Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots of a Lahore-bound commercial flight, PK-304, had spotted a mystery object “foo fighter”, generally known as Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) hovering in the sky in the airspace between Multan and Sahiwal on 23 January 2021.
The mysterious object garnered widespread media attention at national and international levels and prompted theories that it was the work of extraterrestrials. Many observers pointed out the object’s resemblance to strange alien monoliths that trigger vast leaps in human progress in Stanley Kubrick’s classic sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
What is a UFO?
The term ‘foo fighter’ was a name given by the World War II pilots to explain the unidentified or mysterious objects seen in the sky during operations.
The term UFO became more widespread during the 1950s, at first in technical literature, but later in popular use. Various studies have concluded that the phenomenon does not represent a threat to human security, nor does it contain anything worthy of scientific pursuit.
Pilot’s observation
According to the flight captain’s observation, the object was surrounded by a metal ring and was releasing a white light from the center. The object, as seen in the video, has very little or no movement at all, hence it cannot be stated for sure whether it was moving or just hovering. The flight crew upon landing was informed such unidentified objects have been reported in the past by people across the world as well.
Accurate image of UFO’s research history
Blogger and UFO hunter Scott C. Waring, who regularly posts about such sightings, revealed the strange-looking phenomenon was spotted from the plane. According to an eyewitness account featured in Waring’s blog, a “brilliant white circular object” was noticed by PIA pilots over the plane flying at 35,000 feet. The crew members started recording the unidentified object quickly after it came into notice.
As per Scott C. Wang, the recorded video by PIA pilots of the unidentified object is the most focused and accurate image of a ‘foo fighter’ in UFO’s research history. Scott claimed that it proves that aliens follow planes and keep a close eye on human activities.
Similar incidents
In January 2019, a similar incident was also reported by PIA’s pilots in Karachi. A UFO was spotted by the flight crew flying 105 feet above the airplane, while the plane was flying at an altitude of 4300 feet. The incident was immediately reported to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Karachi.
An unknown flying object with a flashlight was seen by the tribal people on the skies of the Dera Ghazi Khan tribal area on 29 January 2006. It was reported that the UFO came from the south and passed the whole area moving towards the Dera Ghazi Khan area on the night of 29 January.
The people, however, could not find any evidence of the landing of the object in its jurisdiction. On 15 August 2006, UFOs were seen in the area in August 2000. One of them was seen flying over towns of Quetta Balochistan and it landed near Farid Air Base in the tribal area of Rajanpur district. Its wreckage was removed by the police.
Space scientist denies the presence of UFO
A Pakistani space scientist had denied the existence of an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) in the airspace between Multan and Sahiwal, saying the object viewed in the sky was a type of cloud. Javed Sami, a space scientist and professor at Punjab University, reacting to the claim made by the PIA’s pilot.
The scientist dismissed the claim and said the object was a lenticular cloud. He said aircraft normally flies at an altitude of 37,000 feet but it can be seen in the video that a PIA plane is flying at a low altitude of 1,000 feet when the object was spotted.
He explained the PIA pilot saw a lenticular cloud which is nothing unusual but rather a natural phenomenon. These clouds are often spotted by commercial pilots often when a plane is flying at a speed of 500 to 900 km per hour which leads to movement while viewing.
Are mysterious incidents still unexplained?
The scientific study of UFO’s is progressing now scientific and governmental attitudes are apparently becoming more sensitive and objective. Several scientists are increasingly involved in scientific UFO investigation several books have been published. The logic and philosophy of scientific UFO investigation continue to be extremely challenging.
Scientists and astronomers express varying and unreliable degrees of fervor for the possibility of intelligent life in the universe. Though, scientists usually dismiss and rejected the idea that there are aliens visiting Earth a threat for humans.
