CODE BLACK: The USS Kennedy UFO Incident

While passing through the Bermuda Triangle in 1971, a glowing sphere hovered over a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier — disabling its systems, terrifying the crew, then vanishing without a trace.

As heard in this Weird Darkness podcast episode:

In 1971, something truly remarkable happened aboard a U.S. Navy vessel called the USS John F. Kennedy. The ship was traveling through the area known as the Bermuda Triangle — a region of the Atlantic Ocean long associated with mysterious events and unexplained disappearances. For decades, the incident remained unknown to the public, only coming to light once the internet made it possible for people around the world to share their strange and unexplained experiences. The events of that night have since contributed to our growing curiosity and catalog of the strange phenomena reported in our skies and oceans.

Jim Kopf was working in the ship’s guidance department. The massive aircraft carrier was returning to its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, after completing two weeks of military training exercises in the Caribbean. On this particular evening, around 8:30 PM, Kopf was performing his regular duties, monitoring eight teletype machines and collecting printouts from the fleet broadcasts. As he pulled one of the printouts from a machine, he noticed that one of the larger devices was suddenly producing lines of gibberish instead of the usual military data. Assuming it was a technical glitch, he contacted Facilities Control to report the problem. To his surprise, they quickly responded with an unsettling reply: “All communications are out.”

Now concerned, Kopf turned to his colleagues in the Naval Communications Operations Network, who shared the same space. He quickly realized they, too, were experiencing problems with their equipment. A growing sense of unease spread throughout the communications center. Then the situation took a startling turn when a voice unexpectedly came over the ship’s intercom with a chilling announcement.

“Something is hovering above the ship!” the voice called out. The room fell into stunned silence. Seconds later, another voice came through — this one clearly distressed and emotional — shouting, “It is God! It’s the end of the world!”

Shocked and confused, Kopf and five others from the communications department decided to investigate. They left their posts and hurried through the corridor to the nearest hatch leading to the flight deck — the upper surface of the ship used for aircraft operations. When they stepped outside, they were met with an extraordinary and unexplainable sight.

Hovering silently above the USS Kennedy was a massive, glowing sphere. The object radiated a blinding light that seemed to flicker rhythmically, shifting from yellow to orange as it floated above the ship. There was no sound coming from it at all, which only heightened the unease it inspired. Due to the darkness and lack of reference points in the sky, the crew couldn’t determine how large it truly was or how far above them it hovered. Kopf would later estimate that if the object was only 100 feet above the ship, it may have been about 300 feet wide. If it was farther away — say, 500 feet — then its size could have been far greater… enormous.

The six sailors stood in stunned silence, watching the glowing object for about 20 seconds. Then, the ship’s klaxon blared, signaling Battle Stations — an emergency alert requiring all personnel to immediately return to their designated posts. Kopf and his colleagues rushed back to the communications center, where they remained at their stations for the next 20 minutes. During that time, none of their systems functioned. The equipment was completely inoperable. Then, just as mysteriously as it had failed, everything suddenly came back online, as if nothing had ever gone wrong. Strangely, Kopf never saw or heard any official communications discussing the incident, which he found extremely odd given what they had just witnessed.

A few hours later, Kopf was able to speak with a close friend who worked as a radar operator in the combat information center. What he learned added another unsettling layer to the event. His friend admitted that during the incident, all of the radar screens were simply glowing — offering no information at all — suggesting that the object had interfered with the ship’s systems on a massive scale.

Another friend, who had helped construct the ship’s Navigational Bridge, told Kopf that every single compass on board had stopped working. But perhaps the most disturbing detail came from a sailor who had been on lookout duty during the event. He had been so traumatized by what he saw that medical staff had to sedate him to calm him down. This appeared to explain the panicked voice over the intercom yelling that it was “the end of the world.”

In the hours and days that followed, Kopf quietly spoke with other crew members to learn more. Through these conversations, he discovered that the object had affected the ship more deeply than he had initially realized. Not only had the communications and navigational systems gone down, but the ship’s entire electrical system had also failed. Most troubling from a military standpoint, however, was the failure of the ship’s two F-4 Phantom jets — which were always on standby and ready to launch — to start. Even if the captain had ordered an intercept mission to pursue the object, it would have been impossible to carry out.

In the days following the event, something even stranger occurred. Although Kopf didn’t witness it himself, he heard from other crew members that several men in trench coats had come aboard the ship. These mysterious visitors, whose roles were never explained, conducted interviews with crew members who had reported seeing the object. Curiously, none of the six men from the communications center — including Kopf — were interviewed. This led Kopf to believe that both his superiors and these investigators already knew who had seen the object and had chosen only specific people to speak with.

At the time of the incident, there were roughly 5,000 sailors on board the USS Kennedy, yet only a small number actually witnessed the strange phenomenon. Most of the crew had been below deck, resting after the recent training exercises, and were completely unaware that anything unusual had occurred above them.

Several days later, the USS John F. Kennedy reached Norfolk. Before the crew was dismissed for shore leave, the ship’s Commanding and Executive Officers addressed everyone through the ship’s closed-circuit television system. While the speech started off with the usual praise for their performance during the training exercises, the tone quickly changed. The captain reminded the crew that certain events aboard a Naval Combatant Ship were considered classified and should not be discussed with anyone without the proper clearance. Though the incident was never mentioned directly, Kopf and others knew exactly what the captain was referring to.

After heading home on leave, Kopf found himself forgetting about the event almost entirely. Years passed, and the memory didn’t return until he went to see the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Coincidentally, he saw the film with the same friend who had worked radar during the event. After the movie, while walking to their cars, Kopf casually brought up the strange night aboard the Kennedy. His friend’s reaction was immediate — he turned pale and said he never wanted to speak about it again. The conversation ended there, and once again, the memory faded from Kopf’s mind.

It wasn’t until the early 2000s, once the internet had become widely used, that Kopf finally felt the urge to share his experience. After reading countless reports from others around the world who had seen similar things, he decided to come forward with his story. Had he not spoken up, what happened that night in 1971 might have remained buried forever — just one more mystery lost to history.

To this day, the object remains unidentified. Based on similar sightings from around the world, it was likely what many would call a UFO — an Unidentified Flying Object. Whether the craft came from outer space, a secret base on Earth, or a classified military program remains unknown.

Some researchers believe the location may hold a clue. The Bermuda Triangle has been associated with strange occurrences for centuries — missing ships, vanished planes, and unexplained phenomena. Could there be something unique about this part of the ocean that played a role in what happened?

Whatever the case, one thing seems clear: military officials appeared determined to keep the event quiet. Their insistence on secrecy raises an important question — what do they know about these phenomena that the public doesn’t? Like so many aspects of the UFO mystery, that’s a question that still has no clear answer.