UFO investigation launched by Irish aviation officials after pilots report mysterious bright lights

A UFO investigation is underway in Ireland after pilots flying BA and Virgin Airlines jets reported seeing mysterious bright lights as they crossed the country. Photo / Getty Images

A UFO investigation is underway in Ireland after pilots flying BA and Virgin Airlines jets reported seeing mysterious bright lights as they crossed the country.

The Irish Aviation Authority launched the probe after a number of sightings on November 9 at around 7.40am, MailOnline reports.

The pilot of British Airways flight BA94 from Montreal to London contacted Shannon Air Traffic Control after seeing the object on the left-hand side of her Boeing 787.

She asked whether military exercises were taking place, according to Airlive.

Air traffic control reportedly said nothing was showing on their radar systems, to which the unnamed pilot replied: "OK. It was moving so fast."

She added that after approaching on the left side, it 'rapidly veered to the north'. She described it as a "very bright light" that "disappeared at very high speed".

The pilot of Virgin Airlines flight VS76 from Orlando to Manchester then reported seeing a similar thing, the website reports.

He described it as a "meteor or another object making some kind of re-entry" and said it was "multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory – very bright from where we were."

Both planes were flying in high level airspace - an altitude from between 28,500ft and 42,000ft.

Airlive says a third pilot also saw the bizarre lights and that the Irish Aviation Authority has filed a report with the sightings due to be "investigated under the normal confidential occurrence investigation process".