n the night of August 10, 2022, five pilots on two separate commercial airline flights were wholly convinced they’d documented proof of an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP) over the Pacific Ocean. Pilots from both flights reported seeing odd lights zipping through the sky—but the single incident they all witnessed turned out to be Starlink telecommunications satellites.
In recent years, pilots—as well as the public—have mistakenly identified these low-Earth orbit satellites as UAPs. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration released a list of 69 reports just from January 23–April 27, 2023 that identify “UFO-UAP,” and according to one paper, more than a third of them could be Starlink satellites. Unfortunately, such mysterious sightings lead to pilot confusion and potential safety consequences because of the distraction and extra chatter about them over the airwaves.