The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident this week over Denver, Colorado, regarding a mysterious object that almost collided with an airplane.
Investigators know one thing: Whatever the object was, it did not show up on radar at nearby Denver Airport. Investigators believe that the object, whatever it is determined to be, could pose a serious safety hazard to airplanes flying over the area. As the Denver Airport is one of the busiest in the nation, that is indeed a large number of planes "at risk".
Radio transmissions confirm a nervous-sounding pilot reported a strange object at approximately 5:17 p.m. on Monday. The pilot can be heard on the transmission telling air traffic control: "A remote controlled aircraft, or what? Something just went by the other way ... About 20 to 30 seconds ago. It was like a large remote-controlled aircraft."
The corporate jet was flying at 8,000 feet above sea level when the unidentified object came close enough to lead the pilot to believe he was going to collide with it mid-air. Speculation regarding what the object could be has suggested it is a new drone craft currently being tested for use by local police force. Drones, pilot-less, remote-controlled aircraft, have been used for the past several years in Afghanistan and Iraq to carry out attacks on specific targets.
The mission of investigators now is to identify just exactly what the mystery object is before it creates another close call in the skies...or even worse.
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