Article: At approximately 1:19 CST on the Albuquerque Center frequency of 127.850 MHz or 134.750 MHz (recording wasn't frequency stamped) the pilot reported: "Do you have any targets up here? We just had something go right over the top of us - I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing - moving really fast right over the top of us."
American later confirmed this to Tyler Rogoway at The Drive:
Article: We immediately followed up [with American Airlines] looking for clarification on that statement, especially in regards to if the pilots had been directly asked about this or not, and noting that we had clearly heard the flight number's identification in a longer version of the clip provided to us by master radio interceptor Steve Douglass who originally recorded it. We also mentioned that we are likely to get more information about the event from the FAA and that we really need clarification so that there weren't any embarrassing discrepancies. The response was completely different than the company's first missive, stating:
"Following a debrief with our Flight Crew and additional information received, we can confirm this radio transmission was from American Airlines Flight 2292 on Feb. 21. For any additional questions on this, we encourage you to reach out to the FBI."
1:19 CST is 19:19 GMT/UTV
At 19:10 GMT, there's a close encounter, 5,000 feet above, with N738RJ, travelling very fast at 500knots
N738RJ is a Lear Jet 60 XR, somewhat cruise missile-like, from a mile or so away.
The closest they get is about 11,000 feet horizontally (about 15 seconds after the above position), with a 5,000 feet vertical difference. Closer than the Zion misidentification (42,000 feet away, 15,000 feet vertical)
5,000 in 11,000 is looking up about 25 degrees at the closest point, less before and after that.
Attachments
Last edited: