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It’s been five decades since Congress took up the question of UFOs, then the subject of formerly top-secret DoD intelligence known by the code name “Project Blue Book,” which documented encounters with Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), today often referred to as Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP). On Tuesday, they did it again, as a subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee had hearings to get the straight scoop from DoD officials—they also held a top-secret session, where specific information about military hardware, especially cameras and other sensors, were discussed in a classified session. 

Last year, the DoD released a trove of information, including several videos, that seem to document visual contact with UFOs, and at this point, it’s probably sorry that it did. The Navy’s deputy director of intelligence, Scott Bray, was on the hot seat, fielding questions from Representatives. Bray stuck to the DoD’s narrative, that these things are something, they do things we don’t know how to do and they don’t know what they are. They are, specifically, not saying that they think they’re from other worlds, but they are expressly not not saying that either. They’re following the information to see where it leads, Bray told the subcommittee members, some of whom weren’t convinced.

It didn’t help that DoD assistants couldn’t stop the video they were using as evidence on the proper frame to show the object in question and took several minutes trying in vain to do that.

In terms of the credibility of the DoD’s reporting, they have more than 400 reported sightings, many of which were captured on aircraft sensors and exhibited far beyond hypersonic speeds and seemed to move with no visible means of propulsion.

One representative attempted to put the DoD officials on the hot seat, saying that their lack of conclusion about what these objects are represents a failure of military intelligence, and he expressed concern that these objects, which can go at speeds unattainable by known human technology, might be Russian or Chinese hardware. Much publicized but likely immature hypersonic weapons have been shown off by both states over the past couple of years. For its part, the DoD said it didn’t think the objects were from Russian or China, but it would surely keep a close eye out on that possibility.

Several of the representatives seemed to have personal theories, either that UFOs might be alien phenomena or that UFOs don’t exist/are not of alien origins. One member was sure he knew that one of the images in question was of a balloon, and he was surprised everybody didn’t see that too.

What was the result of Tuesday’s show? If it was anything of import, it didn’t take place during the public session. And after all was said and done, the fact remains, the DoD is aware of objects that do things we can’t even properly dream of doing and it has no idea what they are nor how to pursue that question. Like the rest of us, it will have to wait until more evidence presents itself, that is, if the House Intelligence Subcommittee’s circus show didn’t scare them away forever.

Do you want to read more about UFOs? Check out “Mysteries of Flight: Are UFOs real?”

Crews raised a Cirrus SR22 and recovered the body of the plane’s pilot a week after the plane crashed into the Atlantic. The crash, which happened near Savannah, Georgia, remains unexplained. It occurred after the pilot and sole occupant stopped responding to the controller’s radio calls. At the request of the controller, another, unrelated Cirrus intercepted the track of the non-responsive aircraft and witnessed its crash into the Atlantic. The NTSB is investigating.

Aviation member organizations are lobbying for support from the federal government on creating a sustainable and affordable supply of non-petroleum-based jet fuel, often referred to as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Members of the National Business Aviation Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association say that development of SAF is key to long term sustainability of general aviation with a greatly reduced carbon footprint.

The good news is, the FAA has signed off on a plan for United to return its Pratt & Whitney powered Boeing 777s to service, this after they grounded the planes following the failure of the right engine shortly after takeoff from Denver International 15 months ago. The bad news? United still doesn’t seem to know what caused the failure.

The Flying Musicians Association has awarded a flying scholarship to Jovencia Webbeking, a high school student who already has a remarkable resume. Webbeking, who is a flautist, is headed to Vanderbilt University, where she’ll study mechanical engineering while minoring in music, all the while pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot.

Most of the respondents to a Plane & Pilot survey about the legal risks of sharing recordings of flights on social media won’t let the FAA’s recent investigations and enforcement actions against high profile pilots stop them from sharing their flights, though a majority did say that they would do so with greater caution in the future.

A House Intelligence subcommittee held hearings earlier this week to learn more about the DoD’s understanding of the existence of Unexplained Aerial Phenomena, which most folks still call “UFOs.” DoD officials testified that they do know the objects exist and that their behavior is inexplicable, adding that they don’t think they’re from China or Russia. The officials also declined to rule out alien origin.

The New York State Supreme Court slammed the brakes on a plan by East Hampton, New York’s, airport governing body to turn the airport into a public, non-federal facility. The plan would require the FAA to cancel instrument approaches to the Airport, which the town would then be responsible for. The plan would allow the town to charge what it wishes for aircraft operations while also allowing strict curfew rules that the government would presumably have little oversight over. Aviation member organizations and lobbying groups are working to defeat the plan.

In Salzburg, Austria, Lazar Krstić won the Red Bull Paper Airplane contest with a mighty heave that sent his featherweight plane just over 200 feet, more than 15 feet longer than the second-place finisher. Krstić came in second in the 2019 contest. (As a side note, EASA is not investigating anyone following the event, during which several paper aircraft were damaged.)

Embraer delivered its 1,500^th Ipanema ag plane. Introduced in 1972, back when the Antonio Carlos Jobim tune was still fresh in everyone’s mind, the plane has been a stalwart performer for Embraer. The company says it has a 60% market share in its home country of Brazil with a healthy order book to boot.

Kenneth Allen, the pilot who lost consciousness on the Cessna Caravan he was flying heading from the Bahamas to Florida, is recovering after a six-plus hour surgery. According to the Palm Beach Post, the pilot had a tear in his aorta. After Allen became incapacitated, a non-pilot passenger, Darren Harrison, with help from air traffic controllers, managed to pull the plane out of a nosedive and successfully fly the big single-engine nine-seater to a safe landing in Palm Beach.

Operators and also pilots enjoying the fight for control of the East Hampton Airport (present code: KHTO yet possibly KJPX in the future)will certainly be interested to find out that the New York State Supreme Court released a short-lived limiting order versus the community that avoids it from shutting the airport terminal today. The community claims that it intends to resume it as a taxpayer-funded, private-use center in the future. It’s an uncommon strategy to recommend a flight terminal that all taxpayers add to yet which allows a little percent of them to utilize it.

The community’s extreme strategy to transform a prominent openly possessed, public-use flight terminal right into an openly possessed, private-use flight terminal hasn’t been well obtained by air travel and also company supporters, mainly for worries regarding the criterion it might establish and also possible effects to the U.S. air travel framework, which is an internationally special possession. The NBAA has actually provided numerous interactions to aid the general public stay up to date with the lawful fight for the flight terminal, as it as well as various other stakeholders have actually signed up with to test the flight terminal’s closure.

As component of its strategy, the community will certainly give up any kind of government financing assistance for the airport terminal in order, most likely, to stay clear of the sort of government responsibilities that maintained Santa Monica Airport from shutting entirely.

Due to the fact that of that, East Hampton’s openly financed tool strategies– they do not develop or keep themselves– will certainly be formally shut down as well as removed. Pilots are being cautioned versus flying the “old” methods after the airport terminal goes personal.

Pilots and also drivers on the e-mail listing from Sound Aviation Services, the main monitoring entity for the airport terminal, have actually obtained various interactions in the previous couple of months with upgraded flight terminal details, consisting of the brand-new airport terminal identifier, directions to make an application for the community’s authorization to utilize the flight terminal as well as guidelines to ask for the substitute (i.e.- non-public) tool techniques.