Pilot reports silver canister hovering near wing above Rhode Island during live ATC broadcast

A private-jet pilot reported a small, silver cylinder hovering near his wing thousands of feet above Rhode Island during a live air traffic control broadcast. The pilot, flying a Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II that seats up to five passengers, told ground controllers that the object “appears to be standing still” as it tracked alongside the aircraft at an altitude of roughly 3,500 feet.

ATC confirmed there were no other reports in the area and asked radio contacts whether the strange object could have been a drone or a balloon. Other pilots in the region chimed in over the frequency, with one remarking, “I want to believe him,” while ATC lightheartedly added, “Good luck with the aliens.” The moment was captured in a video posted to the YouTube channel VASAviation, which curates live-ATC conversations from around the world.

The clip, which the channel uploaded about a month ago, shows the pilot describing the object’s motion and noting that he could see no attachments on the object. The sighting appears to have occurred around the time the video was recorded, and this week the excerpt has circulated on social media, including X, where users have debated what the object might have been. There is no public FAA or NTSB report confirming the incident, a common situation with unexplained aerial phenomena unless a direct safety hazard is involved.

Among the most discussed explanations on social media is the weather-balloon theory. Mick West, a science writer and investigator of conspiracy theory narratives, suggested that a weather balloon carrying a cylindrical payload could account for the observed behavior, noting that such balloons can have translucent coverings that reflect city lights or sunlight and appear to hover or drift slowly at various altitudes. West said nearby Massachusetts hosts launches that can feed into airspace near Rhode Island and that balloons are frequently used by hobbyists who occasionally misroute their trajectories.

Other online observers speculated about a possible military test of new technology, though no evidence has surfaced to support that claim in this case. Some commenters viewed the incident as a reminder that unidentified aerial phenomena remain a topic of public fascination and debate, with social media users offering a spectrum of theories about what might have been observed.

The conversation in Rhode Island comes on the heels of a separate, widely discussed account from a veteran U.S. fighter pilot who described a near-collision with an unexplained craft during a training mission over southern Wyoming. Major Ryan Bodenheimer, a retired F-15 and F-16 pilot, spoke of a rectangular-shaped object that appeared to defy conventional aeronautical expectations. He said the craft lacked a visible engine trail or radar signature, and it traveled at roughly 400 knots at about 30,000 feet. Bodenheimer described the encounter as one of the wildest experiences of his career and said the initial ATC report was met with silence before officials reportedly treated it as an anomalous object. The details of that encounter have drawn renewed attention to how military and civilian pilots report encounters with objects that do not fit standard aviation profiles.

As of now, officials have not issued a formal explanation for the Rhode Island sighting. The absence of an official report or determination from the Federal Aviation Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board means the incident remains an unresolved anecdote within a broader, ongoing conversation about unidentified aerial phenomena and how they are documented and interpreted by pilots, controllers, and the public.