FBI 'aware of' American Airlines possible UFO sighting, stops short of confirming investigation

WASHINGTON - The FBI is "aware of" an American Airlines pilot’s report of an apparent UFO seen soaring over Northeast New Mexico earlier this week – but stopped short of confirming whether an investigation is underway, Fox News learned Thursday.

The pilot was maneuvering a plane bound for Phoenix, Arizona, from Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon when the flight crew spotted a quick-moving, unusual object flying above them, according to a radio transmission recorded by Steve Douglass on his blog, Deep Black Horizon. 

On Tuesday, American Airlines confirmed to Fox News that the audio transmission was from flight 2292, but referred further questions to the FBI.

A spokesperson for the FBI’s Albuquerque office responded to Fox News’ request seeking comment and confirmation on Thursday.

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"The FBI is aware of the reported incident," spokesperson Frank Connor wrote in an email.  "While our policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations, the FBI works continuously with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to share intelligence and protect the public. Anyone who is aware of suspicious or criminal activity should contact their local law enforcement agency or the FBI."

In Sunday’s radio transmission, the American Airlines pilot could first be heard asking an unidentified person, presumably from air-traffic control, if they had "any targets up here."

"We just had something go right over the top of us," the pilot adds. "I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise-missile type of thing. Moving really fast and went right over the top of us."

Fox News' Paul Best and Peter Aitken contributed to this report. Get updates on this story at FOXNews.com.