by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
In last week’s blog, we looked at a case that is typical of UFO reports in the news these days: it originated on social media, there was no proper name for the source, and a great deal of fruitless speculation and arguing followed. As if in answer to our complaints, a case showed up that has just about everything a researcher/investigator could hope for. It involves an Air Traffic Control recording of multiple pilots reporting strange lights moving around in unusual patterns near Eugene, Oregon. Supporting the fact that the recording is genuine, one of the pilots has come forward and talked to the news media.
According to the article by Flynn Nichols headlined “Pilots told to ‘maneuver’ around Oregon ‘UFO’ in leaked cabin audio” published on the Newsweek website on December 12, 2024, a 44-minute recording was posted on Reddit by user SabineRitter on Sunday (which was December 8, 2024). The link to the original recording on LiveATC.net no longer works (the recording seems to have been deleted from the site), but there is an edited 13-minute, 28-second version still available on Youtube as of this writing. The article was updated later the same day with the statement from the FAA that “a pilot reported seeing unidentified lights while flying in Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace on Saturday, December 7.” It is explained by Nichols that “The URL of the archived recording from LiveATC.net contains a timestamp (Dec-08-2024-0430Z), which specifies the date and time the recording began: 4.30 a.m. on December 8 in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or 8:30 p.m., December 7, in Oregon (PST)” and that “The URL also contains the code KEU, which is the airport code for Eugene Airport, and ZSE, which is the official abbreviation of the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).”
We were able to download a 19-minute, 29-second version of the recording from LiveATC before it was deleted, and the shorter Youtube version is a tighter edit, which contains all of the juicy bits.
The Youtube version starts right off with a male-sounding pilot using the call sign Horizon 2207 (identified as QXE2207 above the caption) asking ZSE36 (later heard to be female-sounding) if she’s got time for a question. She tells him to go ahead and he asks if they have “any aircraft out at our 10 o’clock, out over the coast . . . that you’re aware of.” He explains that there are “some interesting lights out there . . . Not satellites but maybe aircraft?” The controller replies that she has an aircraft at his 9 or 10 o’clock about 120 miles out and he says it’s possible, but that there are at least 4. He says they’re not satellites because they’re flying, changing direction, and strange-looking. He adds that he’s “seen this a few times over the last month in the same area.” She asks how far out they are and if they’re at a similar altitude as he is, and he replies that it’s hard to tell but estimates, saying they “seem quite far and probably the same altitude or higher.” The controller thanks him for the report and he thanks her.
The next exchange is at 1 minute, 4 seconds between a male-sounding pilot using the call sign UAL1596 (United Airlines) and what seems to be a different female-sounding controller identified as ZSE06. The pilot asks if there is any military activity ahead of them, and she replies that they aren’t seeing anything but that she “had another one reported at like 30,000ft in the Eugene area” and that they aren’t sure what it is. He says “Yeah, there’s lots of movement out there.” She replies that “they’re looking into it” and he thanks her.
A male sounding pilot using the call sign 661LF comes on and asks where this is and ZSE06 checks back with UAL1596, and he confirms that the activity is still in the Eugene area and describes it as “3 or 4 targets” at “all altitudes up and down” and that it’s “pretty crazy.” She asks him if it’s at his altitude, and he says that there are “some at 30 probably” and that “they’re shooting way up” into what looks like the 50s. She thanks him and gets back to the other pilot using the call sign MEDEVAC 661LF. He confirms he heard the exchange and says they’ll “be looking.”
After being “cleared direct North Bend Airport” by ZSE06 at 2 minutes, 27 seconds, the medevac pilot reports that he’s seeing traffic at his 2-3 o’clock, 20-30 miles out with “one way up high and one about my altitude, um, moving in like . . . like a circle in a corkscrew pattern.” When asked for a “more accurate report” he says he sees “what looks like an aircraft strobe at his 2 o’clock, 20 miles out at his altitude, and that he’s “showing them on TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collison Avoidance System),” and asks if she sees it, and she says she doesn’t.
The next report from the medevac pilot to a male-sounding controller at ZSE06 is of “another one” at his “1 o’clock about 1000 ft high zipping towards us and then back out towards the ocean.” He says it’s red and “moving at extreme speeds.” He adds “I don’t even know how to describe how fast he’s moving.” The controller then clears him to maneuver left and right at his discretion “to avoid the UFO out there” and that the reports are “good information” and appreciated.
The controller asks if the pilot was able to film anything, and the pilot replies that they are trying. After getting the pilot ready for his approach, the controller asks if he can give the pilot his number and get some of the footage, explaining that there are a lot of controllers there who are interested in what he’s seeing. The pilot writes down the number (redacted in this edit), says his med crew is also filming, and agrees to send some footage. He asks that what he’s described be passed along to the next controller and repeats his description adding that it’s a “red circle-shaped object that’s zipping out towards the ocean” where it disappears from sight. He says it comes back to about 20 miles off his right, and that he’s picking it up on TCAS.
The medevac pilot came forward and talked to Portland, Oregon, news service KGW8 and the article by Kyle Iboshi headlined “Oregon pilot remains ‘as curious as everybody else’ about mysterious lights in sky” was posted on the KGW8 website on December 12, 2024. He is identified as 37-year-old Joe Buley, and he described what he saw, and said he didn’t think it was a satellite because satellites don’t change direction (Dr. Douglas Buettner with the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies is said to believe, along with “his colleagues,” that the lights were caused by the Sun reflecting off a Starlink satellite).
That the footage described in the recording would ever make it to the public might seem like too much to hope for, it is reported in the Newsweek article that another Reddit user, A_Concerned_Viking, sent a text to the number heard on the unredacted recording and got a reply that included images and videos. The thread, which includes a link to the footage, can be seen here.
A Metabunk.org senior staff member with the user name flarkey took on the case and posted his conclusion, along with his evidence, on December 9, 2024. According to him, the pilots saw Starlink flares. A lengthy discussion follows.
IMAGES https://imgur.com/gallery/12-8-2024-pilot-sends-video-to-atc-eugene-oregon-hvQ9CIQ
Controller https://www.reddit.com/user/Helmut4lyfe/
Controller Thread https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1hajed9/multiple_reports_from_pilots_tonight_december_78/
SabineRitter https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOPilotReports/comments/1h9mojd/multiple_reports_from_pilots_tonight_december_78/
Story in thread https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOPilotReports/comments/1hdlnyp/unsure_if_this_atc_interaction_has_been_shared/