FAA Audio Reveals Mysterious Object Before Aircraft Suffers Double instrument Failure

April 22, 2022 — Flexjet LXJ359 — near Kessel, West Virginia

Flexjet LXJ359 was cruising at FL450 when its crew reported an extremely bright object about 10,000 feet above the aircraft. As the crew passed beneath the lights, the object appeared to change form and then disappear. During the same period, the aircraft experienced a double attitude-reference-system failure and a double autopilot failure. Several other aircraft also reported seeing the object.

The FAA record keeps the sighting and system failures separate

The FAA occurrence record identifies Flexjet LXJ359 at FL450 near Kessel, West Virginia on April 22, 2022. The crew reported an extremely bright object at approximately FL550. The report says the light changed into a string or line and that the crew still perceived a silhouette after the lights disappeared.

The same occurrence record documents a dual Attitude Reference System failure and a dual autopilot failure while the aircraft was underneath the reported object. Other aircraft, including SWA368, SWA1393 and UAL46, also reported seeing an object in the area.

The evidence establishes that the observations and system failures occurred close together. It does not establish that one caused the other. The aircraft-system failures are documented technical events; the identity and physical nature of the reported object were not established by the FAA occurrence record.

That distinction matters because the event has often been described as though the object itself caused the aircraft malfunction. No documented evidence supports that causal claim. It supports a documented pilot sighting occurring during a period in which the aircraft also experienced serious instrument and autopilot failures.

The FAA occurrence record also contains a separate missile-type-projectile report in the same broader database material, but that report is not merged into the LXJ359 event. For LXJ359 itself, the documented facts are the reported light, the aircraft-system failures and reports from other crews. No documented evidence contains a verified sensor track that identifies the object. The investigation should therefore be discussed as an unusual aviation observation with simultaneous equipment failures, not as a proven interaction between an object and the aircraft.

The FAA file also records that pilots discussed the sighting on the guard frequency. That helps establish that the observation was being discussed contemporaneously by multiple crews rather than appearing only in a later retelling. It still does not identify the object. The simultaneous attitude-reference and autopilot failures are documented separately and should remain separate in the narrative.

The FOIA material is also important because it preserves the event as an FAA occurrence report rather than as a later internet story. The report contains the call sign, flight level, approximate location and the other aircraft that reported the phenomenon. Those details are stronger than a generic description of an unidentified light.

“On 22 April 2022, Flexjet flight LXJ359 departed from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and was en route to Huntsville International Airport (HSV).”

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