What did the declassified documents reveal?

Air Traffic Mandatory Occurrence Report, Federal Aviation Administration, April twenty‑second, twenty twenty‑two. The report records an unidentified flying object observed by a commercial flight at high altitude, and it is notable because it is one of the few official aviation documents that describe a visual encounter with an anomalous aerial phenomenon. The source is archived at theblackvault.com and the original PDF is available at documents2.theblackvault.com. The document was released to the public on May nineteenth, twenty twenty‑two, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, case number two zero two two dash zero six seven eight five. The release was authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Transportation, under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The agency’s FOIA office provided the records without fee and indicated that the Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center held no responsive material. The document begins with the heading: Air Traffic Mandatory Occurrence Report ZDC‑M‑2022/04/21‑0001 – DRAFT 1. Reporting FAC ID. Date UTC (ddmmmyy): April twenty‑first, twenty twenty‑two. Time UTC: [four lines redacted under exemption B1]. Significant Occurrence? Yes. MOR reported by: Internal Facility Review. Did equipment outage to controller providing services: No. External Facility Referral: No. Nearest Airport: LWB. Alert #: Emergency MOR. MOR type – in‑flight emergency conditions involving: Pilot Disorientation. H1a. Aircraft information: Aircraft ID LXJ359, Aircraft type E55, IFR. Facility communicating: ZDC, BRYCE‑R, 118.02. Malfunctioning equipment: Yes. H1c. Passenger or crew condition: Unknown. H1d. Medical assistance aboard: No. Summary – provide a brief summary for all MORs in this section that will provide enough information for QA to understand what occurred. LXJ359, while traveling at flight level four hundred fifty, three miles southwest of ESL, reported a UFO at flight level five hundred fifty. The report described an extremely bright light that then turned into a string of lights. While passing underneath the UFO the lights turned off but the crew could still see something there. Also, while underneath the aircraft experienced a double Attitude Reference System failure and a double autopilot failure. During this time numerous other aircraft reported seeing this UFO. Other callsigns – SWA368, SWA1393, UAL46. Numerous pilots also discussed the sighting on guard. The report concludes with a METAR observation for KLWB: “220150Z AUTO OOOOKT ten statute miles scattered at four thousand eight hundred feet, broken at six thousand feet, broken at seven thousand feet, temperature fifteen degrees Celsius, dew point nine degrees Celsius, altimeter three zero three nine.” Printed by Robert Law on April twenty‑six, twenty twenty‑two. Following the occurrence report, the FAA’s FOIA response letter reads: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process.

Case · DAILY-002

FAA Confirmed UFO Sighting April 22, 2022, by LXJ359 over Kessel, West Virginia

JUN 21 · 2026Narrated by daily-declassified-faa-confirmed-ufo-sighting-april-22-2022-by-lxj359-over-ke5 minLast updated June 21, 2026

The short version

Air Traffic Mandatory Occurrence Report, Federal Aviation Administration, April twenty‑second, twenty twenty‑two. The report records an unidentified flying object observed by a commercial flight at high altitude, and it is notable because it is one of the few official aviation documents that describe a visual encounter with an anomalous aerial phenomenon.

Date: JUN 21 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)

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What was FAA Confirmed UFO Sighting April 22, 2022, by LXJ359 over Kessel, West Virginia about?: Air Traffic Mandatory Occurrence Report, Federal Aviation Administration, April twenty‑second, twenty twenty‑two. The report records an unidentified flying object observed by a commercial flight at high altitude, and it is notable because it is one of the few official aviation documents that describe a visual encounter with an anomalous aerial phenomenon.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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