"That's Not Some Kind of Balloon, or Drone, or an Object Known to Me," Pilot Says of UFO Filmed over Colombia

A still image of the object. (J. Alberto / Twitter)

The pilot of a Beechcraft King Air came forward recently to discuss the footage of a suspected UFO captured during the aircraft’s approach of Medellín, Colombia, earlier this year.

The footage gained traction within the UFO community after being shared online by UFO enthusiast J. Alberto, who said he received it from Valentina Rueda Velez, an international model and amateur pilot who also shared it to her Instagram story.

In the video, a silvery object can be seen seemingly flying by the plane just outside of the cockpit window.

Although the object appears to move on its own, it’s possible that air currents and the aircraft’s motion could account for any movement.

Pilot Jorge A. Arteaga told UFO journalist Jaime Maussan in an interview earlier this month that the footage was authentic.

"The video is authentic, it was recorded by me at [1 p.m.]. First there was an approach with the object that was static floating at a specific point between Medellín and Santa Fe, it passed me on one side with the co-pilot who came with me," Arteaga said.

We had been approaching Medellín at the moment the object moved and approached us. When that happens, I said to Daniel, my co-pilot, “did you see, did you hear?”, he tells me yes, they are part of the trade, I said no, then I turn around and when I give the 360, which is the first video I have, I see the static object floating.

When I'm recording the video, the alleged UFO moves a bit, then I start hunting it with the plane, and when I'm approaching it, the object moves towards us, at that moment is when I dodge it. I am flying at 130 to 140 knots, at a speed with respect to 150 knots; if we multiply it is more than 300 kilometers per hour.

I passed very close to that and if it had been a balloon, no more [than] the mere wake of the plane would have finished it or taken it out of the point where it was. That's why I stayed, I stayed and [the object] did not go away, (it was not flown) and I said no, I have to look for it and it cannot be a solar balloon.

"The object has no strip, it has nothing, a helium balloon doesn't go up there, I was actually afraid. That's not some kind of balloon, or drone, or an object known to me," Arteaga concluded.

Despite Arteaga’s testimony, the most popular skeptical explanation for the UFO remains a balloon.

Some skeptics have compared it to the Festo Air_ray, although that particular balloon was only created as a prototype concept balloon to demonstrate natural movement in aerial vehicles and is highly unlikely to have been seen floating over the Antioquia area of Colombia, especially since it was not designed for the altitudes at which airplanes fly.

The Beechcraft King Air, a popular model of charter plane, is certified to fly at up to 31,000 feet but is more likely to be encountered at around 22,000 feet or less; still much higher than one would expect to see an Air_ray, which has only been demonstrated in flight very near the ground.

Others have compared the object to the unidentified flying objects shot down over North America in February of this year.

The first such object was publicly identified by authorities as a recovered Chinese spy balloon, although the remaining three are so far unidentified.

The origin and nature of the unidentified flying objects remains unknown, although a few details have emerged.

One object over Alaska was reportedly the size of a small car and "cylindrical and silver-ish gray,” while one taken down over Canada was described as a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” and an object over Lake Huron was said to be octagonal with strings hanging off the side and no discernible payload.

None of the objects reportedly showed any signs of propulsion or maneuverability.

So far, both the U.S. and Canadian governments have claimed not to have recovered any wreckage from the downed unidentified flying objects.

The White House was quick to deny the involvement of anything otherworldly in the events.

"I just wanted to make sure we address this from the White House. I know there have been questions and concerns about this. But there is no, again, no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns. Again, there is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns. I wanted to make sure that the American people knew that; all of you knew that. And it was important for us to say that from here because we've been hearing a lot about it," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing.

Furthermore, the White House said intelligence officials were "considering as a leading explanation that these could be tied to commercial or research entities and benign."

This was followed by President Biden saying that the objects "were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research."

Regardless of what the object might be, The Singular Fortean Society’s resident photo and video analyst Emily Wayland thinks the video is authentic.

“Whatever this object is, it appears to be physically present,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any digital trickery here.”

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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UFO, conspiracy, TTSATobias Wayland