While Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is the only airport in the world with eight runways, did you know that it was the scene of a UFO sighting in 2006? At around 16:15 on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, a group of United Airlines employees and several other people saw what they believed to be a flying saucer hovering over the airport for several minutes.

While the description of the UFO varies slightly depending on who you asked, they all agreed that the shiny object hovered silently over the apron for several minutes before suddenly disappearing into the sky.

A ramp worker spotted the UFO first

The incident occurred over Gate C-17 in Terminal 1 and was first spotted by a ramp agent pushing back United Airlines Flight 466, which was to depart Chicago for Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina. The ramp agent advised the flight deck that something was hovering over the plane.

The unknown object was then seen by the pilots, cabin crew, a member of United Airlines management, and a mechanic. Despite several people seeing it, no air traffic controller saw the object, and it did not appear on the radar. Several other people outside the airport reported seeing a dark gray disc-shaped craft hovering over the airport and were adamant that it was not a cloud.

The FAA opened an investigation

When reporting on the UFO sighting, Chicago Tribune reporter Jon Hilkevitch wrote:

“The disc was visible for approximately five minutes and was seen by close to a dozen United Airlines employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors, who heard chatter on the radio and raced out to view it.”

When asked about their knowledge of the UFO sighting, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and United Airlines denied any knowledge of the incident. During its investigation into the sighting, the Chicago Tribune filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FAA, which led to an investigation.