UFOs spotted by pilots flying over Ireland

Airline pilots flying over Ireland on Friday reported sightings of "bright lights" traveling through the sky at high speed, inquiring with ground control as to what the unidentified flying objects (UFOs) could be.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) told DW it was investigating the reports.

In an air traffic control audio recording published by LiveATC.net, pilot and traffic controllers can be heard discussing the incident in the early hours of the morning on Friday, November 9.

A pilot on a British Airways flight from Montreal to London can be heard asking whether there is a "military exercise" going on in the area, as she had sighted an unidentified object that "was moving so fast."

"Alongside you?" asks air traffic control.

"It came up to my left-hand side, then rapidly veered to the north," replied the pilot. She said she didn't think there was a risk of collision with the object, but said she was wondering what it could have been.

"It was such a bright light and then it disappeared at very high speed," she said.

In the following minutes, two more pilots reported similar sightings.

One pilot said he saw "a meteor or another object," followed by a series of other bright objects along the same trajectory.

Finally, the pilot of Virgin Airlines flight 76 flying from Orlando to Manchester piped up, saying he also saw "two bright lights" that "drove away at high speed."

"Glad it wasn't just me," replied the other pilot.

A spokesman for the IAA told DW the agency was investigating the incident.

"Following reports from a small number of aircraft on Friday 9th November of unusual air activity, the IAA has filed a report. This report will be investigated under the normal confidential occurrence investigation process," the spokesman wrote.

Although UFOs are usually associated with extraterrestrial aircraft, the term actually refers to "any airborne object" that "does not conform to known aircraft or missiles." The definition was coined by the US Air Force in the 1950s.

UFO sightings are common, often explained by mundane phenomena. Typical explanations for potential UFO sightings include aircraft or missiles, clouds, meteors, optical illusions and hoaxes. If the mystery is solved, they are often then referred to as "IFOs" — identified flying objects.