Veteran Combat Pilot Alex Dietrich Describes Tic Tac UFO Encounter

4 days ago 15

Retired Navy Lt. Commander Alex Dietrich, a veteran combat pilot, gave an eye-witness account of a Tic Tac UFO. Dietrich spoke to Anderson Cooper about what she saw off the coast of San Diego in 2004. At the time, she was on a routine training mission off the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier 100 miles southwest of San Diego.

Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich and Cmdr. Dave Fravor, a graduate of the TOPGUN naval flight program, also appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss what they saw together.

They both described an “unsettling” experience with a Tic Tac UFO.

“It was unidentified. And that’s why it was so unsettling to us. Because we weren’t expecting it. We couldn’t classify it,” said Dietrich.

Strangely, the Tic Tac-shaped UFO had no exhaust plumes, markings, or apparent means of propulsion. Notably, both pilots reported their sighting in a debriefing but didn’t think there was any formal investigation at the time. Behind them, each pilot had a weapons system officer in the seat, who each witnessed the UFO.

Unsettling, Unexplainable Encounter

On November 14, 2004, Dietrich and her fellow crew gave “thorough debriefs” about the sighting minutes after landing. Furthermore, hours after landing, Dietrich says she gave a written account about the UFO.

Years later, she gave even more details in what she calls an “interrogation-style” interview to members of Navy intelligence and the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).

Dietrich was a new pilot flying with the VFA-41, also known as the “Black Aces.” That day, she was flying a F/A-18F as part of an exercise to intercept and identify a “real-world contact,” after command redirected her squadron.

When the pilots arrived at the specified coordinates, it looked like something the size of a Boeing 737 had crashed, creating roiling whitewater.

“So my heart sank,” said Dietrich. “I went from being excited that we would go get those bad guys to, ‘Oh no, those bad guys have crashed and are sinking,” she said.

Suddenly, her heart-sinking feeling changed into the surprise of a lifetime.

Unpredictable Movement

All of a sudden, instead of the expected search and rescue effort, something extraordinary happened: a UFO that closely resembled a white Tic Tac appeared.

“Then, as soon as that happened, enter stage left – the Tic Tac,” said Dietrich. “And, that’s what we affectionately refer to it as because that’s what it looked like.”

Notably, Fravor’s account on 60 Minutes was somewhat different:

“We saw this little white Tic-Tac-looking object… and it’s just kind of moving above the whitewater area,” Fravor recounted.

“No predictable movement, no predictable trajectory,” Dietrich said.

According to their observations, the aircraft was about the size of an average aircraft fuselage.

“It was white, sort of a matte finish, just like a Tic Tac. And, it behaved in a way that we were surprised, unnerved. It accelerated, or it almost didn’t accelerate, right. It sort of jumped from spot to spot and tumbled around in a way that was unpredictable.”

See a clip of her appearance on 60 Minutes below:

https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1394289253895577603?s=20

Commander Engages the Tic Tac UFO

Upon seeing the Tic Tac UFO, commanding officer Fravor decided to engage with the craft. Meanwhile, an “uncomfortable and inexperienced” Dietrich (as she put it) fell back to give cover, circling above as Fravor approached.

When Fravor’s fighter moved forward, the Tic Tac abruptly disappeared. All the while, the stunned pilots discussed what was happening on their radio.

“It zoomed out of the picture so fast that we were all then scrambling on the radio,” Dietrich said. “And, the whole time we’re on the radio with each other sort of losing our minds.”

According to Fravor’s account, the Tic Tac began mimicking his moves as if aware of his presence.

60 Miles in Seconds

Seconds later, the USS Princeton’s radar reacquired the location of the Tic Tac UFO 60 miles away. Furthermore, the ship’s radar had also detected “multiple anomalous aerial vehicles” descending 80,000 feet in less than a second.

According to CBS News, the pilots later found out the USS Princeton had been tracking UFOs for days. However, the pilots were left uninformed and unarmed.

“I felt the vulnerability of not having anything to defend ourselves,” Dietrich said on 60 Minutes. “And then I felt confused when it disappeared.

In all, the strange encounter lasted about five minutes.

Ending the Stigma of UFO Reports

After her story, Anderson Cooper asked Dietrich what she thought she had witnessed that day. However, she says she’s “not qualified to make the analysis.”

Although she isn’t sure what the UFO could be, she appeared to encourage other pilots to come forward. Even so, she may not have come forward at the time if she had been the only witness.

“If I saw this solo I don’t know if I would have come back and said anything because it sounds so crazy when I say it,” she told 60 Minutes.

Notably, both Fravor and Dietrich had endured “ribbing” from their fellow crew about their reports.

Today, she says everyone can contribute to a data pool of sightings.

“I’m trying to reduce the stigma for other aircrew so if they see something or when they see something, say something, and that they will not feel embarrassed or ashamed to make the reports,” she said.

By contributing their UFO reports, the veteran combat pilot hopes that intelligence analysts and scientists can use the data to draw “reasonable, rational conclusions.”

Today, the pilots say they have no idea who was responsible for the Tic Tac UFO.

We All Want Answers

After finally coming forward with her account, Dietrich says she’s seen many camps of people fascinated by her story. Thus, UFO enthusiasts, debunkers, conspiracy theorists, and religious fanatics have all shown interest on Twitter. Unfortunately, they seem intent to fight each other as much as getting to the truth.

“At the core, no matter how much they’re attacking each other, what I see is that they all want answers. They all want to know what it was. And, we can’t do that if we’re just attacking each other or if we’re shaming each other or sensationalizing it. We really have to cooperate and get more information, get more evidence so that we can come to some conclusions.”

See the interview on CNN or watch the clip from Internet UFO Database below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taqUPnWeLPI

Featured image: Tic Tac by Brett_Hondow via Pixbay, Pixabay License with the ocean by Free-Photos via Pixabay, Pixabay License with Screenshot via Twitter/60 Minutes