…and it’s never been explained

'It's likely many more people had seen this event,' said UFO researcher Dave Beaty

HUNDREDS of sailors stood mesmerised as they gazed up at what they claim was a 40ft-wide "UFO orb" hovering above a US Navy aircraft carrier.

A "glowing orange ball" spotted over the flight deck of the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan has gone down as one of the most mysterious sightings in US military history.

The flight deck of the USS Ronald ReaganCredit: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Chad McNeeley

Derek Smith said he is not prone to paranormal beliefs and yet vividly remembers his sighting despite years having passedCredit: Derek Smith

Witness Karol Olesiak aboard USS Ronald Reagan circa 2003Credit: US Navy

And it's never been explained.

Documentary filmmaker Dave C. Beaty - who produced 2019 film The Nimitz Encounters about another famous Navy UFO case - has been probing the mystery for years.

Beaty has interviewed a number of sailors who, to this day, insist that what they saw off the East Coast that night in early 2004 was a UFO.

Efforts to understand what took place have been hampered by the fact no official confirmation was ever given.

And one witness claimed senior officers acted suspiciously in the aftermath.

But Beaty told The Sun he believes there are more witnesses who can provide testimony - and believes their accounts are key to narrowing down when the event actually took place.

Seaman Patrick Gokey, who was serving on the ship that night, said the object "did not move in ways that I’ve seen other aircraft maneuver and it was faster than anything I’ve ever seen".

He estimated as many as 200 sailors saw it.

And former Navy quartermaster Karol Olesiak, who was on watch from 8pm to 12am and was responsible for the ship's logbook, also recalled the glowing orb.

He claimed it was about 40ft wide and hovered above the carrier for four hours from around 8pm onwards.

He described it as reminding him of Biblical descriptions of the "burning bush" and having "negative energy".

Olesiak alleged he was told not to log the encounter by the Officer of the Deck.

He told The Sun: "I asked, should I be logging this?

"I might have asked the conning officer and I don’t remember exactly what he said, but the impression that I got was that this should not be in the official log."

He also said there was an eerie calm among senior officers and bridge crew - as if they had seen such phenomena before.

"The entire bridge team was pilots," he said.

"My assumption is yes [they had seen something similar before], but I asked an officer if any of them were talking about it the next day and he said 'yes'."

Olesiak believes its "possible" someone may have taken photos and videos of the object - but the incident occurred before camera phones were common and crew did not carry their mobiles.

"It’s hard to believe somebody would be sitting on it for this long," he said.

I can still visualise this object in my head to a tee regardless of 18 years having passed. All I know is it was something I could not explain - Derek Smith

Derek Smith, a former Boatswain’s Mate Seaman, said he remembers the sighting "as if it occurred yesterday", calling it the "most mysterious thing" he has ever seen.

Smith, who was on starboard watch, said he noticed "all the people on the flight deck" looking up at the object.

He said the next day was simply "normal" - but his shipmates were discussing it, some dismissing the giant object as a "weather balloon" - to which he said "hell no".

"I [can] still visualise this object in my head to a tee regardless of 18 years having passed," Smith previously told The Sun.

"I do believe the government knows more than what they lead us to believe."

Smith stressed he was "an average Joe" with no paranormal experiences before or since.

He said: "All I know is it was something I could not explain. I could say now though I am starting to feel like I witnessed something special."

Derek's colleague claims she tried to report it to the bridge, but was told to "quit smoking crack".

And she also claims that while speaking to the ship's bridge, they said they were tracking the object on radar as it followed them doing "swoop" maneuvers.

Some of the witness testimonies vary, offering different times of day and duration of the encounter - but all agree the orange fireball was spotted near the ship.

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