviation professionals in understanding UAPs and frames the pursuit of truth regarding these phenomena as a fundamental human endeavor, akin to our drive for space exploration.

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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.