🇺🇸 UFO case: Two airlines simultaneously report disc-shaped UFO over Michigan (1996)

On February 28, 1996, two airline crews operating in Michigan reported unusual lights to Cleveland Center within the same general period. Air Shuttle 5959 described a bright, pulsating light and Mesaba 3179 subsequently reported seeing what its crew believed was the same object. The available records document the reports and ATC discussion, but they do not establish that the object was a physical craft or identify its nature.

Air Shuttle 5959 reports the lights

According to the preserved account, Air Shuttle 5959 was operating toward Cleveland when its crew reported a bright pulsating light below the aircraft. Cleveland Center initially suggested that a ground beacon reflected from clouds could have created the appearance of a moving object. The crew changed altitude and continued observing the light.

NUFORC's record places a related report on the night of February 27–28 and says two crews observed a multicolored object near the Saginaw area. It also records that the object was not visible on radar. The records therefore support an unusual aviation sighting, not a confirmed identification.

Mesaba 3179 joins the report

Mesaba 3179 was monitoring the Cleveland Center exchange and joined the conversation after its crew reported seeing a similarly described light. The crews discussed the object's appearance and attempted to attract its attention by flashing aircraft lights. The preserved ATC record also says the Mesaba crew reported taking photographs, although those photographs have not been located in the public record.

What radar did — and did not — show

The preserved NUFORC record states that the object was not visible on radar. That matters because the visual reports were not accompanied by a corresponding radar target in the record available today. There is no verified evidence here that the object was an aircraft, spacecraft or other specific technology. The appropriate description remains an unidentified aerial observation.

The two crews' observations

Air Shuttle 5959 subsequently descended toward 4,000 feet and reported that the light remained above the aircraft as it passed through about 10,000 feet. Mesaba described the light as pulsating and changing between white, red and greenish-white. Its crew also attempted to attract a response by flashing the aircraft's lights. None of those observations identifies the object, but they explain why the crews did not accept the initial ground-beacon explanation.

The preserved transcript gives more detail than the simple description of a light. Air Shuttle 5959 initially reported a light at about the 12-to-1 o'clock position and estimated it to be roughly two or three thousand feet below the aircraft. Cleveland Center reported no corresponding radar target. Mesaba 3179 then joined the frequency and said its crew had also seen a bright light northwest of Detroit.

“The object was not visible on radar.”

Accident Facts

The exact time is presented as reported by contemporary reporting; NUFORC gives a closely related local occurrence window beginning at 22:01 on February 27.

Sources

• Geek Slop: Air Shuttle 5959 and Mesaba 3179 transcript/account
• NUFORC: UFO/UAP witness-report database