Pilots Describe Spotting a 'Highly Reflective' Pill-Shaped UFO While Flying Across the United States

Two experienced pilots say they flew within two miles of a 'highly reflective', pill-shaped UFO above Ohio on 16 August 2026, describing a seamless metallic object with no visible wings or control surfaces at around 43,000ft.

They reported the encounter during a flight across the United States, as their private jet approached a thunderstorm, and later submitted a detailed account to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), an organisation unaffiliated with the US government.

NUFORC stated that the object had not been detected by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar and had not registered on the aircraft's traffic collision avoidance system. The centre was also unable to locate information about a corresponding balloon launch, leaving the object's identity unresolved.

UFO Appeared to Emerge From Storm Clouds

According to the pilots' report, the object appeared to emerge from clouds ahead of the aircraft and at first seemed to be heading towards them. It ultimately passed to their left, with the jet coming within two miles (3.2km) of it.

The pilots stated that it was 'oriented vertically and appeared to have a metallic surface without seams or any flight control appendages'. From their vantage point inside the aircraft, they described an upright object with no visible features for controlling flight.

They estimated that it stood at least 30ft (9.1m) tall, without tapering. They placed the object at around 43,000ft (13,106m), slightly above their jet at 41,000ft (12,497m).

The surface description remained a visual assessment from a passing aircraft. Although the pilots described what appeared to be a seamless metallic exterior, their account did not identify a mechanism that explained how the object remained airborne.

Balloon Theory Leaves UFO Questions Open

NUFORC considered whether a balloon could account for something the pilots could see but the detection systems did not register. Its enquiries sought information that might connect their encounter to a launch, without establishing such a link.

The centre stated that it could not find information about a matching balloon launch or a relevant alert to the FAA.

The absence of launch information in NUFORC's enquiries does not establish that no balloon was present. It leaves a gap between a possible explanation and evidence linking that explanation to the pilots' encounter.

LADbible also cited the object's estimated size and lack of tapering as reasons to question whether it was a balloon. Those features added further details of its appearance, but did not provide an answer to what the crew had encountered.

Federal Agents Describe a Different UFO

Separate US government files released on 23 October described a black triangular object spotted by federal agents in the western United States. Witnesses likened its appearance to a 'delta wing drone' and said it moved as fast as a fighter jet.

The comparison with a drone concerned its appearance, while the reference to a fighter jet concerned speed. Neither amounted to a confirmed identification of the triangle.

Its reported movement also differed from the Ohio encounter, where the pilots described an object apparently approaching them before passing to their left.

Witnesses described the triangular object climbing to around 200 to 300ft (61 to 91m) above a ridgeline, hovering and then departing quickly. Through a thermal camera, it appeared 'hotter than ambient temperature', yet had no visible exhaust. Its identity also remained unresolved despite several witnesses.