Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO
United Airlines employees saw a dark disc hovering over Gate C17. It shot up through the clouds, leaving a perfect circular hole. The FAA refused to investigate, calling it a 'weather phenomenon.'
On November 7, 2006, multiple United Airlines employees witnessed a disc-shaped object hovering over Gate C17 at Chicago O’Hare Airport before it shot up through the clouds, leaving a visible hole.
The Sighting
According to documented reports, at approximately 4:15 PM, a dark gray metallic disc appeared over Gate C17 and hovered silently for several minutes. Multiple employees witnessed the object before it shot straight up at high speed, leaving a perfectly circular hole in the cloud cover.
The Witnesses
At least 12 United Airlines employees saw the object, including pilots, mechanics, ramp workers, and United management, with some passengers possibly witnessing it as well. The witnesses were described as credible aviation professionals.
The Cloud Hole
One of the most compelling details was that the object punched through the 1,900-foot cloud ceiling, leaving a visible circular hole that was observed by multiple witnesses. The hole closed gradually over several minutes, and no conventional aircraft could create such an effect.
The FAA Response
The Federal Aviation Administration initially denied any reports and said it would not investigate, calling it a “weather phenomenon” without explaining how weather creates a circular hole in clouds. FOIA requests later revealed that United had reported the incident.
Media Coverage
The story broke weeks later when the Chicago Tribune published it in January 2007. It became one of the most popular online news stories, international media picked it up, and the FAA’s dismissive response drew widespread criticism.
The Coverup Allegations
Critics noted that United employees were told not to discuss the incident, the FAA’s “weather phenomenon” explanation was inadequate, no follow-up investigation occurred, and security concerns at a major airport were dismissed.
Explanations Proposed
The FAA’s official position of a weather phenomenon was widely criticized. Some suggested a rare lenticular cloud formation, but no aircraft could hover silently and accelerate vertically as described. The most common conclusion among witnesses was that it was an unknown craft.
Significance
The O’Hare sighting is significant because it involved multiple professional aviation witnesses at a major international airport, the cloud hole phenomenon was unusual, the FAA’s dismissive response raised questions, and it became one of the most widely reported UFO cases of the 2000s.
Similar Airport Sightings
Other airport UFO incidents include the 2020 London Gatwick drone incident, the 2014 Bremen Airport incident in Germany, and various near-miss reports worldwide.
Legacy
The O’Hare incident demonstrated that UFOs can appear at major infrastructure, institutional responses often dismiss witnesses, aviation professionals make credible witnesses, and the incident remains unexplained.
Sources
2006 O’Hare International Airport UFO sighting - Wikipedia provides comprehensive documentation.