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2022 · Pacific coast west of Los Angeles, en route to Hawaii

Gulfstream G650 "Racetrack" Lights

Sourced, unconfirmed
Strength B · 7/10 · 3 independent
Evidence 2/4 · Witnesses 3/3 · Backing 2/3

A named former Navy pilot reports firsthand, with other crews and an ATC transcript in support, though the audio's provenance is unverified.

Plausibility High
Score 11 · 7 factors for, 0 against

A named former Navy pilot reports firsthand, with other crews and an ATC transcript in support; the audio's provenance is unverified.

See the factors ↓

Natural cause proposed, not demonstrated
Mark Hulsey describes the sighting · Rebelliously Curious with Chrissy Newton (The Debrief)
When18 August 2022, night (shortly after midnight local, per later posts)
WherePacific coast west of Los Angeles, en route to Hawaii
Backing3 independent
Witnesses2 named
Evidencedocuments

In their own words

“LA Center Twighlight 670 Uh, Go Ahead, We've got a few aircraft here, Going around in circles. higher altitude than us. Any idea what they are?”
G650 crew (call sign Twighlight 670; pilots Mark Hulsey and 'Keith'), radio call to LA Center, 18 August 2022, transcript not independently verified

A Gulfstream G650 business jet was flying west from the Los Angeles area towards Hawaii. Its two pilots were Mark Hulsey, a former U.S. Navy F/A-18 pilot, and a second pilot identified only as "Keith". They reported 4–7 luminous objects, which they put roughly 5,000–10,000 ft above them, "going around in circles". They asked Los Angeles Center what they were. LA Center did not know and saw no primary targets. By the pilots' and researchers' accounts, an American Airlines flight and other airliners also reported the lights. Hulsey filmed the lights on an iPhone and reported to MUFON (case 124552) and to researcher Ben Hansen, who published the case in October 2022. Hansen called the reports "racetrack UAPs", since similar circling lights were reported by other crews in August–October 2022. An ATC transcript said to come from a FOIA request was published by The Debrief. The primary trail is thin: there is no government document I could verify, the provenance of the ATC audio has been questioned, and the explanations proposed so far (Starlink and iPhone artefacts) are unconfirmed.

Evidence, in date order (3)

  1. 18 Aug 2022American Airlines flight crewwitness
    also reported the objects over the radio Micah Hanks & Chrissy Newton, "'Any Idea What They Are?' American Pilots Report Multiple Encounters with Unusual 'Racetrack' UAP in Recent Weeks", The Debrief, 19 Oct 2022
  2. 18 Aug 2022At least two more airline crewswitness
    called LA Center about the lights Micah Hanks & Chrissy Newton, "'Any Idea What They Are?' American Pilots Report Multiple Encounters with Unusual 'Racetrack' UAP in Recent Weeks", The Debrief, 19 Oct 2022
  3. 18 Aug 2022LA Center ATC transcriptdocument
    records the pilots' report and the controller saying he did not know what they were Purported LA Center audio (YouTube)

How plausible · High

A named former Navy pilot reports firsthand, with other crews and an ATC transcript in support; the audio's provenance is unverified.

  • ●●
    Access From the cockpit.
  • ●●
    No gain sought Nothing sold.
  • ●●
    Character record Former Navy pilot.
  • ●●
    Independent convergence Other crews on frequency.
  • ●○
    Cost of speaking Named.
  • ●○
    Checkable details check out ATC audio, unverified.

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.

On the record

  • ATC transcript (as published by The Debrief, 19 Oct 2022): Twighlight 670: "LA Center Twighlight 670 Uh, Go Ahead, We've got a few aircraft here, Going around in circles. higher altitude than us. Any idea what they are?" LA Center: "No, I do not. OK Strange." Twighlight 670: "they look to be, you know, much higher than we are, They're going around in circles so, maybe three aircraft." LA Center: "Roger. Um, yeah, I don't know. You're not entering any military or space or anything? I'm not sure." This is "on the record" only to the extent that the transcript is authentic FAA audio, which is not independently verified here.
  • Firsthand testimony: Mark Hulsey (named), in recorded interviews with Ben Hansen (YouTube, Oct 2022) and as summarised by The Debrief. He describes 4–7 luminous objects circling above the jet. Neither pilot thought they were conventional aircraft.
  • No FAA, DoD or AARO statement on this event was found.

Claims

Luminous objects circled in tight "racetrack" patterns 5,000–10,000 ft above the G650 (chain: pilots → Hansen and MUFON → The Debrief)firsthandSourced, unconfirmedMark Hulsey and "Keith"
An American Airlines flight nearby also reported the objects over the radio, and at least two more airlines called LA Center (chain: ATC audio (unverified) and pilots → Hansen → The Debrief)secondhandSourced, unconfirmedHulsey via Hansen; Hansen says this can be heard in the audio
The next day LA Center held a closed-door meeting and forwarded the data to the FAA Joint Air Traffic Operations Command (JATOC). JATOC told Hulsey it already had the "tapes and data" and would forward them to DoD UAP effortssecondhandSourced, unconfirmedHulsey → Hansen → The Debrief. Hansen says his FOIA for LA Center–JATOC communications returned "no such records". Not corroborated by any document.
The report also went to the FAA Domestic Events Network (chain: unknown → Beaty → The Debrief)secondhandSourced, unconfirmedDave Beaty, source not specified
Similar circling lights were seen on 10 Aug 2022 by about a dozen crew members from six airlines between Hawaii and the mainland, and on 19 Aug 2022 by UPS, United and Southwest crews near Springfield, MissourisecondhandSourced, unconfirmedanonymous pilots → Hansen → The Debrief. These are separate events grouped under "racetrack UAPs".
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Sources

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