Washington, D.C. – Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives this week that would enable civilian and commercial airline pilots to report UFO sightings to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA would then forward pilots’ accounts to the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office for analysis.
The goal of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), is to provide airline crews with formal reporting procedures and legal protections if they witness unexplained aerial phenomena. Recent testimony before Congress from former military pilots sparked the legislation.
“Pilots are trained observers of our skies, but many have seen UFOs and had no confidential way to report them,” said Lt. Ryan Graves, executive director of pilot advocacy group Americans for Safe Aerospace, which endorses the bill. “This takes a pragmatic step toward transparency.”
The legislation mandates that the FAA compile pertinent data to accompany pilots’ first-hand accounts before sending reports to the Pentagon. The FAA would also have to analyze any potential impacts on national security and U.S. airspace.
Additionally, the bill shields pilots from career repercussions or retaliation from airlines for submitting reports. This is meant to encourage reporting in a traditionally skeptical environment.
The bipartisan initiative follows growing calls in Washington for more government transparency around UFOs, recently rebranded in official terminology as “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP).
While Congress recently passed a bill to release some executive branch UAP records, it allows key information to remain classified. Advocates view the aviation reporting legislation as an incremental move toward revealing the full picture.
“Our bipartisan effort highlights the need for transparency from the federal government regarding UAPs to better protect the safety and security of American citizens,” said Rep. Grothman in a statement.