Oval over Essex, CA
A witness account on file, unevaluated. Most of the archive rests here, and honestly so.
The report, as filed
I was on a plane going to start my first semester in college a year ago. I was sitting on the window seat when some lights in the nearby sky caught my attention. These lights looked like they were just hovering. I had never seen anything like it. As our plane got closer I proceeded to Snapchat what I was seeing. This object was oscillating its lights and didn't look like it was too far away. It looked pretty big from what I remember. It disappeared behind a cloud formation and I didn't see it again. I don't know what it was but I'm finally submitting it. I will be emailing the video and location. I can't explain what it was.
Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #135811). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.
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What would the paper say?
For a dated, located U.S. sighting, FAA radar data and ATC communications are the records most likely to exist. Through Aletheca, the house instrument, anyone can commission the request — filed, chased, and published in the open, refusals included. The draft goes over already written: the records sought, and the date window they would live in.
Routed to: Federal Aviation Administration · records window 2016-08-17 → 2016-09-03