News show episode · Reality Check · 11 October 2026
Reality Check Rewind: the Langley witness, Ryan Graves and Rep. Grothman
A Reality Check Rewind, reposted 11 October 2026, of Ross Coulthart's March 2024 episode on the Langley incursions. Witness Jonathan Butner gives his full account of 14 December 2023, including a lens-shaped 'command and control' object along the James River and his FBI statement; Ryan Graves describes current pilot reports; Rep. Glenn Grothman presents the Safe Airspace for Americans Act.
Overview
- Named, firsthand: Butner's conveyor-belt orbs, searchlight and treetop lens-shaped object; FBI statement, no AARO contact.
- Named, secondhand: Graves on a wingman who saw an object chase a jet, one-in-ten reporting, 'over a thousand incursions'.
- On the record: Grothman and Garcia's Safe Airspace for Americans Act.
- Anonymous (leads): Indian police videos over nuclear sites; a package-airline pilot's unreported Pacific video.
Leads to follow
- Butner's 10 minutes of video and stills, and his FBI statement.
- Indian press reports of police videos over nuclear facilities.
- The package-airline pilot's Pacific video.
Notes
- Rewind repost of 11 Oct 2026; original air date March 2024 (to confirm).
Timeline
On the recordWitness testimonyAlleged / one person's word
People across the timeline · click a name or a dot
Click a person to follow their thread.
The claims, checked
Witness testimony (6)
From the south side of the James River on 14 Dec 2023, he watched car-sized orbs blinking irregularly from red-orange to white at different 'beats' arrive 'like a conveyor belt' from the Virginia Beach direction, loop north and west of Langley and hover over the base, while a searchlight on the ground swept back and forth.firsthandThe swarm over Langley
A separate lens-shaped object with a glowing orange-red base and three white lights on top passed westward along the river at treetop height, about 4 miles from him, three times; he took it for 'command and control'.firsthandThe swarm over Langley
The sighting ran from 7:15 to about 9 pm, peaking around 8; he shot about 10 minutes of video and some stills. Ryan Graves put him in touch with the FBI, who took his statement; AARO never contacted him.firsthandThe swarm over LangleyRyan GravesAARO
A recent pilot report: an object passed down the right side of a cockpit; the pilot took it for a balloon until his wingman saw it turn and chase his aircraft. Pilots off Virginia, in the Gulf of Mexico and over the Pacific still see them.secondhandunnamed military pilot → Ryan Graves → told it
Commercial pilots tell him only about one in ten report what they see; there have been 'over a thousand incursions' over critical bases.secondhandcommercial pilots (unnamed) → Ryan Graves → told it
The Safe Airspace for Americans Act, which he sponsors with Rep. Robert Garcia, protects pilots and crew who report; 'There's something our government's hiding from us.'firsthand
Alleged / one person's word (2)
Police in India have videoed objects over Indian nuclear facilities, and reports have reached the Indian government.anonymousunnamed Indian journalists and investigators → Ross Coulthart → told it
A pilot for a major package airline showed Coulthart his phone video of an anomaly over the Pacific; he has not reported it because filming in the cockpit breaks the rules.anonymousunnamed package-airline pilot → Ross Coulthart → told it