Aguadilla Airport FLIR Incident

Tier 2 — Declassified RecordsEQI 62BAI 50April 25, 2013·Rafael Hernandez Airport, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico~52k nearby sightings

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EQI62/100

Evidence quality · 6 components

BAI50/100

Behavioral anomalousness · 4 components

AATIPInstant. Accel.HypersonicLow ObservableTrans-MediumLift w/o Surfaces1/5 confirmed

TL;DR

A DHS/CBP Predator B drone's FLIR thermal camera captured approximately three minutes of a transmedium object crossing an active runway approach at Rafael Hernandez Airport, entering the ocean without apparent deceleration, traveling submerged, and re-emerging - with embedded telemetry data providing objective flight parameters for the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies' 47-page technical analysis.

Confirmed

  • FLIR thermal footage of an unidentified object was captured by a CBP Predator B UAV over Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on April 25, 2013 (authenticated as genuine DHS/CBP video by SCU researchers based on embedded telemetry data)
  • SCU published a 47-page technical analysis in 2015 concluding no conventional explanation accounts for the observed behavior
  • The unidentified object caused a flight delay for an inbound commercial aircraft at Rafael Hernandez Airport
  • Object flew at speeds below the stall speed of any known fixed-wing aircraft during documented air-phase flight

Unresolved

  • ?Whether the water entry occurred without deceleration as observed in FLIR footage or whether thermal imaging ambiguities affect interpretation
  • ?Whether the apparent split into two objects during the water phase represents physical splitting or a sensor artifact
  • ?Why DHS/CBP has not officially acknowledged the footage or the incident
  • ?Object's identity - classified drone, natural phenomenon, or genuinely anomalous transmedium vehicle

Strongest mundane explanation

A large tropical seabird such as a frigatebird producing an unusual FLIR thermal signature at night could explain the air-phase imagery, but the SCU analysis found the object's speed range and trajectory were inconsistent with bird flight, a bird cannot enter and re-emerge from the ocean without biological deceleration evidence, and the object caused a verifiable flight delay at an active airport.

On the night of April 25, 2013, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security / Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operating over northwestern Puerto Rico captured approximately three minutes of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) thermal video of an unidentified object. The object was tracked from Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla as it flew at low altitude, crossed the airport's active runway approach (causing a brief flight delay for an inbound commercial aircraft), proceeded over the ocean, entered the water, traveled submerged or at the surface, re-emerged from the water, and continued flight - demonstrating apparent transmedium capability between air and water environments. The DHS/CBP footage was not officially released by the agency. It became available to researchers and was analyzed extensively by the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU). In 2015, SCU published a 47-page technical analysis of the footage. The analysis concluded the object's observed flight characteristics - including speeds below aircraft stall speed, the water entry and exit without apparent deceleration or structural disruption, and the split into what appeared to be two objects - could not be explained by any conventional aircraft, drone, bird, or marine animal known to the analysts. The SCU analysis was authored by researchers with professional backgrounds in physics, engineering, and intelligence analysis. The DHS did not officially acknowledge the footage or the SCU report. The Aguadilla case is considered one of the strongest instrumental UAP cases in the post-2010 period due to the quality of the sensor platform and the anomalous behavior documented.

Key Facts

  • Date: April 25, 2013, approximately 9:20 PM AST
  • Location: Rafael Hernandez Airport, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and adjacent ocean
  • Sensor platform: DHS/CBP Predator B UAV with FLIR thermal imaging system
  • The object caused a brief flight delay for an inbound commercial aircraft at Rafael Hernandez Airport
  • Object was tracked at speeds estimated between 40 and 120 mph - below stall speed for any known fixed-wing aircraft
  • Object entered the ocean without apparent deceleration or structural disruption
  • Object traveled at or below the ocean surface and then re-emerged and continued flight
  • Object appeared to split into two objects during the water entry/exit phase
  • DHS/CBP did not officially acknowledge the footage or the incident
  • Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) published a 47-page technical analysis in 2015
  • SCU found no conventional explanation for the observed flight characteristics
  • Footage authenticated as genuine DHS/CBP thermal video by researchers with professional credentials