2006 · Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Concourse C (United)
O'Hare Airport, Gate C17 Disc
Part ofThe closed airport
FAA tower audio, O'Hare Gate C17 (7 Nov 2006) · FAA recording (FOIA release, 2007); uploaded by Podcast UFO Live Shows
When7 November 2006, about 16:00–16:35 CST
WhereChicago O'Hare International Airport, Concourse C (United)
Backing4 independent
Witnesses1 named
Evidenceofficial records, sensor data, documents
In their own words
“Oh, we saw it a half hour ago … A whole bunch of us over at Charley concourse … We thought it was a balloon but we're not sure.”
Unnamed United taxi mechanic, on the O'Hare ground-control frequency, 7 November 2006 · source
On the afternoon of 7 November 2006, United Airlines ground staff at O'Hare reported a grey, disc-shaped or oval object hovering silently below an overcast of about 1,900 ft above Gate C17. The reporting staff included ramp mechanics, a supervisor and, by some accounts, the crew of a departing B737. The object then rose steeply through the cloud and left a roughly circular hole that persisted for some minutes. FAA tower records obtained under FOIA show that controllers were told of a "flying disc" at C17 and said they saw nothing. The FAA put the sighting down to a "weather phenomenon" and did not investigate. The story became public through Jon Hilkevitch's front-page Chicago Tribune article of 1 January 2007. NARCAP (Richard F. Haines et al.) published a detailed investigation, Technical Report 10 (Case 18), dated 9 March 2007 and revised 24 July 2007. It reproduces the FOIA'd tower logs and audio transcripts. Every eyewitness is anonymous at their own request. No photograph or radar track exists.
Evidence, in date order (4)
- 7 Nov 2006"Witness B", United aviation mechanicwitnessSaw an oval object below the cloud base and a round hole in the overcast afterwards NARCAP TR-10, Case 18 (Haines et al., 2007), PDF
- 7 Nov 2006FAA tower log (FOIA)officialUnited ramp tower asked about a flying disc near C17 NARCAP TR-10, Case 18 (Haines et al., 2007), PDF
- 7 Nov 2006FAA ground-control recordingsensor dataController warns of a reported disc; United mechanics reply that a whole bunch of them saw it NARCAP TR-10, Case 18 (Haines et al., 2007), PDF
- 1 Jan 2007Jon Hilkevitch, Chicago TribunedocumentAbout 12 United employees saw it Jon Hilkevitch, "In the sky! A bird? A plane? A … UFO?", Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan 2007
How plausible · High
FAA tower logs and recordings show staff reporting a disc over gate C17, with several United employees and the Tribune backing it.
- ●●Access Ramp staff and pilots.
- ●●No gain sought Employees at risk.
- ●●Character record Airline staff.
- ●●Independent convergence About a dozen.
- ●●Checkable details check out FAA logs.
- ●○Fits secrecy practice United denied at first.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- FAA tower log (FOIA): at 2245 UTC, "Sue" from the United ramp tower asked about a flying disc near C17 at about 1,000 ft, and the tower replied it had not seen one.
- Phone recording, "Tower, this is Dave" / "Sue in the United tower" (TR-10 Recording No. 1, start about 16:30 CST): Sue says "that's what a pilot in the ramp area at C17 told us. They saw some flying disc above them. But we can't see above us." The FAA supervisor jokes and says "No, I have not seen any flying disc at gate C17."
- Ground-control recording, TR-10 Table 6, using Haines's clock times: 15:58:09: "Gateway 5668, you can use Alpha to northport and use caution for the, ah UFO." 15:58:59: "Somebody reported a UFO or a flying disc above Charley concourse, seriously … Nobody can see it. But use caution." About 16:47–16:48: the controller asks Gateway 5668 to "look out your window … somebody observed a flying disc about a thousand feet above the, ah… gate Charley 17". A "United taxi mechanics" voice replies "Oh, we saw it a half hour ago … A whole bunch of us over at Charley concourse … We thought it was a balloon but we're not sure." TR-10 itself notes that these times are hard to square with the 16:30 phone call and the 2245 UTC log entry. The timeline is not settled.
- FAA public statements (via the Tribune, quoted in TR-10 §2.1.1 and §8.2): spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said no tower controllers saw the object and "a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary". She also said: "Our theory on this is that it was a weather phenomenon. That night was a perfect atmospheric condition in terms of low ceiling and a lot of airport lights. When the lights shine up into the clouds, sometimes you can see funny things." Spokesman Tony Molinaro is later quoted as saying that the "absence of any kind of factual evidence" precluded an investigation (via Kean, 2007, cited in TR-10 §9).
- Radar: NARCAP's review of FAA-supplied primary radar data confirmed that nothing was detected at that location and time (TR-10 Executive Summary). Martin Shough found a possible but ambiguous NEXRAD return near the cloud base (TR-10 §6.4.2), with "various technical considerations that cast some doubt on this possibility".
Claims
A round, grey, metallic-looking object hovered silently over C17, by one account rotating "pretty fast", then shot up into the clouds after about 2 minutes. It appeared about the size of a quarter at arm's length (chain: witness → NARCAP interview → TR-10 §2.0)firsthandSourced, unconfirmed"Witness A", United ramp mechanic at C17
An oval object, hazy below and clearer on top, stationary, giving off no lights, "definitely not a blimp", "not an airplane as we know it", 100–200 ft below the cloud base. Afterwards a "smooth round hole" was seen in the overcast (chain: witness → NARCAP questionnaire, NUFORC report and CNN interview as "Joe" (6 Jan 2007) → TR-10)firsthandSourced, unconfirmed"Witness B", United aviation mechanic taxiing a B777
The B737 crew at C17 discussed the "disc shaped object" on the company frequency, and one of them opened a window and looked (chain: overheard company radio → witnesses → NARCAP. TR-10 says this "cannot be confirmed". The crew did not cooperate)secondhandSourced, unconfirmedWitness B, who says he overheard it, and Witness A
The object rose and punched a hole in the cloud, which lasted up to about 14 minutes (firsthand (anonymous) for several witnesses; the duration is NARCAP's estimate (analysis).)firsthandSourced, unconfirmed
About 12 United employees saw it (chain: witnesses → Hilkevitch → Tribune. Witness A estimated 10–15 people)secondhandSourced, unconfirmedTribune reporting, from anonymous witnesses
United interviewed witnesses and told them not to talk (secondhand/anonymous)secondhandSourced, unconfirmedwitnesses to the Tribune, as relayed by The Black Vault's summary. United told the Tribune it had no record of the incident. Not verified from a primary source
Where
Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Concourse C (United)
42.0°N 87.9°W
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Sources
- NARCAP TR-10, Case 18 (Haines et al., 2007), PDF
- Same report, alternate copy hosted by The Black Vault
- Jon Hilkevitch, "In the sky! A bird? A plane? A … UFO?", Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan 2007 (archived; not accessible in this session)
- The Black Vault, "The Vault Files: 2006 O'Hare International Airport UFO Sighting" (orientation)