Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Aguadilla Puerto Rico Case

Sighting

Border Patrol thermal cameras recorded a flying object entering the ocean and splitting in two near Aguadilla

Witnesses — Border Patrol thermal cameras

Status — Resolved

Disclosure Rating — 3/10

Border Patrol thermal camera footage captured a nocturnal object that skimmed the runway, crossed shoreline foliage, entered the Atlantic, resurfaced, and bifurcated before submerging again. Independent radar data1 and witness logs corroborate the flight path and water entry.

The video prompted competing interpretations. Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies2 measured eighty-plus mph underwater motion and no thermal plume; skeptical analysts3 identified parallax errors and wind-borne lantern profiles. The divergence frames subsequent inquiry.

  Personnel

Person / GroupRole in incidentRelevant observations
CBP Air & Marine Operations DHC-8 crewPilot, co-pilot, sensor operator, radar operatorVisual acquisition of reddish light, FLIR capture, no transponder return
Aguadilla tower staffAir-traffic coordinationLogged unknown track, postponed FedEx Flight 58 departure4
84th RADES squadronFAA primary radar custodiansReleased raw sweeps confirming untagged echo north-west of BQN

  Timeline

Local time (24 h)Key actionAltitude / medium
21:16DHC-8 wheels-up toward north-west1 600 ft, air
21:20Crew & tower sight pink-red source over water≥1 800 ft, air
21:22Camera lock; object crosses runway heading south-east700 ft, air
21:23:37Object clears trees <40 ft AGLLow-air
21:24:13Entry into ocean at ~110 mphSurface, water
21:24:18Resurfaces, proceeds westSplash-zone
21:24:42Infrared bloom expands; body divides0–10 ft above water
21:25:04Both halves submerge, track lostSub-surface

  Evidence

CategorySourceFindings
FLIR MX-15D videoCBP release via anonymous whistle-blower3 min 54 s sequence, thermal contrast persists post-submersion
FAA primary radarPico del Este QJQ site50 returns of non-transponding target 16 min pre-flight
Flight operations logFedEx 58 manifest16 min ground hold aligning with unknown traffic
SCU 162-page reportPowell et al., 2015Rules out balloon & drone; cites Bernoulli hump for wake tracking
Metabunk reconstructionWest, 2023Matches motion with wind-advected lantern pair & camera roll

  Assessment

The record displays high-fidelity multi-sensor convergence: primary radar, cockpit testimony, and stabilized infrared imagery constrain hoax probability. Kinematic modeling yields continuous ≈90 mph translation through water with negligible deceleration — performance surpassing known aerodynamic or unmanned platforms. Thermal invariance post-dousing further weakens pyrotechnic-lantern hypotheses.

Nevertheless, critical shortcomings remain. Exact witness names, raw sensor telemetry, and tower audio were withheld; MX-15D range-to-target reading snapped to underlying terrain, introducing parallax artifacts exploitable by skeptical balloon models. Upper-air winds from 080° at 15 kt coincide with observed ground track, sustaining the mundane explanation5.

Future adjudication requires release of high-frame-rate sensor metadata, Doppler radar phase returns, and contemporaneous ADS-B archives. Until then, the Aguadilla sequence persists as an ambiguous exemplar: neither conventional nor demonstrably non-human.

  References

  1. FAA RADES FOIA response #14-241 (2014) ↩

  2. SCU – Detailed Analysis of the 2013 Aguadilla Puerto Rico UAP Incident (2015) ↩

  3. Mick West, "Aguadilla – UFO Analysis with Lines of Sight," YouTube, 2024-02-17 ↩

  4. FedEx Flight 58 delay log, FlightStats archive, 25 Apr 2013 ↩

  5. National Weather Service upper-air sounding TJSJ, 00 UTC 26 Apr 2013 ↩

Occured on April 25, 2013

3 min read