Three lights from Cyprus to the Balkans
On a 2023 flight from the Middle East to the Netherlands, Dutch captain Rob Akkermans, his first officer and four cabin crew watched three lights high above them from south of Cyprus onward. The lights flared up and faded, and one sometimes moved around the others like a dogfight. It went on for over two hours, past the Balkans, ending after about 21:30 UTC. The crew first assumed a military exercise. Akkermans, with 35 years of flying, calls it completely unexplainable, and told Euronews the stigma of reporting it was a burden.
How plausible · High
A named captain with 35 years' flying and five crew watched for over two hours and first assumed a military exercise.
- ●●Access Flight deck view for over two hours.
- ●●No gain sought Nothing sold.
- ●●Restraint First assumed a military exercise; no claims about origin.
- ●●Character record 35 years of professional flying.
- ●○Cost of speaking Went public under his name as a serving captain.
- ●○Consistent over time One detailed telling (Euronews).
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.