by Tyler Rogoway June 19, 2018 (thedrive.com)
• On May 26th, 2018, at 12:59pm local time, a Piper PA-32R Saratoga was flying over Huntington, Long Island, NY on trip from Massachusetts to New Jersey when he called air traffic control stating “I have an object in front of me, I don’t know what it is.” The controller replies “You mean like a drone or something?” The pilot responds: “I don’t know if it’s a drone… It’s bigger than a drone.” The controller responds “Ummmm, I don’t show anything on radar.” The pilot requests a directional change to avoid the UFO. The controller is adamant that must be a drone, but this object has lights on it says the pilot. The controller says that there is still nothing on radar. The pilot replies, “I know I’m not delusional.”
• The Piper was cruising at 6,000 feet. Weather was partly cloudy with temperature in the 80s and light wind.
• The FAA affirmed the authenticity of a recording posted on the forum site Liveatc.com, confirming that the pilot of a Piper PA32 had reported a “drone-like object” approximately 14 miles northeast of JFK Airport on May 26, 2018 at 12:59 pm The FAA will investigate. A FOIA request for the FAA report has been submitted.
On May 26th, 2018, at 12:59pm local time, a Piper PA-32R Saratoga (N161MA) was flying over Huntington, Long Island during a trip between Minute Man Airfield in Massachusetts and Old Bridge Airport in New Jersey when the pilot encountered a strange object directly in front of his aircraft. He called air traffic controllers stating “I have an object in front of me, I don’t know what it is.” The controller replies “You mean like a drone or something?” The pilot responds: “I don’t know if it’s a drone… It’s bigger than a drone.” The controller responds “Ummmm, I don’t show anything on radar.”
The controller then asks if the object is at his same altitude, the pilot responds in the affirmative. Then the controller asks if the pilot needs to make a turn to avoid the object and the pilot requests a slight change in direction. The controller then queries the pilot to report what he thinks the mysterious craft is as soon as he can.
The pilot responds that he has no idea what it is and it has since gone behind a cloud. “Definitely something was there” the pilot states. The controller seems oddly adamant that they should assume it was a drone, stating “Ok, I mean, we’ll have to assume that it was a drone, that’s the only, I mean I don’t know if that’s the shape assumption or not but I guess that’s what we will go by.” The pilot responded, “Actually, it looked, uh, like it had lights on it.” The controller responds “That’s uh, really interesting, uh again, I show nothing on radar so I don’t know what to say.” The pilot then states “Ok and I know I’m not delusional.”
The next transmission we hear is from the controller asking the pilot to call in and make a report with specifics about the incident once he lands. He notes that the request is from his manager. The pilot quips “this is the first time I’m getting a phone number that I’m not in trouble!.” The controller laughs and affirms to him he is not in trouble. He then passes him the number and says they will be awaiting his call.
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