The FAA has officially acknowledged an in-flight collision involving a Gulfstream G550, which struck an unknown object while flying at FL270 in Miami airspace on December 11. The aircraft was en route from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE) to New York’s Westchester County Airport (KHPN). According to an FAA statement, the twin jet diverted and safely landed at Palm Beach International Airport (KPBI) after the pilot reported hitting an object in the Miami airspace.

Public information about the incident remains limited, with only a mention on the Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network website and a post from Ryan Graves, co-founder of Americans for Safe Aerospace. This nonprofit organization tracks reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). Graves indicated that after the collision with the “unidentified metallic object” at approximately 27,000 feet, one of the G550’s engines failed.

Graves, who is a former Navy lieutenant and F/A-18F pilot, shared that the whistleblower—who was not one of the pilots—raised concerns about the object’s unregistered flight. The altitude where the incident occurred is regulated as Class A airspace, requiring flight plans and transponder signals, which the object lacked.

Graves eliminated several potential explanations for the unidentified object, explaining that a weather balloon would have transmitted a transponder signal, drones are prohibited at this altitude, and there was no biological evidence of a bird strike. He also noted visible metal damage to the engine.

Despite these details, Graves expressed concern that the FAA may be downplaying the significance of the event. The FAA is classifying it as an “incident” rather than an “accident,” which would trigger a public announcement, an investigation by the NTSB, and an explanation. Graves pointed out that under NTSB regulations, an “accident” requires reporting if there’s substantial damage to the aircraft or if anyone is seriously injured.

For this event to be classified as a serious incident, it would need to meet specific criteria set by the NTSB, such as engine failure resulting in the release of debris other than through the exhaust path. A standard engine failure in a transport-category aircraft typically falls under a different category, which doesn’t include UAP collisions.

While the FAA did not provide a clear answer regarding whether the G550 engine failure would be investigated, it is possible that it falls under FAA Part 21 regulations, which require the aircraft’s type certificate holder to report any engine failure.