A C172 pilot reports sighting an object in the sky while taxiing to runway 23 at laf. The tower is a...

Attributes
ACN	1311817
Time
Date	201511
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	LAF.Airport
State Reference	IN
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Instructor
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180 Flight Crew Total 775 Flight Crew Type 450
Events
Anomaly	No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types

Narrative:

While taxiing to runway 23 on taxiway east; I noticed a small white object floating approximately 1-2 miles north/northeast of the airport at approximately 2;000 AGL. It was moving very slowly; approximately 15 knots on about a 130-degree track. It appeared to be a few feet in diameter with an elliptical shape.I queried the tower controller to ask if the facility was aware of what the object was. The controller was unaware of the object's presence. Upon further investigation; the controller informed me that it appeared to be a balloon with some sort of device tethered and freely swinging from the bottom of the balloon.this was consistent with my observation. A bright light or perhaps the sun's reflection would illuminate off of the metallic object at the bottom of the balloon. I have seen this object once before about 4 months ago on the final approach course to runway 10 at this airport. The controller in that situation was also unaware of what it was.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C172 pilot reports sighting an object in the sky while taxiing to Runway 23 at LAF. The Tower is also able to see the object which appears to be a balloon with a metallic object swinging below. The Tower Controller was initially unaware of the object and it appeared to be in the Class D airspace.

Narrative: While taxiing to Runway 23 on Taxiway E; I noticed a small white object floating approximately 1-2 miles north/northeast of the airport at approximately 2;000 AGL. It was moving very slowly; approximately 15 knots on about a 130-degree track. It appeared to be a few feet in diameter with an elliptical shape.I queried the tower controller to ask if the facility was aware of what the object was. The controller was unaware of the object's presence. Upon further investigation; the controller informed me that it appeared to be a balloon with some sort of device tethered and freely swinging from the bottom of the balloon.This was consistent with my observation. A bright light or perhaps the sun's reflection would illuminate off of the metallic object at the bottom of the balloon. I have seen this object once before about 4 months ago on the final approach course to Runway 10 at this airport. The controller in that situation was also unaware of what it was.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

A C172 pilot reports sighting an object in the sky while taxiing to runway 23 at laf. The tower is also able to see the object which appears to be a balloon with a metallic object swinging below. The tower controller was initially unaware of the object and it appeared to be in the class D airspace.