4:15 p.m. — A stationary disk above terminal C
On November 7, 2006 at 4:15 p.m., a United Airlines ramp attendant noticed a metallic gray, circular object stationary under the clouds—at an altitude of approximately 1,500 feet—directly above Gate C-17 of Terminal C at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. He alerts his colleagues.
In a few minutes, a dozen people observed the object from the tarmac and the terminal:
- United Airlines ramp attendants and mechanics.
- At least two pilots on a stopover, one of whom has extensive military experience.
- A United Airlines ramp supervisor.
The start — a hole in the cloud layer
After 5 to 10 minutes of observation, the object suddenly rises at high speed and pierces the low cloud layer (ceiling at around 540 meters that day). The drilling leaves a perfectly clean circular hole in the clouds, visible from the tarmac for about 10 minutes, before the clouds gradually close in.
This detail is physically significant. The formation of a hole in a low stratus layer involves:
- Or a strong local heat evaporating the water droplets (compatible with an intense thermal source).
- Or a violent mechanical blast (incompatible with the silence and the speed of climb described).
- Or an unconventional aerodynamic effect.
Several witnesses also reported that the object disappeared from sight in less than a second across the layer — with no visible deceleration.
FAA refuses to investigate — Tribune obtains documents
United Airlines officially confirms that it has received reports from several employees but chooses not to make them public and not to submit a formal report. The FAA, contacted by the Chicago Tribune, states that it has not no trace of the incident in its records and do not intend to open any investigation.
Le Chicago Tribune, which has been investigating since January 2007, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) the radio transcripts from the O'Hare control tower for November 7, 2006. These transcripts show thata United Airlines supervisor contacted the tower to report the object — proving that the FAA was aware of the incident.
“I'm a natural skeptic about this sort of thing, but I've seen it too. It was a craft that clearly did not come from this planet. »
Source document (EN): “I tend to be fairly skeptic about these things, but I saw it too. It was a craft that clearly did not come from this planet. »
— United Airlines pilot (anonymous), Chicago Tribune, January 1, 2007
✗ No radar
The FAA states that no radar contacts were recorded for the object. This is consistent with an object without a transponder and a weak radar signature — or with the assumption that O'Hare's primary radars (oriented for air traffic, not low, stationary objects) were not scanning the area at that particular time.
Status and meaning
The 2006 O'Hare incident has never received an official explanation. The FAA declined to open a formal investigation. United Airlines has not submitted a report to the ASRS (Aviation Safety Reporting System).
✓ What is documented
- At least 12 qualified witnesses (certified aviation personnel) with corroborating observations.
- FAA radio transcripts confirming the report took place (obtained by FOIA).
- The hole in the cloud layer — described identically by several independent witnesses.
- No military or civilian flights in the area match the description.
The O'Hare incident is featured in Leslie Kean's seminal report (2010) and is regularly cited in US Congressional hearings on UAPs as an example of a well-documented unsolved case.
Sources and further reading
- Jon Hilkevitch — “In the sky!” A bird? A plane? A… UFO? », Chicago Tribune, January 1, 2007
- FAA — O'Hare control tower radio transcripts, November 7, 2006 (obtained by FOIA, Chicago Tribune)
- United Airlines — official statement confirming internal reports, January 2007
- Leslie Kean — UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On Record, Harmony Books, 2010
- NARCAP (National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena) — analysis of the O'Hare case — https://www.narcap.org/
- Peter Davenport — NUFORC, centralized reports of November 7, 2006 — https://nuforc.org/
