Dear PPRuNe
Firstly, I apologise if this is not the right place to place this query.
I am a journalist that works for The Blind Spot, an independent journalistic venture that seeks to identify blind spots in the economy.
We are attempting to investigate the current zeitgeist among pilots and crew regarding UFO sightings. As we all know, UFO sightings and the presence of UFOs in the collective consciousness has increased dramatically since 2017. This makes sense; UFOs are not something physical - they only represent an
UNIDENTIFIED object in the sky. Therefore, their sighting is entirely subject to bias. Since the presence of UFOs in the collective (and I'm guessing in the pilot's mind) has increased since national authorities are taking them seriously, this naturally leads to an increase in sightings.
However, I have just recevied information from at least one air transport ministry, Canada's, which is a little interesting.
It suggests that UFO sightings reported to CADORS peaked in 2017 and have been decreasing since.
Why? If my hypothesis is that sightings of something defined by UNIDENTIFIABILITY are very subject to conscious bias, it follows that sightings should have increased - whether carried out by professional observers or not. Or, at the very least, they should not have decreased.
UFO risk for flight safety is in a similar place to the pre-9/11 of terrorism. Though accepted as a real risk by those in the know, authorities would publicly minimise the risk as they could get away with their denials - until they couldn't. We are one UFO incident away from UFO hysteria becoming a problem in the pockets of commercial airlines. Therefore, it wouldn't surprise me if airlines are incentivised to hide these reports, especially now that they are being taken more seriously by the government, the media, and consumers.
This is purely a speculative hypothesis, but sound logic seems to back up its plausibility.
I was hoping I could get in touch with pilots, ATC's, or any individual that may be able to help in my query. You can contact me here or at
[email protected]. Anonymity is guaranteed, if sought - and I can meet up physically in London and buy you lunch or a pint if that helps.