• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
'Dorito' shaped aircraft spotted flying over Area 51 at night sparks UFO fears

Home> News> US News

Published 20:46 24 Jan 2026 GMT

'Dorito' shaped aircraft spotted flying over Area 51 at night sparks UFO fears

The man who filmed it thought it might be a 'classified test flight'

Callum Jones

Callum Jones

An explorer reckons he's captured footage of 'something interesting' near Area 51, which links back to alleged UFO sightings from more than a decade ago.

Located in southern Nevada, Area 51 is often associated with alleged unidentified flying objects, with many conspiracy theorists even claiming it's where the US government harbors alien life.

It's the home to a highly classified US Air Force base that's located within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), and no one really knows what goes on there.

With the mystery, many adventurers decide to explore the area, including backpacker and videographer Anders Otteson.

Advert

Otteson was filming his experience camping out near the test facility on January 14 and spotted two aircraft - one a little more unusual than the other.

At 1am, he started hearing the sound of jet engines in the distance, and soon after spotted what he thought was a B-2 stealth bomber aircraft overhead.

A satellite shot of Area 51 (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)
A satellite shot of Area 51 (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)

He said in a YouTube video: "Closer to three in the morning, I got another low flyover, but this one looked different."

He said the shape was 'close to an equilateral triangle with a flatter trailing edge', before describing it as 'Dorito' shaped, which certainly makes it easier to envisage.

Eerily, similar Dorito-shaped unidentified objects have been photographed before by Jeff Templin in Wichita in 2014 and Steve Douglass in Amarillo, Texas in the same year.

The flying Dorito (YouTube/Uncanny Expeditions)
The flying Dorito (YouTube/Uncanny Expeditions)

While the shape of these mystery objects wasn't a million miles away from known military aircraft, no one ever found out for certain what they were.

Otteson admitted that many people think these pictures are just B-2 aircraft, and he's not entirely sure his footage doesn't just show another B-2 as well 'pitched at an odd angle'.

He said: "It's hard to say conclusively what we're looking at, but in relation to all the other recent Dorito sightings in Death Valley and the ones going back to 2014, I think we have something interesting here.

Could it be a B-2 aircraft at a strange angle? (USAF/Getty Images)
Could it be a B-2 aircraft at a strange angle? (USAF/Getty Images)

"Are we looking at a classified test flight or run-of-the-mill training?"

When news outlets tried to get to the bottom of what exactly Templin's Dorito was, officials were evasive.

USNI News said the shape was 'reminiscent of the U.S Navy’s General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II carrier-based bomber program'.

But US Air Force spokesperson Jennifer Cassidy told them: "Given the resolution of this photo, we can’t even tell if it is a military aircraft, much less an Air Force one."

When they asked FAA spokesperson Alison Duquette what it was, she simply responded: "I do not know."

So the odds of Otteson getting to the bottom of exactly what he saw are slim.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Uncanny Expeditions/DigitalGlobe via Getty Images

Topics: Area 51, UFO, Aliens

Callum Jones
Callum Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Getty Stock Image
    an hour ago

    Sex therapist reveals 5 telltale signs that mean you're a bad kisser

    Annabelle Knight, a couples coach and psychosexual therapist, revealed how you know if you can't kiss properly

    News
  • kyliejenner/TikTok
    2 hours ago

    Kylie Jenner called 'irresponsible' for advertising jelly 'laxatives' on social media

    Jenner revealed the latest addition to her routine that is 'so good' - but not everyone agreed

    Celebrity
  • Sam Barnes/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images
    2 hours ago

    TikTok's biggest star in the world secretly makes eye-watering $975,000,000 in major business move

    The star surpassed the likes of Charli D’Amelio, Bella Poarch, and Addison Rae in followers

    News
  • Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    2 hours ago

    Trump issues major threat to Canada after PM Mark Carney blasted his foreign policy

    Donald Trump issued Carney with a devastating ultimatum

    News
  • Unsealed documents reveal UK agents were ordered to secure UFO technology over threat fears
  • Area 51 staff reveal top secret project 'permanently altered' man's DNA while others were killed by 'invisible enemy'
  • Pentagon whistleblower reveals identity and fears execution after exposing secret UFO program
  • Only person to visit Area 51 and make it out alive details exactly what he discovered inside