6 Top-Secret Aircraft that are Mistaken for UFOs The CIA estimates that more than half of the UFOs reported in the 1950s and 1960s were really American spy planes. Here are six (no longer) secret aircraft that people have mistaken for extraterrestrial flying saucers. By Phil Patton, with additional reporting by Davin Coburn, Erin McCarthy, Joe Pappalardo and Erik Sofge Published in the March 2009 issue. Spy and stealth planes—some with bizarre, bat-shaped wings, others with triangular silhouettes that imply otherworldly designs—have long generated UFO sightings and lore. And official denials feed rumors that the government isn’t telling us about...