O'Hare International Airport — Disc Over Gate C17

On November 7, 2006, at approximately 4:15 PM local time, multiple United Airlines ground personnel at Gate C17 at O'Hare International Airport independently reported observing a dark, metallic disc-shaped object hovering silently at an estimated altitude of 1,500 feet directly above the gate. The object was described as approximately 24 feet in diameter, completely still, and producing no sound. Twelve or more ramp workers, mechanics, and two United Airlines flight crew members in a cockpit observed the object for approximately five minutes. When the object departed, witnesses reported it shot vertically upward at high speed through the cloud layer, punching a clear circular hole in the overcast that remained visible for several minutes. The FAA stated publicly it had no record of the event on radar and attributed any visual phenomenon to a 'weather phenomenon.' A Freedom of Information Act request by the Chicago Tribune subsequently revealed internal FAA audio recordings of controllers and United Airlines employees discussing the object. The 2026 archive release includes previously withheld TRACON radar log excerpts for the window in question.