Within Pilot Safety
One of Ryan Graves’s most persistent arguments is that the biggest obstacle to understanding unusual pilot sightings may not be the sightings themselves. It may be the missing reports.
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Introduction
This perspective is important within the UFO disclosure movement because it shifts attention away from proving extraordinary claims and towards a more basic problem of information quality. If the reporting culture suppresses observations, investigators lose the very details needed to determine what happened. In that sense, stigma can make ordinary explanations harder to find, not easier. [Rev]rev.comUAP Independent Study Report from NASANASA can reduce the stigma associated with pilots reporting anomalies and… Because it strikes…
Why pilots may avoid formal reports
In most aviation contexts, reporting hazards is encouraged. Pilots routinely report bird strikes, equipment malfunctions, airspace incursions, weather hazards, and near misses. Graves argues that unusual aerial observations often occupy a different category in the minds of aircrew because they carry cultural baggage associated with UFO stories, speculation, and public ridicule. [Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govRyan HOC TestimonyOversight CommitteeRyan HOC Testimony25 Jul 2023 — The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It s…
According to Graves’s congressional testimony, the stigma attached to UAP reporting is “real and powerful” and can discourage commercial and military aviators from speaking openly about encounters. He argued that pilots may fear being viewed as unreliable observers or attracting unwanted professional attention. [Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govRyan HOC TestimonyOversight CommitteeRyan HOC Testimony25 Jul 2023 — The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It s…
Several factors reinforce that reluctance:
- Reputational risk. Pilots operate in professions that place a premium on judgement and situational awareness. Reporting something unexplained can feel professionally risky.
- Expectation of inaction. If aircrew believe a report will disappear into a bureaucracy with no feedback, the incentive to spend time documenting the event decreases.
- Fear of misunderstanding. Pilots may worry that reporting an unexplained observation will be interpreted as making extraordinary claims rather than describing an operational event.
- Cultural signalling. In organisations where few colleagues report unusual sightings, silence can become the default behaviour. [FLYING Magazine]flyingmag.comunpacking pentagon latest uap releaseSome turn to the FAA and NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), which was…Read more… [FLYING Magazine]flyingmag.comunpacking pentagon latest uap releaseSome turn to the FAA and NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), which was…Read more…
From a data perspective, even modest under-reporting can matter. Aviation investigations often rely on patterns across multiple events rather than on a single dramatic incident. If only a fraction of observers submit reports, apparent rarity may be an artefact of reporting culture rather than of actual occurrence. [ODNI]dni.govODNIPreliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena…Jun 25, 2021 — When aviators encounter safety hazards, they are required to…
What details disappear when reports are softened
Missing data does not only occur when a pilot remains silent. It can also occur when reports are incomplete, delayed, or stripped of detail.
An aviation investigator attempting to identify an object or reconstruct an encounter typically wants precise information: time, location, altitude, weather conditions, aircraft type, sensor data, flight path, duration, visual appearance, manoeuvres observed, and whether multiple observers were involved. Small details that seem unimportant to a witness can later become decisive clues. [ODNI]dni.govODNIPreliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena…Jun 25, 2021 — When aviators encounter safety hazards, they are required to…
When stigma influences reporting behaviour, several forms of information loss can occur:
Reports are never filed.
The most obvious form of missing data is complete non-reporting. An event exists in memory but never enters a formal database. Investigators cannot analyse what they do not know about. [Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govRyan HOC TestimonyOversight CommitteeRyan HOC Testimony25 Jul 2023 — The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It s…
Reports become less specific.
Witnesses may omit details they consider embarrassing or difficult to explain. Those omissions can remove exactly the information needed to test conventional explanations.
Reporting is delayed.
The longer a pilot waits before documenting an event, the greater the risk that memories fade or become contaminated by later discussions.
Sensor correlations are lost.
Many potential explanations require matching pilot observations with radar tracks, air-traffic records, weather data, satellite information, or military sensor logs. If a report is not submitted promptly, opportunities for correlation may disappear. [ODNI]dni.govODNIPreliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena…Jun 25, 2021 — When aviators encounter safety hazards, they are required to…
The consequence is paradoxical. Skeptics and believers alike often want stronger evidence. Yet a culture that discourages reporting reduces the amount of evidence available to everyone. Weak reporting systems can therefore increase uncertainty regardless of what the underlying phenomena actually are.
Why the problem resembles other safety-reporting failures
Aviation has faced similar challenges before. Modern safety systems evolved partly because investigators recognised that punishment and embarrassment suppress valuable information.
Programmes such as confidential aviation reporting systems were designed to capture incidents that might otherwise go unreported. Their logic is straightforward: collecting imperfect reports is usually better than collecting no reports at all. A larger dataset allows investigators to identify trends, recurring hazards, and systemic weaknesses that are invisible when cases remain isolated. [Rev]rev.comUAP Independent Study Report from NASANASA can reduce the stigma associated with pilots reporting anomalies and… Because it strikes…
The UAP reporting issue follows the same pattern. Graves’s argument does not depend on accepting any particular explanation for sightings. Instead, it treats unexplained observations as a category of aviation data that may be systematically under-collected. From that viewpoint, the primary danger is not merely unidentified objects but unidentified reporting gaps. [Aviation Week]aviationweek.compodcast understanding uap aerospace safety concernAviation WeekUnderstanding UAP As An Aerospace Safety Concern25 Oct 2024 — Former F/A-18 pilot Ryan Graves who leads Americans for Safe A…
This logic also appears in official discussions. NASA’s independent UAP study team explicitly argued that reducing stigma around reporting anomalies would improve data collection and support better safety analysis. The panel recommended integrating reporting into existing aviation processes rather than treating the subject as an exceptional or fringe issue. [Rev]rev.comUAP Independent Study Report from NASANASA can reduce the stigma associated with pilots reporting anomalies and… Because it strikes…
How confidential intake could improve the dataset
Because the central problem is missing information, Graves and associated aviation-safety advocates have focused heavily on reporting mechanisms rather than on specific theories about what pilots are seeing.
A key proposal is the use of confidential reporting channels. Americans for Safe Aerospace, the organisation founded by Graves, presents itself as a trusted route through which pilots can submit reports without immediately exposing their identities. The goal is to lower the personal cost of participation and increase the volume of usable observations. [Safe Aerospace]safeaerospace.orgSafe AerospaceAmericans for Safe AerospaceAmericans for Safe Aerospace. A military pilot-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing a trusted chan…
Confidential intake could improve data quality in several ways:
- Higher reporting rates, producing a larger sample of observations.
- More candid descriptions, because witnesses feel safer providing details.
- Better pattern detection, as recurring locations, flight levels, times, or object descriptions become visible across multiple reports.
- Faster escalation of genuine hazards, whether those hazards involve drones, airspace violations, sensor issues, or unexplained events. [Safe Aerospace]safeaerospace.orgSafe AerospaceAmericans for Safe AerospaceAmericans for Safe Aerospace. A military pilot-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing a trusted chan…
Importantly, a confidential system does not guarantee that reported sightings represent unusual technologies or unknown phenomena. What it does provide is a stronger dataset from which ordinary explanations can be tested. In scientific and investigative terms, the first step towards solving a mystery is often improving observation and record-keeping.
The central mechanism: stigma creates uncertainty
Within Graves’s safety-centred approach, pilot stigma is best understood as a mechanism that converts observations into missing data. A pilot sees something unusual, anticipates negative consequences, and chooses not to report—or reports only partially. Investigators then receive an incomplete picture of events. With fewer reports, fewer correlations can be made, fewer explanations can be tested, and uncertainty persists. [Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govRyan HOC TestimonyOversight CommitteeRyan HOC Testimony25 Jul 2023 — The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It s… [FLYING Magazine]flyingmag.comunpacking pentagon latest uap releaseSome turn to the FAA and NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), which was…Read more…
That mechanism explains why Graves repeatedly emphasises reporting culture rather than extraordinary conclusions. If the objective is to understand what crews are encountering in the air, the first requirement is not a theory. It is a dataset. When stigma suppresses reporting, the missing information becomes part of the problem being investigated. [Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govRyan HOC TestimonyOversight CommitteeRyan HOC Testimony25 Jul 2023 — The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It s… [Safe Aerospace]safeaerospace.orgSafe AerospaceAmericans for Safe AerospaceAmericans for Safe Aerospace. A military pilot-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing a trusted chan…
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Endnotes
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Source: rev.com
Link: https://www.rev.com/transcripts/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-independent-study-report-from-nasa-transcriptSource snippet
UAP Independent Study Report from NASANASA can reduce the stigma associated with pilots reporting anomalies and... Because it strikes...
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Source: dni.gov
Link: https://www.dni.gov/files/[ODNISource snippet
ODNIPreliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena...Jun 25, 2021 — When aviators encounter safety hazards, they are required to...
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Source: oversight.house.gov
Title: Ryan HOC Testimony
Link: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Ryan-HOC-Testimony.pdfSource snippet
Oversight CommitteeRyan HOC Testimony25 Jul 2023 — The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security. It s...
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Source: safeaerospace.org
Link: https://www.safeaerospace.org/Source snippet
Safe AerospaceAmericans for Safe AerospaceAmericans for Safe Aerospace. A military pilot-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing a trusted chan...
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Source: aviationweek.com
Title: podcast understanding uap aerospace safety concern
Link: https://aviationweek.com/podcasts/check-6/podcast-understanding-uap-aerospace-safety-concernSource snippet
Aviation WeekUnderstanding UAP As An Aerospace Safety Concern25 Oct 2024 — Former F/A-18 pilot Ryan Graves who leads Americans for Safe A...
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Source: flyingmag.com
Title: unpacking pentagon latest uap release
Link: https://www.flyingmag.com/unpacking-pentagon-latest-uap-release/Source snippet
Some turn to the FAA and NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), which was...Read more...
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Source: flyingmag.com
Title: new jersey uap legislation pilot stigma
Link: https://www.flyingmag.com/new-jersey-uap-legislation-pilot-stigma/Source snippet
FLYING MagazineWhy One State's UAP Legislation Could Reduce Pilot Stigma15 Jan 2026 — UAP research advocate Ryan Graves says many pilots...
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Source: aiaauap.org
Link: https://aiaauap.org/team/ryan-gravesSource snippet
Ryan Graves | LeadershipGraves is the founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, the first military pilot led nonpro...
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Source: linkedin.com
Title: Ryan Graves
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whygravesSource snippet
The world belongs to the curiousAmericans for Safe Aerospace is a charitable organization that is dedicated to aerospace safety and natio...
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Source: safeaerospace.org
Link: https://www.safeaerospace.org/newsSource snippet
Safe AerospaceStay updated with the latest news, articles, and insights from Safe Aerospace. Covering UAP sightings, aerospace safety, an...
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Source: safeaerospace.org
Title: asa welcomes presidential directive to release government uap files
Link: https://www.safeaerospace.org/news/asa-welcomes-presidential-directive-to-release-government-uap-filesSource snippet
ASA Welcomes Presidential Directive to Release...20 Feb 2026 — Ryan Graves and his squadron encountered objects off the East Coast remai...
Additional References
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Source: aiaa.org
Link: https://aiaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AIAA-UAPIOC-Opinion-Paper-UAP-Occupational-Safety-Reporting_ForPublication_kb.pdfSource snippet
ADDRESSING THE UNKNOWN:NASA's ASRS is currently best suited to receive new UAP reports, and additional resource investment in ASRS is nee...
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Source: aiaauap.org
Link: https://aiaauap.org/Source snippet
AIAA UAP Integration and Outreach CommitteeWe are an AIAA Integration and Outreach Committee with a staff of subject matter experts dedic...
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Source: researchgate.net
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353539589_Analysis_of_ODNI_Preliminary_Assessment_Unidentified_Aerial_PhenomenaSource snippet
Analysis of ODNI Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified...PDF | The unclassified document titled Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aeri...
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Source: x.com
Link: https://x.com/uncertainvector/status/2046983038337204588 -
Source: linkedin.com
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/company/odniSource snippet
Office of the Director of National IntelligenceThe DNI oversees the US Intelligence Community & serves as principal adviser to the Presid...
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Source: dkiapcss.edu
Link: https://dkiapcss.edu/nexus_articles/a-comparative-survey-of-security-approaches-toward-unexplained-aerial-phenomena-across-the-indo-pacific/Source snippet
A Comparative Survey of Security Approaches Toward...by JE Reiss · 2023 · Cited by 3 — In its 2021 report, the ODNI reported it had inve...
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Source: news.sky.com
Link: https://news.sky.com/story/us-government-hiding-crucial-information-about-ufos-says-ex-navy-pilot-who-claims-he-saw-them-12927800Source snippet
government 'hiding crucial information' about UFOs...26 Jul 2023 — A former US Navy pilot who claims to have experienced UFOs "first-han...
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Source: hstoday.us
Link: https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/intelligence/director-of-national-intelligence-submits-annual-report-on-unidentified-aerial-phenomena/Source snippet
Director of National Intelligence Submits Annual Report on...12 Jan 2023 — UAP events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airsp...
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Source: binj.news
Link: https://binj.news/2025/05/08/the-massachusetts-native-helping-the-government-study-unidentified-aerial-phenomena/Source snippet
The Massachusetts Native Helping The Government Study...8 May 2025 — Ryan Graves, a Massachusetts native and Navy F-18 pilot, is helping...
Published: May 2025
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Source: theverticalspace.net
Title: 98 ryan graves asa uaps as a wake up call for airspace safety and innovation
Link: https://theverticalspace.net/episode/98-ryan-graves-asa-uaps-as-a-wake-up-call-for-airspace-safety-and-innovationSource snippet
#98 Ryan Graves, ASA: UAPs as a wake-up call for...6 Aug 2025 — Ryan Graves is a former U.S. Navy F/A-18F pilot and the first active-dut...
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