New Legislation Aims to Create UAP Reporting Channels and Legal Safeguards for Civilian Aviators

A new bill introduced to Congress seeks to establish UAP reporting channels for civilian pilots and provide legal safeguards against potential retaliations for reporting their unusual encounters, with these new measures to be facilitated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Introduced by Representatives Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Glenn Grothman (R-WI), the “Safe Airspace for Americans Act” is aimed at encouraging the reporting of UAP encounters by civilian pilots and crew, and calls for the creation of a UAP reporting system through the FAA, of which would process and relay the reports to the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

The Act also calls for the establishment of legal safeguards to prevent reprisals against potential UAP witnesses, who in the past have been forced to undergo psychiatric evaluations—and in some cases have lost their jobs—for reporting anomalous objects that could pose a potential safety or security risk.

While exceedingly rare, the potential for UAP safety-related incidents are not unheard of: in November 2016 a Canadian regional airliner was forced to dodge a doughnut-shaped object while en route to Toronto, injuring two of the flight attendants on board; in two separate incidents in May 2023, air traffic was disrupted by unidentified objects that appeared over airports in Taiwan and Türkiye.

UAP encounters can also involve the crews of multiple aircraft, as was the case in February 2018 when an object was sighted by two separate air crews over Arizona; and in November of that year no less than three airliners were witness to a UFO spotted in the skies of Ireland.

“UAP transparency is incredibly important for our national security, which is why we need to create a space where those in aviation have the ability to report their findings and experiences,” Garcia explained in a statement. “This bill is another step forward for disclosure and to provide a safe process for UAP reporting by civilian and commercial personnel.”

In addition to civilian pilots, the legislation’s protection would also extend to flight crew such as flight attendants; and ground crew such as maintenance workers and air traffic controllers. The Act has been endorsed by the non-profit group Americans for Safe Aerospace (ASA), led by former U.S. Navy aviator Ryan Graves, who testified before Congress regarding military UAP encounters last summer, along with fellow whistleblowers David Fravor and David Grusch.

“Pilots are trained observers of our skies,” Graves stated during the announcement of the bill. “But I have heard from dozens of frustrated pilots for major airlines who witnessed UAP yet had no confidential way to report them to the government.”

“I am incredibly encouraged to see Congressman Garcia and Congressman Grothman standing with pilots and taking a pragmatic and historic step forward for national security and aviation safety,” he added.