Case · C-118

American Airlines 2292, 2021: a “cylindrical object” over New Mexico

Northeastern corner of New Mexico (aircraft flying at about 36,000 feet) · United States · Feb 21, 2021

In flight Pilots

What happened

Shortly after noon on February 21, 2021, a pilot of American Airlines flight 2292 (Cincinnati–Phoenix), an Airbus A320 at about 36,000 feet, asked Albuquerque control center whether it had targets in the area, reporting that a long cylindrical object, resembling a cruise missile, had passed very fast over the aircraft. The recording, released by a radio-monitoring enthusiast, was confirmed by the airline, which referred questions to the FBI; the FAA stated that controllers had not seen objects on radar. The FAA's internal emails obtained through FOIA show that the Department of Defense representative at the FAA was tasked with helping the security office follow the inquiry and on March 30, 2021, stated that he had concluded his own; the conclusions have not been published. The same emails state that the White Sands range had said it had no tests under way that Sunday and that the aircraft was about 400 miles farther north. The point on the map (Clayton) only roughly indicates the northeastern corner of the state.

Proposed explanation

No official explanation has been published. It has been suggested, among others by Mick West, that the pilots had seen a Learjet 60 that passed about 5,000 feet higher and about eight miles away; The War Zone objects that this pass occurred about nine minutes before the radio call and believes that the FAA statement rules out a mistaken identification with other aircraft in the area.

Official investigation

Federal Aviation Administration (with the Department of Defense representative at the FAA); FBI (which, according to NBC, was examining the case)

Official documents

1. FAA, risposta FOIA 2021-002114 (e-mail interne sul volo American Airlines 2292) · Federal Aviation Administration (The Black Vault copy) · Jul 22, 2021

Sources

1. The War Zone, “FAA Releases Statement On Airliner's Encounter With Unidentified Object Over New Mexico” (February 24, 2021) (press)
2. The War Zone, “American Airlines Confirms Encounter With Unidentified Cylindrical Object Over New Mexico” (press)
3. NBC Washington, “AA Pilot Reports Seeing 'Cylindrical Object' Moving 'Really Fast' Over New Mexico” (February 25, 2021) (press)
4. The Black Vault, “American Airlines Flight 2292 UFO Encounter, February 21, 2021” (FAA and FBI FOIA documents) (other)

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