AIR PICTURE — CHAGRIN FALLS, OH — 2026-06-17
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Volume is modestly above the weekly average, but the anomaly log is doing its best to compensate for whatever everyone else lacks in excitement.
NOTABLE TRAFFIC
DAL671 [A6D83C] — Eastbound at 35,025 ft, 529 kts, threading the needle directly over the Chagrin Falls area. Closest overhead contact of the day.
UAL20 [A89D59] — Northeastbound at 33,000 ft, 548 kts. Brisk pace, unremarkable behavior. Noted for proximity.
EDV5102 [A35E6F] — Eastbound at 35,000 ft, 543 kts, hdg 89°. Nearly due east — as committed to a heading as anything we tracked today.
LOT2098 [48AE00] — Polish LOT callsign, but ICAO hex 48AE00 registers to the Netherlands. Eastbound at 38,500 ft. The paperwork situation is somebody else's problem.
SAM810 [AE04F9] — Military hex, callsign flagged as government/military significant. Altitude logged at 41,000 ft. No further details available. We note it and move on.
ANOMALIES
HBAL790 [ABF807] — Balloonist of the day, and possibly of the decade. Tracked repeatedly between 66,000–66,700 ft. Consistent high-altitude balloon behavior; no cause for alarm, considerable cause for curiosity.
N360BG [A40C6C] — Topped out at 98,100 ft. That is not a typo. Whatever N360BG is doing up there, it is doing it without the company of conventional aviation.
N75976 [AA3EE4] — 74,700 ft. Also well above the neighborhood.
VADER07 [AE02CB] — Military hex, appeared twice. Callsign chosen with confidence.
VICE66 / VICE33 / VICE01 / VICE13 — Four separate VICE-callsign military contacts logged across the day. Either a squadron exercise or someone in scheduling has a theme going.
VTM558 [0D09A2] — ICAO hex falls outside all known national allocations. Low at 3,425 ft, heading northeast. Origin: unclear.
LOW-AND-FAST contacts: N1904S, N67DZ, SKW4123, AWI7370 — all flagged below 3,000 ft above 200 kts. Routine explanation likely; noted regardless.
PATTERN NOTES
Total contacts: 2,453 across 2,011 unique aircraft — 14% above the 7-day average. Missing regulars are numerous: UAL369, UAL1914, ASA1, EDV5415, AAL3090, and a dozen others failed to appear at expected hours. No single cause identified. Canadian traffic (Air Canada, Jazz, WestJet, Cargojet) transiting the northern corridors remained heavy and unremarkable.
END OF DAILY AIR PICTURE