UFO sightings by commercial pilots probed by Irish authorities

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A British Airways pilot on Friday reported the sighting of an unidentified flying object off the southwest coast of Ireland, that was described as a "bright light" that came alongside his aircraft and "rapidly veered to the north," the BBC reported.

The pilot contacted Shannon air traffic control to check if there were military exercises and was told that there were no exercises in the area, the report said. Another pilot said the speed was “astronomical, it was like Mach 2,” which is twice the speed of sound, the report said.

Another pilot in a Virgin plane theorized that the lights could have been a meteor or another object re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. He also observed “two bright lights” to his right which “climbed away at speed,” the BBC reported.

“Glad it wasn’t just me,” another pilot said, according to The Irish Times.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is investigating the reports.

"Following reports from a small number of aircraft on Friday 9th November of unusual air activity the IAA has filed a report," the IAA explained, in a statement emailed to Fox News. "This report will be investigated under the normal confidential occurrence investigation process."

A spokesman for the IAA told The Irish Times that the UFOs were unlikely to be aliens from another planet.

Shannon Airport declined to comment when contacted by Fox News. "As the incident is under investigation by the IAA it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment," said a spokeswoman, in an emailed statement.

Fox News' James Rogers contributed to this article.