In early 2004, the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan reportedly encountered an unidentified flying object (UFO) off the East Coast — a glowing orange sphere seen by nearly 200 sailors. The event remains one of the most mysterious episodes in modern U.S. naval history.
Documentary filmmaker Dave C. Beaty, who investigated the UFO case, interviewed several crew members who served aboard the carrier at the time. Although the sighting has never been officially acknowledged, many sailors vividly remember seeing a 40-foot-wide luminous orb hovering above the ship for hours.
Patrick Gokey, a sailor on duty that night, said the UFO’s movements were unlike anything he had ever seen — far faster than any known aircraft. Another crew member, Carroll Olesiak, who was recording the ship’s navigation log from 8 p.m. to midnight, also recalled the strange light. According to him, the glowing sphere appeared around 8 p.m. and lingered above the vessel for several hours.
“The sight reminded me of the ‘burning bush’ described in the Bible,” Olesiak said, adding that the phenomenon seemed to radiate a “negative energy.” He recalled that a superior officer ordered him not to record the incident in the official ship log.
Throughout the night, the vessel remained eerily calm. Olesiak later speculated that the event might have been captured on video, though few sailors had cell phones at the time.
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Another sailor, Derrick Smith, described the encounter as the most mysterious thing he had ever witnessed — something he still remembers as vividly as if it happened yesterday. While standing watch on the starboard side, he noticed dozens of sailors on the flight deck looking upward.
By the next morning, daily life aboard the Ronald Reagan had returned to normal. Some crew members dismissed the glowing object as a weather balloon, but Smith wasn’t convinced. “I’m just an ordinary guy,” he said. “Before or after that night, I’ve never experienced anything supernatural — but I know what I saw, and it couldn’t be explained.”
One of Smith’s colleagues reportedly tried to file a report about the incident but was rebuked and told to “get off cocaine.” During radio communication with the bridge, she learned that radar operators had also tracked the object. While witnesses gave slightly different accounts of timing, all agreed that an orange fireball had circled the carrier.
Beaty spent years compiling testimony from those who served aboard the ship, noting that the Ronald Reagan incident closely resembled other U.S. military UFO encounters — widely witnessed at first, then quietly forgotten. He said he once attempted to contact a veteran involved in the event, only to discover the man had since passed away.
The filmmaker continues to hope that more witnesses will come forward, helping to shed light on what remains one of the Navy’s most enigmatic UFO mysteries.
