Somewhere in the Skies - The Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO Incident

Episode Date: July 13, 2025

On November 7th, 2006, United Airlines employees at Chicago O’Hare International Airport witnessed a craft hovering silently above Gate C17. It wasn’t on radar. It didn’t have lights. It didn’t make a sound. And then, with no warning, it shot straight up through the clouds. Employees of the airport were told not to speak about it the press. The FAA denied the incident altogether. That was, until official FAA audio tapes were revealed, and told a story almost too incredible to believe. Written and Researched by Ryan Sprague Please take a moment to rate and review us on Spotify and Apple. Book Ryan on CAMEO at: https://bit.ly/3kwz3DO Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/somewhereskies ByMeACoffee: http://www.buymeacoffee.com/UFxzyzHOaQ PayPal: [e-mail] Discord: https://discord.gg/NTkmuwyB4F Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ryansprague.bsky.social Twitter: https://twitter.com/SomewhereSkies Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somewhereskiespod/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryansprague51 Order Ryan’s new book: https://a.co/d/4KNQnM4 Order Ryan’s older book: https://amzn.to/3PmydYC Store: http://tee.pub/lic/ULZAy7IY12U Read Ryan’s articles at: https://medium.com/@ryan-sprague51 Opening Theme Song by Septembryo Copyright © 2025 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Plus, unlimited plans started $35. months. Now that's a deal that doesn't stay. Explore GoogleFi Wireless plans today. Plus taxes and government fees. GoogleFi Wireless is not subject to data traffic deprioritization during times of high network usage. Greetings everyone. Ryan Sprague, our host of Summer in the Skies. For over seven years and more than 400 episodes, the Summer in the Sky's podcast has always been free to listen to, but it's not free to create. So we offer several ways to help

support our efforts and get rewards in return. If you listen to the podcast on Apple, you can click the subscribe button at the top of your Summer in the Sky's feed to become a premium Apple subscriber. Or you can join our Patreon campaign with several tiers available. Both of these options give you the same benefits and rewards, add free episodes, early access to the main show, and bonus episodes and content. Help keep the lights on at the Summer in the Sky's and help us continue to grow by becoming a Patreon subscriber at patreon.com slash somewhere skies or by clicking the subscribe button at the top of your Apple feed. Thank you for your continued support and keep looking up. On the afternoon of November 7, 2006, United Airlines employees at Chicago O'Hare International Airport would see something truly bizarre. It was a perfectly cylindrical flying object, hovering silently above gate C-17. It wasn't caught on radar. It didn't have

lights, and it made absolutely no sound. And then, without warning, it shot straight up into the clouds, leaving a clean, circular hole in the overcast skies. No passengers seemed to have noticed it, But over a dozen aviation professionals, pilots, mechanics, ramp workers, and supervisors would stick to their stories, especially when audio tapes would be released officially by the FAA, as this event was unfolding in real time. This is the story of the Chicago O'Hare UFO incident, an airport full of witnesses and a case full of unanswered questions. You are now somewhere in the skies with your host, Ryan Spray. At approximately 4.15 p.m., central time, a United Airlines ramp employee at Gate C-17 looked up and saw what he described as a perfectly round, dark, grey, metallic object hovering motionless just below the clouds. According to his report, the object was estimated to be about 22 feet in diameter and appeared to be spinning slowly.

Over the next few minutes, multiple other employees, ground crew, pilots in the cockpit, supervisors in the terminal, also spotted the object. Several reported it to United Operations. One pilot was even pushing back from Gate C-9, and they would radio this in, worried about a potential airspace intrusion. Here is just a sample of the rare audio tapes compiled from the transmissions between airport crew, and the Federal Aviation Administration on that day. Hey, did you see a flying disc out by C-17? Oh, I don't see. You guys are telling us the C-17, they saw some flying disc above, and we can't see it.

Come on, so. You didn't see it, right? Yeah, you guys been celebrating out there? Out there flying around. There was a what? A disc. A disc? Can you hang out one second?

Sure, do I. What can I do for you now? All right. I told Dave, there was a disc. Flying outside above Charlie 17, and he thought I was. pretty much high, but I'm not high and I'm not drinking. Yeah. Someone actually has a picture of it.

So if you guys see it out there. A disc, like a frisbee? Like a UFO type thing. Yeah, okay. How high above Charlie 17? Well, it was above our tower. So, if you happen to see you think. You know what?

I'll keep a peal die for that. All right. Okay. Okay, thank you. You're right. I have an interesting one for you died here. Some of our employees, I don't know if you had anything. about this and some of our pilots on the ground we're reporting a UFO sliding at a

thousand feet from the seaside of the airport did you guys hear anything about you know what the ramp tower called me I want to say about 10 50 minutes ago we have not seen anything up there C-17 okay but I mean I just wondering maybe we'll have to give him the 2 7 right yeah yeah I know either that or you guys unveiled a brand new aircraft but I didn't tell him but no we have not seen anything but we will surely keep an eye of that's for sure thank you all night no problems In the penalty box, where you go to the Northport. I can't wait 56-6-6-8.

You can use out for the Northport and use caution for the UFOs. I have for the North Port, what take it on. Okay, it's 44. Thank you. 44 is going around the Northport. You got Eagle and SkyWest over here coming around this way. He's turning in no factory. You really got no other gateholds. Somebody reported a UFO or flying this about Charlie Tankler, seriously. Excellent.

Yeah. So nobody can see it. Nobody can see it. All right. Pretty much it. Yeah, wait, 5668. 568, go ahead. Yeah, look out of your window.

Do you see anything above United's Concours? They actually, believe it or not, they called us and said there's a... Somebody observed a flying disk about 1,000 feet above the... St. Charlie 17. You see anything over there? Not that I can tell. Okay. Yeah, I thought my job was stressful.

Oh, we thought I have... You guys did. Who's this? Witnesses described the object as completely silent. It held its position for several minutes before abruptly accelerating upward at incredible speeds, punching a circular hole through the cloud layer. The hole remained visible for about 15 minutes before just closing up naturally.

There were no known aircraft in the vicinity at that altitude, and the object did not appear on FAA radar. United Airlines did not initially file any official incident report with the FAA. However, it was clear from the audio you just heard, that something definitely out of the ordinary was going on. There were several factors that made this UFO incident stand out amongst the rest. For one, the people who saw it were trained professionals, who worked around aircraft daily.

They could distinguish a balloon or a drone from something truly anomalous. Also, O'Hare is one of the busiest airports in the world, with very tightly controlled airspace. Any unauthorized craft hovering near a gate should have triggered alarms. The weather conditions at the time also made this case an outlier of sorts. This wasn't a blinking light in the sky at night. This happened in daylight under overcast conditions, making it even easier to see stuff clearly. Independent witnesses gave consistent descriptions of the object and its behavior as well.

For weeks, the story remained under the radar. Forgive the pun. United Airlines downplayed the event. The FAA initially denied any knowledge of the event. It wasn't until early January of 2007, two months after the event, that the story would hit national headlines. Thanks to one reporter, John Hilkevich, who reported for transportation at the Chicago Tribune.

Hilkevich obtained internal FAA documents and the audio recordings that you heard through a Freedom of Information Act request. This would all confirm that several United employees had reported the siting and that FAA officials discussed how to handle the situation. In a widely read Chicago Tribune article titled, In the Sky, A Bird, a Plain, a UFO, Hilkevich laid out the facts. The FAA confirmed it had received a call from United, but decided not to investigate because the object didn't appear on radar and was considered nothing but a weather phenomenon. But this was no weather phenomena. Here is a rare interview that was conducted with Hilkevich,

talking about his reporting on the event and the aftermath. Yeah, the story ran January 1st, 2007, based on an alleged incident that occurred at O'Hare above Gate C-17 on November 7th, 2006. A reason there was a several-month lag in us reporting it or even deciding whether to report it at all was that I had to track down the witnesses of this alleged incident. And what fascinated me was the fact that these were all such credible observers. These were pilots. These were ramp workers and mechanics who were jockeying, plane, back and forth from the hangar who all down to a person reported the exact same

sighting this metallic gray spear shape or disshaped object hovering stationary in place about 1500 feet above gate C-17 and then they all described this departure where it just left suddenly with such velocity and speed that it poked this donut-shaped hole in what was otherwise a very cloud-covered sky that day So it's an intriguing story. Right. And it's new life as what?

Well, it's new life is a new book by an author named Leslie Keene. And Ms. Keene was on the Colbert report last night. And she brought up the O'Hare sighting in which Stephen Colbert said he had never heard of it. So he asked, how do I find that on Google? And that unleashed the floodgates. So this morning, did you watch the Colbert? Did you watch the Colbert report last night? I did not.

So how did you find out about this? Well, two ways. One, I got an early morning call from a producer at WGN Radio asking me to come on. And I had just had my first cup of coffee. So I, like, okay, so what's the news here? This is almost a four-year-old story. And then shortly after that, I received, as I do almost every day, emails from UFO enthusiasts and researchers

who were talking about this Colbert report. the previous night so I quickly got up the speed and I quickly got up the speed on what was happening so let me ask you in this event what is the most credible credible aspect well the most credible part is that pilots numerous pilots including the two pilots at C-17 opened their windows and peered out the cockpit and both saw in great detail what they, you know, what they, you know, perceived to be a UFO. And they said it couldn't been a light show. It could not have been a weather phenomenon, as the FAA later said it must have been.

And I have documentation between United Airlines managers to their bosses saying we've received reports of this from our employees. What do we do? Some of these employees were brought in, interviewed, even analysts. to draw sketches of what they saw. So what's equally important is not just the caliber of these witnesses, but the Tribune's ability to document for no better word, a cover-up by both United Airlines and the FAA, because when I went to both parties, they flatly said they knew nothing about this, that my call was the first information they received. And in fact, I have correspondence that shows that they clearly were told about it. And,

communicated internally and externally about it. And so what is the, is there anything that blows a hole in this thing? Well, it blows a hole in this theory is that no air traffic controllers saw it, that nobody with a camera phone at O'Hare happened to stamp a picture of this, and, you know, this spaceship, if it was, so, is long gone. So, in an abduction case, in the figurative sense, it is abducted. You said this place was steps from the water. We just haven't found the steps yet.

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and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises. It matters where you stay. Hilton for the stay. It has abducted my day. I have put aside two or three other stories and I'm working on this today. Hey guys, Ryan Sprag here, and I want to tell you all about an exciting event that I'm going to be speaking at in Hexham, England, on August 9th. It's called Cosmic Frequencies. Cosmic Frequencies is going to be an unforgettable evening of mind-expanding science, live cosmic funk music, and of course UFOs.

The event is bringing together leading voices from the frontiers of space exploration, UFO research, and science communication. Curated by the SKX Funkinots Band, in collaboration with Kielder Observatory, this immersive event features powerful live music interwoven with talks from astrophysicist and study researcher Dr. Beatrice Valorell, representative of the Kielder Observatory Dan Pye, Emmy-nominated filmmaker and former executive producer for the BBC, Steve Crabtree, and yours truly, talking all about the human side of UFO experiences. With stunning celestial visuals and a special panel discussion and Q&A, this evening celebrates the intersection of art, science, and curiosity, and a journey. through space, sound, and the unknown.

There will also be a special VIP meet and greet after the talks. Cosmic Frequencies is being held at the Forum Cinema in Hexham, England. Join us on August 9th. For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit cosmicfrequencies.org. Once again, that's cosmic frequencies.org. And let's get funky. The article by Hilkevich sparked a media frenzy. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and all the major newspapers around the world started to pick up the story.

The FAA was then forced to issue a statement reiterating its stance, that it had no plans to investigate further. The FAA's official explanation was that the object was likely a weather phenomenon, possibly a hole punch cloud. Let's describe what's going on here. This is an area of clouds. These are super-cooled water droplets, water that's liquid below freezing. And then induced into that is an ice crystal. Could have been from a departing airliner, or it could have been from these darker clouds here, seeding that. What happens is that ice crystal attracts all those super-cooled water droplets, turns up to ice crystals, and they precipitate or fall out.

And that rainbow effect is those ice crystals acting as tiny prism. Whole punch cloud. That's what's happening in the sky when you see that. It's not some alien approaching us. But this explanation did not sit well with witnesses. UFO researcher Sam Maranto was able to track down a witness outside of the airport who gave their testimony about what they had seen that day. And as you can imagine, they weren't accepting the weather phenomenon explanation. The hole in the sky, and I don't say anomalous, lightly, I can identify. The hole in the clouds, they would say, occurred after the object shot upward. Not before. The object was seen hovering below the clouds for several minutes.

No known weather balloon or even a drone at the time could have behaved the way that this did, especially in a restricted airspace. The FAA's unwillingness to investigate further fueled accusations, of a cover-up, or at least institutional indifference, I guess. Skeptics accused the agency of ignoring potentially dangerous intrusions. UFO advocates claimed it was another example of bureaucracy's stonewalling public access to unexplained aerial phenomena. Despite many compelling reports, none of the witnesses were interviewed by the FAA,

and like mentioned, no investigation was ever made public. So we got to ask this question. In the age of smartphones, it's fair to ask. Why didn't anyone take a photo of this thing or video even? Well, it's important to remember context. In 2006, camera phones weren't yet ambiguous. Airport workers typically left their phones in their lockers and ramp areas were strictly controlled. So no passengers on the concourse appear to have noticed the object.

Also, the sighting occurred quickly and unexpectedly, over the span of a few minutes, not hours. That said, the lack of photographic evidence remains a sticking point for these skeptics, especially when unverified photos did surface in the past few years. Just Google Chicago O'Hare UFO, and I'm sure they'll pop up. Again, none of these have been verified. This incident gave a joy. to UFO researchers and enthusiasts. Many saw it as validation of a long-standing claim

that UFOs are real, observed by credible people, and systematically ignored by institutions. Groups like Mufon or Newfork took the case very seriously. They gathered as many witness statements as they could and used the incident to push for more government transparency. The case is now routinely listed among the top, most compelling UFO sightings in history. The O'Hare incident poses some uncomfortable questions.

If something can appear in restricted airspace, hover near a commercial jet gate, and disappear without a trace? What does that say about our airspace security? Why would the FAA dismiss multiple credible witnesses simply because the object wasn't on radar? These aren't just questions about aliens. They're questions about aviation safety. institutional transparency, and the limits of our detection systems. In a time when governments are becoming more open to the study of UFOs or UAPs, as they're calling them,

perhaps the O'Hare incident will finally get the attention it truly deserves. Or perhaps it will remain what it always has been. A silent mystery above Gate C-17. 16. Go ahead. Yeah, look out your window. Do you see anything above United's Concours? They actually, believe it or not, they called us and said there's a,

somebody observed a flying disk about a thousand feet above the state Charlie 17. You see anything over there? Not that I can tell. Okay. Yeah, I thought my job was stressful. Who thought? Somewhere in the skies is part of the Somewhere Podcast Universe. Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe.

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