The Thunderbirds. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Frank Kovalchek

Ryan Bodenheimer recently shared his own experiences with unknown objects while flying over the US.

Formerly a member of the elite Thunderbirds aerobatic team, Bodenheimer has certainly seen his fair share of unusual things in the sky.

His most notable close encounter occurred when he was returning home from a training exercise near the enigmatic Area 51 facility in Nevada.

While cruising at an altitude of around 30,000 feet, he witnessed a strange object suddenly streak past his aircraft traveling at a speed of over 400 knots.

He described the object as “silver, unpainted, shiny and reflective”, while noting that it had been shaped like a triangle with pointed wing-like structures and a tail.

“It looked like a futuristic fighter jet – too advanced, almost machine-welded,” he said.

This wasn’t the only encounter reported by Bodenheimer either – on a separate flight at a similar altitude he also encountered a strange rectangular object in the sky.

Although he did report it to air traffic control, no radar confirmation of the object was ever forthcoming.

Exactly what these two objects could have been continues to remain a mystery.

You can check out a video in which Bodenheimer describes these encounters in more detail below.