In March 2012, U.S. based aviation safety organization NARCAP (National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena) published a study of 600 cases of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) reported by military and civilian pilots.

The report presents the findings of a comprehensive review of 600 cases, over a period of 64 years in which pilots have reported the presence of one or more unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) during flight.

It’s quite an interesting read. Some facts:

• The distribution of cases comes from the whole Earth (Continental and maritime zones)
• There are slightly more nocturnal cases (54%) than daylight cases
• Witnesses were two or more in 69% (more than two thirds) of the cases
• Pilots have officially reported their sightings in 197 cases (33% of the 600 cases)
• Commercial pilots have reported their sightings officially in 35% among 233 cases
• Most of the sightings occurred during cruise phase of flight (85%)
• Visual sightings are confirmed by radar detection in 27% of the cases
• More UAP are described as “objects” (74%) than point sources of lights. Circular (disc) is the most reported shape (42%)
• UAP perform maneuvers in more than half of the cases (56%) and their behaviours seem to reflect an interaction with the aircraft in almost 50% (299) of the 600 cases
• In 48% (almost half) of the 600 cases, UAP have had or could have had an impact on flight safety, including 31 cases in which pilots had to make an evasive action to avoid a collision with UAP
• Electro-magnetic effects were reported in 14% of the 600 cases, radio and compass systems were the most affected
• Private aircrafts are more affected by the E-M effects allegedly caused by UAP
• Weapon systems were momentarily ineffective when targeting UAP

What we can take home from this study is that, undeniably, unidentified aerial phenomena are real. The question remains — what are they? And maybe more importantly — where are they from?

NARCAP was founded in 1999 by Dr. Richard Haines and Ted Roe. Through careful planning and execution, NARCAP has grown to be a respected research organization dedicated to studying UAP and aviation safety for the public’s benefit.

Read the full report here (PDF, 172KB).

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