American Airlines Flight 2292, an Airbus A320 operating between Cincinnati and Phoenix on February 21, 2021, had a strange near encounter with what its crew described as a “extended cylindrical shape much like a cruise missile.”

According to the pilots, the object was flying very rapidly over the top of the airplane, which was operating at 36,000 feet and 400 knots. The event happened in the rural north-east corner of New Mexico, west of the tiny town of Des Moines.

Steve Douglass, an accomplished radio interceptor and owner of Deep Black Horizon, told The War Zone Portal that he was recording scanners from his arsenal when he noticed the unusual transmission.

The War Zone analyzed more than one hour of audio submitted by Douglass (audio that can be downloaded here ). “We are working to authenticate this with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and to receive more facts and comments on the case from the Department. We have approached American Airlines to acquire additional knowledge they might supply,” said the specialized site yesterday.

As Douglass says,

At approximately 1:19 CST, the pilot registered on the Albuquerque Central frequency of 127,850 MHz or 134,750 MHz (the recording was not identified with the frequency):

“Have you got any goals up here? We just wanted to get something moving over us. I hate to say this, but it seemed like a long, cylindrical thing, more like a kind of cruise missile, going really quickly right over us.”

According to Flight 24 and Flight Conscious, AAL 2292 was on the northeast corner of New Mexico, west of Clayton. The Albuquerque Center did not track any response, as local air traffic (yellow) went through it. AAL 2292 was close to flight level 370 (37k) at the time of the survey.

In the ADS-B information, no noticeable involvement of military aircraft was detected. The plane went to Phoenix, AZ, to land.

Official confirmation

As a result of an attempt to notify the appropriate authority, the incident has been verified as of today, authenticating the recordings and adding that everything is currently being examined by the FBI.

“After consulting our flight crew and providing additional details, we may conclude that the American Airlines Flight 2292 radio transmission was received on 21 February. If you have any more concerns regarding this, we urge you to contact the FBI,” the American Airlines representative answered.

Likewise, The War Zone clarifies that it will shortly gain more guidance from the FAA.

Background

The event is somewhat close to the one that happened almost exactly three years ago in the same location. At that case, the Learjet and the Airbus had consecutive near encounters with an unseen aircraft flying over them as they flew about 37,000 feet above eastern Arizona.

Later, the seasoned Learjet pilot operating for military contractor Phoenix Air explained to local media how bizarre the encounter was.

The explanation of a missile-like object is also compatible with some of the recorded experiences that US Navy fighter pilots have had over the last decade with anomalous objects off the East Coast.

UFO

As for what the pilots on American Airlines Flight 2292 might have seen, we just can’t tell at this stage. Many would find out that New Mexico is home to the sprawling White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) along with a number of other military bases and restricted areas. Even, the odds of a missile “coming out of reserve” during a drill or any such typical military excuse are unlikely. This kind of thing has protocols in effect, and the pilots will have been alerted to the safety threat.

Furthermore, the possibility that it might be any sort of underground aircraft is therefore extremely doubtful, since it would have been flying throughout the day and without engaging with air traffic control over unregulated airspace.

That said, we should remember that the Mount Dora Military Operations Area (MOA) is in the area, but airline pilots must have been warned that the airspace was “hot” and other possible conflicts. It’s not a location where ammunition like a cruise missile will be dropped.