{"id":20907,"date":"2025-10-02T22:43:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T22:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=20907"},"modified":"2025-10-02T22:50:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T22:50:28","slug":"looked-like-iron-man-tucson-pilots-drone-report-and-audio-recording-revealed-in-faa-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/looked-like-iron-man-tucson-pilots-drone-report-and-audio-recording-revealed-in-faa-records\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Looked Like Iron Man&#8221;: Tucson Pilot\u2019s &#8220;Drone&#8221; Report and Audio Recording Revealed in FAA Records"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_20909\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20909\" style=\"width: 291px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-20909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12-291x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"291\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12-291x300.jpg 291w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12-150x154.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12-450x463.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12-768x791.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12-600x618.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-41-12.jpg 901w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20909\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">FOIA Release Letter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On December 17, 2022, a Cessna 172 pilot approaching Tucson, Arizona, reported an unusual airborne object to air traffic controllers. Now, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The\u00a0 Black Vault, the FAA has released official documents and audio transcripts detailing the encounter.<\/p>\n<p>The FOIA case, filed January 19, 2023, was prompted by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/ufo\/comments\/10fbv5s\/theyre_back_faa_air_traffic_control_audio\/j51b5jg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comment<\/a> on Reddit in response to a Black Vault posting about pilot sightings. A user referenced a recording of air traffic control communications and mentioned a pilot describing a strange red and silver object. That tip led directly to the FOIA request, which the FAA confirmed in a February 28, 2023 disclosure letter responding to \u201crecords pertaining to the Red and Silver Ironman Unmanned Aircraft Systems on December 17, 2022, near Tucson, Arizona\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Encounter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20908\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"936\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07.jpg 936w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07-150x64.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07-450x191.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07-768x327.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_09-16-07-600x255.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The official FAA Mandatory Occurrence Report (MOR) states that Cessna N21272 \u201creported a red and silver drone at 80 at the TUS091006 moving east bound. N21272 advised drone looked like Iron Man. Possibly a balloon. No other sightings of drone\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A Quality Assurance review further noted that \u201cwhile descending through 8,400 feet, N21272 reported passing a silver and red drone that was off of their left side and slightly below them. No evasive action was reported\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Air Traffic Control Audio<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Pilot Reports \u201cIron Man-Like\u201d Drone at 8,000 Feet Near Tucson | FAA FOIA Release\" width=\"788\" height=\"443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fZmTYHpfXsI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The released air traffic control audio provides a clearer picture of what the pilot described in real time. At 12:06 p.m. local time, the pilot transmitted:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThere was something strange that just flew by off the left side. It looks like some type of drone, but it was like red and silver. I couldn\u2019t really tell the altitude, just a little bit below me\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Controllers later followed up to clarify the report:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAnd the drone, you said at 8,000 feet?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The pilot responded:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIt was a little bit below me, I was at 8,000, and it wasn\u2019t like a normal looking drone. It looked more vertical than like the quadcopter type and it was silver and red\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When asked again to describe the object, the pilot elaborated:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cYeah, it was silver and red. It almost reminded me of, like, an Iron Man suit, although not exactly like that, but like a silvery red color. It was pretty weird\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>###<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Document Archive<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/images\/pdf.gif\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/documents2.theblackvault.com\/documents\/faa\/2023-03232.pdf\">FOIA Case 2023-03232 Release Package<\/a> [5 Pages, 0.5MB]<\/p>\n<div class=\"ead-preview\"><div class=\"ead-document\" style=\"position: relative;padding-top: 90%;\"><div class=\"ead-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe src=\"\/\/docs.google.com\/viewer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocuments2.theblackvault.com%2Fdocuments%2Ffaa%2F2023-03232.pdf&amp;embedded=true&amp;hl=en\" title=\"Embedded Document\" class=\"ead-iframe\" style=\"width: 100%;height: 100%;border: none;position: absolute;left: 0;top: 0;visibility: hidden;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-document-loading\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;left:0;top:0;z-index:10;\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-loading-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-loading-main\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-loading\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/plugins\/embed-any-document\/images\/loading.svg\" width=\"55\" height=\"55\" alt=\"Loader\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Loading...<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-loading-foot\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-loading-foot-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/plugins\/embed-any-document\/images\/EAD-logo.svg\" alt=\"EAD Logo\" width=\"36\" height=\"23\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Taking too long?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ead-document-btn ead-reload-btn\" role=\"button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/plugins\/embed-any-document\/images\/reload.svg\" alt=\"Reload\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\"\/> Reload document\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>|<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/documents2.theblackvault.com\/documents\/faa\/2023-03232.pdf\" class=\"ead-document-btn\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/plugins\/embed-any-document\/images\/open.svg\" alt=\"Open\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\"\/> Open in new tab\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><p class=\"embed_download\"><a href=\"https:\/\/documents2.theblackvault.com\/documents\/faa\/2023-03232.pdf\" download>Download [650.98 KB] <\/a><\/p><\/div><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On December 17, 2022, a Cessna 172 pilot approaching Tucson, Arizona, reported an unusual airborne object to air traffic controllers. Now, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The\u00a0 Black Vault, the FAA has released official documents and audio transcripts detailing the encounter. The FOIA case, filed January 19, 2023, was prompted<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20907","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-fringe","8":"category-ufo-phenomena"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_15-45-43.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20910,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20907\/revisions\/20910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}