American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday • Hacker News Board

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#51

Post by sokoloff » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:23 AM UTC

EamonnMR wrote: post #23

batmaniam wrote: post #10

How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? If a pilot claimed something, we can at least see what they are describing as well, and maybe more details that they didn't catch with video. Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones? Did the pilots not record outside the cockpit window with their phones? Hearing of this UFO is pretty exciting, and it would be even…

I imagine the pilots where busy flying the aircraft.

In cruise at FL370, there’s plenty of free time.

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#52

Post by mbg721 » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #21

geocrasher wrote: post #8

I think the proper term here is "Unidentified Flying Object" for a reason. The pilot clearly said it looked like a cruise missile. The notion that "Unidentified = Alien" is rather far fetched. The acronym should be more accurately called "Undisclosed Flying Object".

It's a huge mystery how an airline pilot could possibly see a cruise missile shaped object right outside of the White Sands Missile Range. Probably aliens.

Either there's military activity that the military doesn't want to talk about, or extraterrestrials consider green chile a delicacy that is otherwise unobtainable in the universe. Both seem equally plausible.

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#53

Post by kube-system » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

vnxli wrote: post #45

There’s an Air Force base in New Mexico. Could totally be something from there. Or aliens I don’t know

There's three Air Force bases in NM.

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#54

Post by shawnz » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

themodelplumber wrote: post #43

jimmysjohn279 wrote: post #27

How is this not on film in 4k stereo in the age of smart phones and dash cams

At 37K feet, above the airplane, tracking really fast moving objects, in the direction the cockpit is facing, we are expecting a phone or a dash cam? C'mon

Why not? Seems like it would be a simple and cheap forensic aid to put cameras covering the field of view of the pilots

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#55

Post by ryebit » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

geocrasher wrote: post #8

I think the proper term here is "Unidentified Flying Object" for a reason. The pilot clearly said it looked like a cruise missile. The notion that "Unidentified = Alien" is rather far fetched. The acronym should be more accurately called "Undisclosed Flying Object".

Going a bit further, once an object has been confirmed as alien, then it's not really "Unidentified" anymore, now is it?

Almost a linguistic catch-22 version of the "ATM Machine" phrase. Not redundant, but guaranteed to be either colloquially misinterpreted, or technically incorrect.

It's kinda weird how words can just get coopted by popular use. Take calling someone a "Nimrod" -- before Loony Tunes, that would have been a compliment that meant "mighty hunter". But kids growing up in the 50s and on first heard it in when Bugs Bunny used it as an insult, contextually meaning idiot or bumbler or something -- which due to Loony Tunes' cultural influence is now the dominant meaning, supplanting the original biblical origin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod#Idiom)

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#56

Post by lend000 » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:25 AM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #21

geocrasher wrote: post #8

I think the proper term here is "Unidentified Flying Object" for a reason. The pilot clearly said it looked like a cruise missile. The notion that "Unidentified = Alien" is rather far fetched. The acronym should be more accurately called "Undisclosed Flying Object".

It's a huge mystery how an airline pilot could possibly see a cruise missile shaped object right outside of the White Sands Missile Range. Probably aliens.

Because cruise missiles regularly do close unannounced fly-by's of passenger jets in civilian airspace /s.

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#57

Post by rkagerer » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:26 AM UTC

batmaniam wrote: post #10

How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? If a pilot claimed something, we can at least see what they are describing as well, and maybe more details that they didn't catch with video. Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones? Did the pilots not record outside the cockpit window with their phones? Hearing of this UFO is pretty exciting, and it would be even…

Taking a video with his smartphone is definitely the first thing I want my pilot to do when he thinks he's spotted a missile cruising nearby. /s

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#58

Post by King-Aaron » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:26 AM UTC

Pilot: "We saw a UFO"

People: "Theres no such thing as aliens, you're mad, its nothing"

> Foreign nation continues to send cylindrical drones into US airspace as no one cares

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#59

Post by abruzzi » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:27 AM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #21

geocrasher wrote: post #8

I think the proper term here is "Unidentified Flying Object" for a reason. The pilot clearly said it looked like a cruise missile. The notion that "Unidentified = Alien" is rather far fetched. The acronym should be more accurately called "Undisclosed Flying Object".

It's a huge mystery how an airline pilot could possibly see a cruise missile shaped object right outside of the White Sands Missile Range. Probably aliens.

the northeast of the state is actually pretty far from WSMR, and no launches from WSMR leave the range that I'm aware of (or at least haven't for a long time. They did launch a V2 after WWII, and it went the wrong direction and hit the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez.)

Re: American Airlines confirms UFO contact over New Mexico on Sunday

#60

Post by mike_d » Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 2:27 AM UTC

batmaniam wrote: post #10

How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation? If a pilot claimed something, we can at least see what they are describing as well, and maybe more details that they didn't catch with video. Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones? Did the pilots not record outside the cockpit window with their phones? Hearing of this UFO is pretty exciting, and it would be even…

> How come aircrafts are not equipped with color video for later visual confirmation?

They are called reconnaissance aircraft, and open you up to all sorts of fun stuff like compliance with arms control treaties. Also as a general rule, airlines and even private pilots don't like to pay (in fuel) to carry things up in to the sky that they don't need on a regular basis.

> Also are commercial pilots not allowed to carry smartphones?

Pilots are trained to follow one general principal above all else: "Just fly the airplane." The concept is further expanded to "aviate navigate communicate administrate," if you are ever wondering what you should be doing at a given time. Screwing around with your phone is nowhere on the list unless you are on scheduled break time.