AN American Airlines jet's close encounter with a UFO sparked a frenzy of online speculation – and it turns out it is far from the first time it has happened.

Sightings of flying saucers and other "unidentified aerial phenomena" near passenger planes resurfaced this week as the FBI opened a file on the latest near miss.

Last Sunday, a radio interceptor picked up an unusual transmission from flight AA2292 from Cincinnati to Phoenix.

The pilots said they had been overtaken by a speeding craft at 36,000ft over a remote corner of New Mexico.

One pilot can be heard telling an air traffic controller in Albuquerque: “Do you have any targets up here? 

“We just had something go right over the top of us.

“I hate to say this but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise missile type of thing – moving really fast right over the top of us.”

The Airbus 302 was flying at 406mph at the time, according to flight data.

It was not far from the White Sands Missile range, but the Pentagon said no tests or launches were conducted on that day.

The mystery deepened when AA confirmed the cockpit recording came from its jet – and told reporters to "talk to the FBI" for more.

The FBI said it was "aware of the reported incident" but would not "confirm or deny" if it was investigating.

UFO hunters said it is the latest in a string of strange incidents involving passenger jets.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 'FLYING SAUCER'

Bizarre footage sent conspiracy theorists into a frenzy in 2018.

The eerie clip appears to show a saucer-shaped object following a plane in its vapor trails before overtaking with ease.

It was filmed from the ground in Lincoln, New Hampshire, in 2016 and resurfaced two years later.

A witness said: "I immediately thought I was witnessing some strange aircraft, possibly military but it was not a jet.

"The UFO was gaining on a jet. No helicopter could do that. I was blown away and luckily got out my phone in time to take a video.”

ORB 'INSPECTS CHEMTRAILS'

A more recent video from December 2020 is claimed to show a spherical white object flying close to the condensation trails left by a plane above Cathedral City, California.

The orb – which some suggested could be a drone or a weather balloon – appears to move at a steady pace in the footage.

Some viewers said it was "inspecting chemtrails", which conspiracy theorists claim are biological or chemical agents deposited in the sky by commercial aircraft.

'CIGAR' OVER KANSAS

Another sighting caught on camera involved a plane over Wichita, Kansas, in June 2019.

A woman filming a noisy passenger jet overhead also captured what appears to be a bright cylindrical object shooting into view.

She is heard saying: "What in the hell is that? What in the f***?"

Noting the loud noise of birds in the background, one viewer commented: "Great footage, I wonder if the birds are going crazy."

'SAUCER' IN NETFLIX DOC

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted what they claim is a UFO flying next to a light aircraft in Netflix documentary The Hidden Science Of Everything.

One clip from July 2020 shows an object blurred by motion in the background over an Angelo, Texas.

The craft – again cylindrical in appearance – shoots in from the right of the picture and darts in the opposite direction to the small plane.

PHILLY FLYER

Baffling footage filmed from the window of a passenger plane shows an object zipping past in the opposite direction.

Mariah Lyn filmed the takeoff from Philadelphia last August.

"What is that?" she is heard asking as she zooms in on an unidentified object.

It appears to be silver in colour and round in shape.

Internet sleuths claimed it is an example of a phenomenon branded "fast-moving UFOs".

One viewer said: "I've seen those many times, they can often be found hanging around clouds."

Another called it "100 per cent authentic footage" and claimed the UFO was "moving much faster than commercial air traffic".

Theorists claimed scheduled air traffic would not fly so close to another plane.

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