January 31, 1994 UNCLAS cable (94 DUSHANBE 259) from AmEmbassy Dushanbe reporting that Tajik Air chief pilot Ed Rhodes (American) and two American pilot colleagues, flying a Boeing 747SP at 41,000 ft over Kazakhstan on January 27, 1994, watched a brilliant high-altitude object maneuver in circles, corkscrews, and 90-degree turns at very high speed for ~40 minutes, leaving contrails they estimated at 100,000 ft; Rhodes told the embassy he believed the object was extraterrestrial and under intelligent control.
The Ed Rhodes / Tajik Air 747SP incident has been cited and excerpted in UFO-research literature for years (e.g., Antonio Huneeus on openminds.tv), suggesting the cable was previously available via a FOIA release. Exact prior FOIA pedigree not pinned down in this pass.
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MRN: 94 DUSHANBE 259
Date/DTG: Jan 31 , 1994 / 310000Z Jan 94
From: AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
Action: WASHDC, SECSTATE ROUTINE; MOSCOW, AMEMBASSY ROUTINE
E.O.: Unknown
TAGS: TSPA, EAIR, KZ, Tl, TAJIK AIR, (RHODES, ED)
Reference: n/a
Subject: TAJIK AIR PILOTS REPORT UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT
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PAGE 01 DUSHAN 00259 310310Z
ACTION OES-09
INFO LOG-00 AID-01 AMAD-01 OASY-00 DOTE-00 EAP-01 EB-01
EUR-01 FAAE-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 ADS-00 NSAE-00 SSO-00
SNIS-00 NISC-02 /016W
--1FA298 310310Z/38
R 310258Z JAN 94
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2150
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
AMEMBASSY ALMATY
AMEMBASSY BEIJING
AMEMBASSY BISHKEK
CIA WASHDC 0224
DIA WASHDC 0232
UNCLAS DUSHANBE 00259
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/S
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: TSAP, EAIR, Tl
SUBJECT: TAJIK AIR PILOTS REPORT UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT
1. TAJIK AIR CHIEF PILOT, AMCIT ED RHODES, AND HIS TWO AMERICAN
PILOT COLLEAGUES REPORTED JANUARY 29 THAT, ON JANUARY 27, THEY
HAD ENCOUNTERED A UFO WHILE FLYING AT 41,000 FEET IN THEIR BOEING
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Released in Full
John Powers, Acting-Director
US Department of State
2/25/2026
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747SP AT LAT 45 NORTH AND LONG 55 EAST, OVER KAZAKHSTAN . THEY
FIRST ENCOUNTERED THE OBJECT AS A BRIGHT LIGHT OF ENORMOUS
INTENSITY, APPROACHING THEM FROM OVER THE HORIZON TO THE EAST AT
A GREAT RATE OF SPEED AND AT A MUCH HIGHER ALTITUDE THAN THEIR
OWN . THEY WATCHED THE OBJECT FOR SOME FORTY MINUTES AS IT
MANEUVERED IN CIRCLES, CORKSCREWS AND MADE 90-DEGREE TURNS AT
RAPID RATES OF SPEED AND UNDER VERY HIGH G'S. CAPTAIN RHODES
TOOK SEVERAL PHOTOS WITH A POCKET OLYMPUS CAMERA AND WILL SEND
COPIES TO THE EMBASSY AND THE TAJIKISTAN DESK (LOWRY TAYLOR) IN
THE DEPARTMENT, IF THEY COME OUT. AFTER SOME TIME, THE OBJECT
ADOPTED A HORIZONTAL HIGH-SPEED COURSE AND DISAPPEARED OVER THE
HORIZON.
2. AS IT WAS DARK WHEN THE OBJECT WAS OBSERVED, THE CREW WERE
UNABLE TO DISCERN ITS SHAPE. THEY DESCRIBED THE LIGHT IT EMITTED
AS HAVING A "BOW WAVE" AND AS RESEMBLING A HIGH-SPEED PHOTO OF A
BULLET IN FLIGHT, IN WHICH A VERY SMALL OBJECT GIVES OFF A MUCH
LARGER TRAILING WAVE OF HEAT/LIGHT. SOME FORTY-FIVE MINUTES
AFTER THE INITIAL SIGHTING, AS THE SUN WAS RISING, THE AIRCRAFT
FLEW UNDER THE CONTRAILS WHICH THE OBJECT HAD LEFT BEHIND. THE
PLANE WAS MAKING OVER 500 KNOTS. RHODES ESTIMATED THE ALTITUDE
OF THE CONTRAILS AT APPROXIMATELY 100,000 FEET, NOTING THAT THERE
IS TOO LITTLE AIR/MOISTURE AT THAT EXTREME ALTITUDE TO ENABLE THE
CREATION OF CONTRAILS BY THE PROPULSION MECHANISMS OF ORDINARY
AIRCRAFT WHICH MIGHT BE ABLE TO REACH THAT HEIGHT. THE PATHS OF
THE CONTRAILS REFLECTED THE MANEUVERS OF THE OBJECT, I.E.,
CIRCLES, CORKSCREWS, ETC.
3. TO OUR SUGGESTION THAT THE OBJECT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A METEOR
ENTERING AND SKIPPING OFF THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, RHODES AND HIS
CREW WERE ADAMANT THAT THEY HAD SEEN THOUSANDS OF "FALLING STARS"
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AND OTHER SPACE JUNK ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE IN THEIR YEARS OF
FLYING PASSENGER AIRCRAFT FOR PANAM. THIS, THEY INSISTED, WAS
NOTHING LIKE A METEOR. ON THE BASIS OF ITS SPEED AND
MANEUVERABILITY, RHODES EXPRESSED THE OPINION, WHICH HIS CREW
SEEMED TO SUPPORT, THAT THE OBJECT WAS EXTRATERRESTRIAL AND UNDER
INTELLIGENT CONTROL.
4. COMMENT: WE HAVE NO OPINION AND REPORT THE ABOVE FOR WHAT IT
MAY BE WORTH.
ESCUDERO
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