Crafts I Saw at 39,000 Feet

I've been wanting to post this for months but couldn't seem to get to it.

In early March of 2014 I flew to FL from CT. Aside from flying in December of 2013 on a small plane to Pittsburgh and back, I hadn't flown in the ten years prior.

I spent most of the flight watching out of the window during the trip. I saw three craft go by in the same direction in the next lane over at 39,000 feet which stunned me. Two of the craft were not that far apart, one behind the other; the other one went by a while later. These were space shuttle-type craft only they were a dull, graphite black/gray color, had no markings on them whatsoever that I could see and were going a bit faster than the jet I was in was going so it took a while before they were beyond my view. I studied them intently. I wondered if they slowed down until they were out of view of the plane. They left black exhaust smoke behind them and they looked most like Challenger shuttles, I suppose; that shape. Probably a bit shorter.

On the way back to CT I only saw one.

Who owns these craft and do they have a name? I looked up shuttles after my trip and saw nothing similar in the color I described.

Maybe these craft are a common occurrence in the skies these days, up that high, and I didn't know because of not having flown in years? I have no idea.

originally posted by: tweetie
and were going a bit faster than the jet I was in was going so it took a while before they were beyond my view.

And you didn't take a picture while your phone was in flight mode? Really?
You use air travel but don't own a cell phone with a camera? Really?

*Edit*
Apologies if I seemed a dick saying that but the other day a mod gave me the "Pics or it didn't happen thing" about something that happened a few years ago, so I'm just doing the same if that's the ATS attitude.

originally posted by: grainofsand

originally posted by: tweetie
and were going a bit faster than the jet I was in was going so it took a while before they were beyond my view.

And you didn't take a picture while your phone was in flight mode? Really?
You use air travel but don't own a cell phone with a camera? Really?

I'm not a phone/camera person. The thought never occurred to me. Really. I rarely take pictures or even think of taking pictures. My mobile phone is not an extension of my hand and brain. I've resisted. I'd only had a touch screen Tracfone since November of 2013 and still have the same phone which is usually not on me or with me so I don't have the automatic habit of videoing or digitally imaging everything.

I was intent upon mentally noting as much detail so I could look these craft up after my trip.

a reply to: grainofsand

That's not my attitude and if that's ATS's attitude, it's a shame and is most unfortunate.

Thanks for the explanation and apology.

They were probably military planes, running sorties. They fly in formations like that, at extremely high altitude during training exercises.

did it look like that?

a reply to: tweetie

Probably military. The color (dull, flat), disposition, black exhaust, make them jet powered, not "shuttle" type… which was reentry glider only , sans jet engines.

The insignia these days is symbolic, military aircraft readily identify each other with electronic 'foe or friendly' signatures unless up close, which wouldn't have been the case in your case.

Good eye, I haven't flown for years but used to glue my eyes to the window, so much to see…

a reply to: tweetie

Why did you not attempt to capture a picture or two of the craft in question?

Did you not have a mobile phone, or even the person next to you have one?

originally posted by: Alphaz
They were probably military planes, running sorties. They fly in formations like that, at extremely high altitude during training exercises.

did it look like that?

Nothing like that. They looked like space shuttles except for the color. A bit stubbier than the Challenger model and they had a short row of passenger windows. Maybe five passenger windows on the side facing me.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: tweetie

Why did you not attempt to capture a picture or two of the craft in question?

Did you not have a mobile phone, or even the person next to you have one?

See what I replied above to another person.

a reply to: tweetie

It was just a question buddy, certainly something that would pop in to my mind should i ever observe a UFO.

Remember a picture can paint a thousand words and its also a handy thing to have when claiming to have seen something you dont understand or are attempting to explain.

You mentioned they flew in the next lane over? But there actually isn't any next lane over. The next lane over must be at least 5 miles over to be legal, or to be safe. FAA regs state that no pilot can fly a plane anywhere closer than 5 miles away for commercial jets up in the cruising area.

Every commercial jet plane flies in a 5 mile square shoe box of space that no one else can penetrate, and if they do, the FAA controllers on the ground would revoke your flight plan, but they would also keep that from even happening in the first place.

Also, there is no known craft that looks like the space shuttle that can fly parallel to the ground at 39,000 feet and continue cruising along at the same altitude of another plane like you described..

It would either be pointing up and heading straight up to orbit, or in a dive heading towards landing, but not flying level alongside another plane and only moving a little faster than a jet at cruising altitude, which is about 500mph ground speed.

If one of the space shuttles was doing this, it would be in some kind of trouble, not to mention that they don't fly anymore anyways.

I think it just might be that you dreamed it. If you truly saw these crafts, then they broke a whole slew of FAA rules and the pilots would be flying desks now. (If they were man made).

It was probably just a dream.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: tweetie

Probably military. The color (dull, flat), disposition, black exhaust, make them jet powered, not "shuttle" type… which was reentry glider only , sans jet engines.

The insignia these days is symbolic, military aircraft readily identify each other with electronic 'foe or friendly' signatures unless up close, which wouldn't have been the case in your case.

Good eye, I haven't flown for years but used to glue my eyes to the window, so much to see…

I described them to someone I know after I returned and the person's guess was they belong to the so-called elite and are private craft but that was only a guess on that person's part. The person is not aviation or military oriented. I haven't come across any explanation for them yet which is why I am finally posting here.

Thanks for your input.

I came close to asking a flight attendant walking by about them on the way down to FL but I abhor drawing attention to myself in public. It's a phobia.

Your description makes me think of the Boeing X-37 or the X-40 space shuttle drones. Perhaps something newer on a similar platform?

a reply to: tweetie

Well thanks for the internet then or wed never have heard about them.....
Are you aware of the next generation plans for the gen 6 stealth?
It looks a a little like the shuttle....but has twin tails that slant inwards....
The illustration I have seen could be what you were looking at.....(though the craft is not supposed to exist yet.....)

Northrops gen 6 foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com...



Lockheeds gen 6


www.google.ca...'s+6+gen+fighter+plane&biw=1366&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjl1-jl7IHMAh XquoMKHcn-CB4QsAQIHQ


For some why reason the link wont go to the exact page.....please go to google type in lockheeds 6 gen fighter, and youll see some very like what you describe....

originally posted by: tweetie

originally posted by: Alphaz
They were probably military planes, running sorties. They fly in formations like that, at extremely high altitude during training exercises.

did it look like that?

Nothing like that. They looked like space shuttles except for the color. A bit stubbier than the Challenger model and they had a short row of passenger windows. Maybe five passenger windows on the side facing me.

Did it look like this by any chance?

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
You mentioned they flew in the next lane over? But there actually isn't any next lane over. The next lane over must be at least 5 miles over to be legal, or to be safe. FAA regs state that no pilot can fly a plane anywhere closer than 5 miles away for commercial jets up in the cruising area.

Every commercial jet plane flies in a 5 mile square shoe box of space that no one else can penetrate, and if they do, the FAA controllers on the ground would revoke your flight plan, but they would also keep that from even happening in the first place.

Also, there is no known craft that looks like the space shuttle that can fly parallel to the ground at 39,000 feet and continue cruising along at the same altitude of another plane like you described..

It would either be pointing up and heading straight up to orbit, or in a dive heading towards landing, but not flying level alongside another plane and only moving a little faster than a jet at cruising altitude, which is about 500mph ground speed.

If one of the space shuttles was doing this, it would be in some kind of trouble, not to mention that they don't fly anymore anyways.

I think it just might be that you dreamed it. If you truly saw these crafts, then they broke a whole slew of FAA rules and the pilots would be flying desks now. (If they were man made).

It was probably just a dream.

Sorry, it wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream on the way to Florida and it wasn't a dream five days later on the way back to CT. They were right there in view. I'm completely serious. They were flying level with the plane I was in but a bit faster, not pointed up or down. Thanks for the technical information; it makes what I saw even more bizarre.

originally posted by: boncho

originally posted by: tweetie

originally posted by: Alphaz
They were probably military planes, running sorties. They fly in formations like that, at extremely high altitude during training exercises.

did it look like that?

Nothing like that. They looked like space shuttles except for the color. A bit stubbier than the Challenger model and they had a short row of passenger windows. Maybe five passenger windows on the side facing me.

Did it look like this by any chance?

No, but thanks. I'd been looking at this forum on aviation, too, at pictures posted, trying to find what I saw but no luck.

originally posted by: bandersnatch
Well thanks for the internet then or wed never have heard about them.....

Are you aware of the next generation plans for the gen 6 stealth?
It looks a a little like the shuttle....but has twin tails that slant inwards....
The illustration I have seen could be what you were looking at.....(though the craft is not supposed to exist yet.....)

Northrops gen 6 foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com...

Thanks, but no. It's shape was very much like a Challenger space shuttle except a bit shorter (stubbier) and was the dark color I described. When I saw the first one my immediate (stunned) thought was it looked like a space shuttle. Whoa! Cool picture though!

I spent more than a few minutes studying each one I saw so I could sear my thoughts about them into my memory. It's a habit I've developed as far as wanting to remember something unusual at a later date. I spent a lot of time looking at shuttles and other craft online after I returned home.

You may have seen the unmanned space plane the X-37B. Officially, this can only be launched by a rocket. But there are rumors that they've done tests with other propulsion systems.



Quite a rare sighting if you did see this. Especially seeing two of them. Definitely an "off book" test flight. Unlikely. But not impossible.

a reply to: grainofsand


I had assumed that the day of some idiot coming onto a sighting thread and brow-beating the OP because there were no pictures was over, that each one of these idiots finally had somebody them that they was an idiot. But I won't do that.