{"id":3924072,"date":"2026-02-23T09:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/veteran-combat-pilot-alex-dietrich-describes-tic-tac-ufo-encounter\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T09:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:04:20","slug":"veteran-combat-pilot-alex-dietrich-describes-tic-tac-ufo-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/veteran-combat-pilot-alex-dietrich-describes-tic-tac-ufo-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Combat Pilot Alex Dietrich Describes Tic Tac UFO Encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Retired Navy Lt. Commander Alex Dietrich, a veteran combat pilot, gave an eye-witness account of a Tic Tac UFO. Dietrich spoke to\u00a0Anderson Cooper\u00a0<\/a>about what she saw off the coast of San Diego in 2004. At the time, she was on a routine training mission off the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier 100 miles southwest of San Diego.<\/p>\n

Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich and Cmdr. Dave Fravor, a graduate of the TOPGUN naval flight program, also appeared on\u00a060 Minutes\u00a0<\/a><\/em>to discuss what they saw together.<\/p>\n

\u00a0They both described an \u201cunsettling\u201d experience with a Tic Tac UFO.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt was unidentified. And that\u2019s why it was so unsettling to us. Because we weren\u2019t expecting it. We couldn\u2019t classify it,\u201d said Dietrich.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Strangely, the Tic Tac-shaped UFO had no exhaust plumes, markings, or apparent means of propulsion. Notably, \u00a0both pilots reported their sighting in a debriefing but didn\u2019t think there was any formal investigation at the time. Behind them, each pilot had a weapons system officer in the seat, who each witnessed the UFO.<\/p>\n

Unsettling, Unexplainable Encounter<\/h2>\n

On November 14, 2004, Dietrich and her fellow crew gave \u201cthorough debriefs\u201d about the sighting minutes after landing. Furthermore, hours after landing, Dietrich says she gave a written account about the UFO.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Years later, she gave even more details in what she calls an \u201cinterrogation-style\u201d interview to members of Navy intelligence and the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program\u00a0(AATIP).<\/a><\/p>\n

Dietrich was a new pilot flying with the VFA-41, also known as the\u00a0\u201cBlack Aces.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0That day, she was flying a F\/A-18F as part of an exercise to intercept and identify a \u201creal-world contact,\u201d after command redirected her squadron.<\/p>\n

When the pilots arrived at the specified coordinates, it looked like something the size of a Boeing 737 had crashed, creating roiling whitewater.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSo my heart sank,\u201d said Dietrich. \u201cI went from being excited that we would go get those bad guys to, \u2018Oh no, those bad guys have crashed and are sinking,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Suddenly, her heart-sinking feeling changed into the surprise of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Unpredictable Movement<\/h2>\n

All of a sudden, instead of the expected search and rescue effort, something extraordinary happened: a UFO that closely resembled a white\u00a0Tic Tac\u00a0<\/a>appeared.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen, as soon as that happened, enter stage left \u2013 the Tic Tac,\u201d said Dietrich. \u201cAnd, that\u2019s what we affectionately refer to it as because that\u2019s what it looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Notably, Fravor\u2019s account on 60 Minutes was somewhat different:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe saw this little white Tic-Tac-looking object\u2026 and it\u2019s just kind of moving above the whitewater area,\u201d Fravor recounted.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo predictable movement, no predictable trajectory,\u201d Dietrich said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to their observations, the aircraft was about the size of an average aircraft fuselage.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was white, sort of a matte finish, just like a Tic Tac. And, it behaved in a way that we were surprised, unnerved. It accelerated, or it almost didn\u2019t accelerate, right. It sort of jumped from spot to spot and tumbled around in a way that was unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

See a clip of her appearance on 60 Minutes<\/em> below:<\/p>\n

\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/60Minutes\/status\/1394289253895577603?s=20<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Related:\u00a0Charles James Hall: Tic Tac UFOs Belong to ETs He Encountered Called \u2018Tall Whites\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Commander Engages the Tic Tac UFO<\/h2>\n

Upon seeing the Tic Tac UFO, commanding officer\u00a0Fravor\u00a0<\/a>decided to engage with the craft. Meanwhile, an \u201cuncomfortable and inexperienced\u201d Dietrich (as she put it) fell back to give cover, circling above as Fravor approached.<\/p>\n

When Fravor\u2019s fighter\u00a0moved forward, the Tic Tac abruptly disappeared. All the while, the stunned pilots discussed what was happening on their radio.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt zoomed out of the picture so fast that we were all then scrambling on the radio,\u201d Dietrich said. \u201cAnd, the whole time we\u2019re on the radio with each other sort of losing our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Fravor\u2019s account, the Tic Tac began mimicking his moves as if aware of his presence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

60 Miles in Seconds<\/h2>\n

Seconds later, the USS Princeton\u2019s radar reacquired the location of the Tic Tac UFO 60 miles away. Furthermore, the ship\u2019s radar had also detected \u201cmultiple anomalous aerial vehicles\u201d descending 80,000 feet in\u00a0less than a second.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

According to\u00a0CBS News<\/a>, the pilots later found out the USS Princeton had been tracking UFOs for days. However, the pilots were left uninformed and unarmed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI felt the vulnerability of not having anything to defend ourselves,\u201d Dietrich said on 60 Minutes.<\/em> \u201cAnd then I felt confused when it disappeared.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In all, the strange encounter lasted about five minutes.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Many More UFOs Worldwide \u2013 Defying Explanation, Says Former DNI<\/a><\/p>\n

Ending the Stigma of UFO Reports<\/h2>\n

After her story, Anderson Cooper asked Dietrich what she thought she had witnessed that day. However, she says she\u2019s \u201cnot qualified to make the analysis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although she isn\u2019t sure what the UFO could be, she appeared to encourage other pilots to come forward. Even so, she may not have come forward at the time if she had been the only witness.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf I saw this solo I don\u2019t know if I would have come back and said anything because it sounds so crazy when I say it,\u201d she told 60 Minutes.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Notably, both Fravor and Dietrich had endured \u201cribbing\u201d from their fellow crew about their reports.<\/p>\n

Today, she says everyone can contribute to a data pool of sightings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m trying to reduce the stigma for other aircrew so if they see something or when they see something, say something, and that they will not feel embarrassed or ashamed to make the reports,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

By contributing their UFO reports, the veteran combat pilot hopes that intelligence analysts and scientists can use the data to draw \u201creasonable, rational conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, the pilots say they have no idea who was responsible for the Tic Tac UFO.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We All Want Answers<\/h2>\n

After finally coming forward with her account, Dietrich says she\u2019s seen many camps of people fascinated by her story. Thus, UFO enthusiasts, debunkers, conspiracy theorists, and religious fanatics have all shown interest on Twitter. Unfortunately, they seem intent to fight each other as much as getting to the truth.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAt the core, no matter how much they\u2019re attacking each other, what I see is that they all want answers. They all want to know what it was. And, we can\u2019t do that if we\u2019re just attacking each other or if we\u2019re shaming each other or sensationalizing it. We really have to cooperate and get more information, get more evidence so that we can come to some conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

See the interview\u00a0on CNN<\/a>\u00a0or watch the clip from Internet UFO Database<\/em> below:<\/p>\n

\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=taqUPnWeLPI<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Featured image: Tic Tac by\u00a0Brett_Hondow<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0Pixbay<\/a>,\u00a0Pixabay License<\/a>\u00a0with the ocean by\u00a0Free-Photos<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0Pixabay,\u00a0<\/a>Pixabay License<\/a>\u00a0with Screenshot via\u00a0Twitter\/60 Minutes<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Go to Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n

Retired Navy Lt. Commander Alex Dietrich, a veteran combat pilot, gave an eye-witness account of a Tic Tac UFO. Dietrich spoke to Anderson Cooper about what she saw off the coast of San Diego in 2004. At the time, she was on a routine training mission off the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier 100 miles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3924072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ancient-code","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3924072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3924072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3924072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3924072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3924072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikedyess.info\/para\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3924072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}