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Tajik Air Pilots Report Unidentified Flying Object
Tajik Air chief pilot Captain Ed Rhodes (American) and two colleagues encountered a UFO while flying a Boeing 747SP over Kazakhstan. They observed a bright light of enormous intensity for 40 minutes that maneuvered in circles, corkscrews, and 90-degree turns at an estimated 100,000 feet altitude.
Analysis
Three American pilots flying a Boeing 747SP for Tajik Air at 41,000 feet over Kazakhstan watched an object perform circles, corkscrews, and 90-degree turns at extreme speed for 40 minutes on January 27, 1994. Its light had a "bow wave" appearance -- like a high-speed photograph of a bullet in flight. As the sun rose, their aircraft passed underneath the object's contrails at an estimated 100,000 feet. At that altitude there's too little air and moisture for conventional propulsion to leave contrails. The trail paths traced the object's maneuvers: circles and corkscrews frozen in the sky. Captain Ed Rhodes, the chief pilot and a former PanAm veteran, photographed the object with a pocket camera and told the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe it was under intelligent control. The embassy offered "no opinion."
Key Findings
- Object first appeared as a bright light of "enormous intensity" approaching from over the horizon to the east at great speed
- Observed for approximately 40 minutes performing circles, corkscrews, and 90-degree turns at rapid speeds under "very high G's"
- Object's light had a "bow wave" appearance resembling a high-speed photo of a bullet in flight
- Contrails at approximately 100,000 feet -- too little air/moisture at that altitude for conventional aircraft propulsion to create contrails
- Contrail paths reflected the object's maneuvers (circles, corkscrews)
- Crew adamant it was not a meteor based on thousands of previous observations of falling stars and space junk during PanAm careers
- Captain Rhodes photographed the object with a pocket Olympus camera
- Embassy offered "no opinion" on the sighting
Page Extractions 3 pages
Page 1
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doc_typecable
classificationUNCLASSIFIED (Released in Full)
page_descriptionState Department cable from US Embassy Dushanbe reporting UFO encounter by Tajik Air pilots including American Chief Pilot Ed Rhodes.
dates
- 1994-01-27 | date of UFO encounter
- 1994-01-29 | date pilots reported encounter
- 1994-01-31 | date cable sent
- 2026-03-02 | release date
people
- Ed Rhodes | Tajik Air Chief Pilot | AMCIT (American citizen) | witness/reporter
- Two American pilot colleagues | pilots | Tajik Air | witnesses
- John Powers | Acting-Director | US Department of State | release authority
organizations
- Tajik Air | commercial airline
- US Embassy Dushanbe | government_agency
- US Department of State | government_agency
- CIA Washington DC | government_agency
- DIA Washington DC | government_agency
locations
- Kazakhstan (implied from cable references to AMEMBASSY ALMATY and Tajik Air operations)
- Dushanbe, Tajikistan | location of embassy sending cable
- Moscow | routing destination for information
- Tashkent | information recipient
- Ashgabat | information recipient
- Almaty | information recipient (Kazakhstan)
- Bishkek | information recipient
observations
- Three American pilots (Rhodes and two colleagues) encountered UFO on January 27
- Encounter occurred while flying at 41,000 feet
- Aircraft type: Boeing [specific model not stated on this page]
- Observation reported January 29
references
- MRN: 94 DUSHANBE 259 | message reference number
- CSP-2025-00040 | document identifier
- B-00002707028 | document identifier
- E.O. 12356: N/A | Executive Order
- TAGS: TSPA, EAIR, KZ, TI | cable subject tags
quotes
- "TAJIK AIR PILOTS REPORT UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT" | cable subject
- "TAJIK AIR CHIEF PILOT, AMCIT ED RHODES, AND HIS TWO AMERICAN PILOT COLLEAGUES REPORTED JANUARY 29 THAT, ON JANUARY 27, THEY HAD ENCOUNTERED A UFO WHILE FLYING AT 41,000 FEET IN THEIR BOEING" | cable text
Page 2
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doc_typecable
classificationUNCLASSIFIED
page_descriptionPages 2-3 of State Department cable with detailed description of UFO encounter, flight characteristics, and pilot assessment.
dates
- Approximately 45 minutes | duration of object observation
- Approximately 45 minutes after initial sighting | time sun began rising and contrails observed
locations
- Latitude 45 North, Longitude 55 East, over Kazakhstan | precise location of encounter
- Approximately 100,000 feet altitude | estimated altitude of contrails
people
- Captain Ed Rhodes | Tajik Air Chief Pilot | pilot | witness/photographer
- Two pilot colleagues | pilots | Tajik Air | witnesses
- Lowry Taylor | Tajikistan Desk officer | US Department of State | intended photo recipient
- Escudero | cable sender | US Embassy Dushanbe | sender
observations
- Object first appeared as bright light of enormous intensity
- Approached from over horizon to east at great speed
- Object at much higher altitude than aircraft (41,000 feet)
- Observation duration: 40 minutes
- Object maneuvered in circles, corkscrews, 90-degree turns
- Maneuvers performed at rapid rates of speed and under very high G-forces
- Captain Rhodes took several photos with pocket Olympus camera
- After time, object adopted horizontal high-speed course and disappeared over horizon
- Object's shape could not be discerned due to darkness
- Light described as having "bow wave" appearance
- Light resembled high-speed photo of bullet in flight
- Very small object gave off much larger trailing wave of heat/light
- Approximately 45 minutes after initial sighting, as sun rising, aircraft flew under contrails left by object
- Aircraft was making over 500 knots
- Contrails estimated at approximately 100,000 feet altitude
- Too little air/moisture at that extreme altitude to create contrails from ordinary aircraft propulsion
- Contrail paths reflected object's maneuvers (circles, corkscrews, etc.)
assessments
- Rhodes and crew adamant object was not a meteor | pilot assessment
- Crew had seen thousands of "falling stars" and space junk in years flying for PanAm | experience reference
- Object was "nothing like a meteor" | crew assessment
- Based on speed and maneuverability, object was extraterrestrial and under intelligent control | Rhodes' opinion
- Crew seemed to support Rhodes' extraterrestrial assessment | observation
- Embassy has no opinion on sighting | official statement
referencesPanAm passenger aircraft operations | reference to crew experience
quotes
- "747SP AT LAT 45 NORTH AND LONG 55 EAST, OVER KAZAKHSTAN." | location
- "THEY FIRST ENCOUNTERED THE OBJECT AS A BRIGHT LIGHT OF ENORMOUS INTENSITY, APPROACHING THEM FROM OVER THE HORIZON TO THE EAST AT A GREAT RATE OF SPEED AND AT A MUCH HIGHER ALTITUDE THAN THEIR OWN." | observation
- "THEY WATCHED THE OBJECT FOR SOME FORTY MINUTES AS IT MANEUVERED IN CIRCLES, CORKSCREWS AND MADE 90-DEGREE TURNS AT RAPID RATES OF SPEED AND UNDER VERY HIGH G'S." | observation
- "CAPTAIN RHODES TOOK SEVERAL PHOTOS WITH A POCKET OLYMPUS CAMERA AND WILL SEND COPIES TO THE EMBASSY AND THE TAJIKISTAN DESK (LOWRY TAYLOR) IN THE DEPARTMENT, IF THEY COME OUT." | action
- "AFTER SOME TIME, THE OBJECT ADOPTED A HORIZONTAL HIGH-SPEED COURSE AND DISAPPEARED OVER THE HORIZON." | observation
- "AS IT WAS DARK WHEN THE OBJECT WAS OBSERVED, THE CREW WERE UNABLE TO DISCERN ITS SHAPE." | observation
- "THEY DESCRIBED THE LIGHT IT EMITTED AS HAVING A 'BOW WAVE' AND AS RESEMBLING A HIGH-SPEED PHOTO OF A BULLET IN FLIGHT, IN WHICH A VERY SMALL OBJECT GIVES OFF A MUCH LARGER TRAILING WAVE OF HEAT/LIGHT." | observation
- "RHODES ESTIMATED THE ALTITUDE OF THE CONTRAILS AT APPROXIMATELY 100,000 FEET, NOTING THAT THERE IS TOO LITTLE AIR/MOISTURE AT THAT EXTREME ALTITUDE TO ENABLE THE CREATION OF CONTRAILS BY THE PROPULSION MECHANISMS OF ORDINARY AIRCRAFT WHICH MIGHT BE ABLE TO REACH THAT HEIGHT." | Rhodes' analysis
- "THE PATHS OF THE CONTRAILS REFLECTED THE MANEUVERS OF THE OBJECT, I.E., CIRCLES, CORKSCREWS, ETC." | observation
- "RHODES AND HIS CREW WERE ADAMANT THAT THEY HAD SEEN THOUSANDS OF 'FALLING STARS' AND OTHER SPACE JUNK ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE IN THEIR YEARS OF FLYING PASSENGER AIRCRAFT FOR PANAM. THIS, THEY INSISTED, WAS NOTHING LIKE A METEOR." | crew assessment
- "ON THE BASIS OF ITS SPEED AND MANEUVERABILITY, RHODES EXPRESSED THE OPINION, WHICH HIS CREW SEEMED TO SUPPORT, THAT THE OBJECT WAS EXTRATERRESTRIAL AND UNDER INTELLIGENT CONTROL." | Rhodes' assessment
- "COMMENT: WE HAVE NO OPINION AND REPORT THE ABOVE FOR WHAT IT MAY BE WORTH." | embassy statement
Page 3
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doc_typecable
classificationUNCLASSIFIED
page_descriptionFinal page of State Department cable showing dissemination rule and archive copy marking.
references
- CSP-2025-00040 | document identifier
- B-00002707028 | document identifier
- Archive Copy | dissemination rule
quotes
- "NNNN" | end of cable marker
- "Dissemination Rule: Archive Copy" | distribution marking
- "UNCLASSIFIED" | classification marking