Black Triangles, Pilot Reports & the Search for UAP Evidence | JMill & Ryan Graves

What are pilots reporting, and how do we turn those accounts into evidence we can study? I sit down with Jonathan Miller, known as JMill, to discuss his work on sensemaking and MIT's Confronting Unknowns program. We explore how researchers can study ambiguous data, separate signal from noise, and stay open to new information without jumping to conclusions. Then we turn the tables. JMill asks me about the encounters that led me to speak publicly, my 2023 congressional testimony, and the work underway at Americans for Safe Aerospace. We discuss pilot reporting, witness privacy, the development of a structured research database, and a longer-term vision for connecting witness accounts with sensor data. We close with accounts reported to ASA, including luminous spheres, objects described near aircraft, and black triangles. I discuss what witnesses have described, how satellite effects can complicate observations, and why credible testimony still needs careful investigation. These are reported experiences and open questions, not established explanations of what the objects are. Learn more, report an encounter, become a member, and support our work at https://www.safeaerospace.org/ Learn more about JMill's sense making work at: https://www.sensemaking.wtf Subscribe and share this episode to support independent aviation-safety research and conversations. Chapters 00:00 Opening: pilot reports and unanswered questions 01:05 Introducing Jonathan Miller (JMill) 04:27 MIT's Confronting Unknowns and sensemaking 08:21 Finding signal in ambiguous data 11:57 Discussing government UAP releases 18:39 Turning the tables: JMill interviews Ryan 20:06 Navy encounters and the road to Congress 24:46 Pilot reporting protections and state policy 29:47 What ASA's reports can tell us 32:15 Building a structured research database 34:37 Oshkosh plans and membership support 39:40 Sharing witness accounts through the podcast 42:36 Protecting witness privacy 43:57 How ASA's mission has evolved 46:41 A vision for connected sensor networks 51:30 Confirmation bias and independent analysis 58:56 Patterns in the reports: spheres and lights 01:00:44 Satellite effects and ambiguous observations 01:04:08 A close-range account from Marines 01:05:57 Black triangles and reported near-misses 01:09:24 Why reporting matters and how to help