American Airlines Flight 2292 — FAA Radio Intercept, Arizona

On February 21, 2021, the crew of American Airlines Flight 2292 — a Boeing 737 operating from Cincinnati to Phoenix at flight level 370 (37,000 feet) — transmitted to Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC): 'Do you have any targets up here? We just had something go right over the top of us. 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 right over the top of us.' The Albuquerque ARTCC controller acknowledged the transmission but indicated no transponder return corresponding to the object. Aviation journalist Steve Douglass, who monitors air traffic control radio frequencies, recorded the transmission. He shared it with KTSM-TV in El Paso and The Drive publication, which published it. American Airlines confirmed the radio transmission was genuine and that the incident was reported through official channels. The FBI subsequently contacted American Airlines to request additional information from the flight crew — a step that indicated federal law enforcement interest beyond routine aviation incident protocols. The FAA did not release radar data. The incident occurred in the same general airspace corridor in the American Southwest that has been the location of multiple similar pilot reports in preceding years.