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2004 USS Nimitz UAP encounter

A November 2004 incident in which US Navy fighter pilots and radar operators from the USS Nimitz carrier strike group tracked and visually intercepted a Tic Tac-shaped unidentified object off the coast of San Diego, California, an event that went officially unaddressed for years before becoming widely known through later media reporting on Pentagon UFO investigations.

2004-11-14 · Pacific Ocean, off San Diego, California, USA

The 2004 USS Nimitz UAP encounter refers to a radar-tracked and visually observed encounter between two crews of US Navy fighter jets and an unidentified object, informally known as the Tic Tac and more formally as the USS Nimitz UFO incident.1 On 2004-11-14, the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) was carrying out drills off the Southern Californian coast ahead of a deployment to the Persian Gulf,2 with its carrier strike group training approximately 160 kilometres southwest of San Diego, California.3 David Fravor, commander of the F/A-18 squadron aboard the carrier,4 and Alex Dietrich, each flying with a weapons systems officer in the back seat, were diverted to investigate radar contacts detected by the cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59).5 The incident was documented by radar, camera, and four aviators of the United States Navy (USN).6

Beginning on 2004-11-10, radar aboard the USS Princeton had detected a small number of objects flying at approximately 8,500 metres and around 190 kilometres per hour off the California coast,7 tracking them intermittently for about a week before the 14 November encounter.8 Kevin Day was manning the Princeton’s radar during the exercise9 when he observed a formation of unidentified objects on his radar screen rather than the simulated adversary aircraft he had expected.10 Concerned given the ongoing air defence exercise, Day raised the matter with his captain, who confirmed the contacts had already been tracked for days.11 On one occasion, the tracked objects descended from approximately 8,500 metres to the ocean surface in 0.78 seconds.12

On 2004-11-14, Fravor and Dietrich, flying two F/A-18F Super Hornets with a weapons systems officer in each back seat, had their training mission cancelled.13 The USS Princeton gave the flight bearing, range, and altitude calls for an unidentified radar contact at ranges of approximately 80, 64, and 48 kilometres.14 The sighting took place on a clear day with unrestricted visibility, no cloud cover, and calm seas.15 The crews first noticed an area of white water on the ocean surface, in a cross-like shape approximately the size of a Boeing 737, appearing to be caused by something roughly 5 to 6 metres below the surface,16 though no object was visible beneath the water itself.17 Above the disturbance, Fravor spotted a small white Tic Tac-shaped object while flying approximately 6,100 metres above it,18 as Dietrich circled above while Fravor descended for a closer look.19 Fravor later described the object as roughly the size of his F/A-18, with no markings, no wings, and no exhaust plumes,20 moving abruptly between directions with no gradual deceleration unlike the motion of a helicopter,21 and producing no visible rotor wash on the water below.22

Fravor descended toward the object while his wingman remained at higher altitude to observe from a different angle,23 at an airspeed of approximately 556 kilometres per hour,24 closing to within approximately 0.8 kilometres.25 As he approached, the object appeared to react, turning to point west and beginning to climb.26 At an altitude of about 3,700 metres, roughly 2,400 metres below the other aircraft, the object then accelerated and disappeared;27 the white water on the ocean surface disappeared at the same time, leaving no visible trace.28 In total, the four aviators watched the object for approximately five minutes.29

Investigator Luis Elizondo later said the object disappeared instantaneously and that, five seconds afterwards, a radar operator reported it was waiting at the flight’s combat air patrol point.30 That point was an aerial rendezvous location approximately 97 kilometres away, known only to a handful of Navy personnel and pilots,31 and the object was already there when the pilots arrived, despite the location being known only within the USS Nimitz briefing room.32 Fravor’s flight searched the area by radar but never located the object again.33 Fravor said he did not know how the object could have known to be there, since the location had not been broadcast, though he speculated it might have been because the same point was used daily.34 Chad Underwood recorded forward-looking infrared (FLIR) video of the object.35 That FLIR targeting-pod footage is the only recorded material from the encounter that has been publicly released, while other data from the incident has not.36

The encounter went without official acknowledgement for five years, until Elizondo began investigating it.37 According to the documentary The UFO Phenomenon, The New York Times reported the existence of a Pentagon unit secretly investigating UFOs in December 2017, publishing accompanying video.38 Dietrich had not spoken publicly about the encounter before this interview.39 She said she felt a responsibility to share her account because she had been in a government aircraft, on duty, and the material was unclassified,40 and described feeling vulnerable during the encounter because the crews had nothing with which to defend themselves.41

References (41)
  1. The encounter is informally called the Tic Tac and formally the USS Nimitz UFO incident
    “that is referred to as the Tic Tac and the incident more formally referred to as the USS Nimitz UFO incident”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 00:00:26.9-00:00:33.7
  2. USS Nimitz was performing drills off Southern California ahead of deployment to the Persian Gulf
    “On the day in question, November 14, 2004, The USS Nimitz was performing drills off the Southern Californian coastline ahead of deployment to the Persian Gulf.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:13:56.8-00:14:12.6
  3. The carrier strike group was training roughly 160 km southwest of San Diego
    “It was November 2004, and the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was training about 100 miles southwest of San Diego.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:07:14.4-00:07:22.2
  4. David Fravor was commander of the F/A-18 squadron aboard the Nimitz
    “commander of the F-18 squadron on the USS Nimitz”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:06:46.6-00:06:49.9
  5. Fravor and Dietrich were diverted to investigate USS Princeton's radar contacts
    “On November 14, Fravor and Dietrich, each with a weapons system officer in the backseat, were diverted to investigate.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:07:39.4-00:07:46.0
  6. The incident was documented by radar, camera, and four naval aviators
    “an incident off Southern California in 2004, which was documented by radar, by camera, and four naval aviators”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:06:32.3-00:06:39.9
  7. From 2004-11-10, Princeton radar detected objects at ~8,500 m and ~190 km/h
    “they started noticing on November 10th that there is a few objects flying around at 28,000 feet with speed of what I guess is considered a low speed of 120 miles an hour... on the coast of California.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:12:10.8-01:12:26.3
  8. Princeton tracked the objects intermittently for about a week before the encounter
    “they kept detecting these objects for just about a week. Then comes in like your part of the story, which is on November 14th”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:12:28.2-01:12:38.1
  9. Kevin Day was manning the Princeton's radar during the exercise
    “Manning the radar on board the Princeton was Kevin Day.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:14:20.4-00:14:23.8
  10. Day observed a formation of unidentified objects rather than simulated adversary aircraft
    “But it wasn't the bad guys appearing on his screen that caught his eye. Instead, a formation of unidentified flying objects.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:14:47.0-00:14:56.2
  11. Day's captain confirmed the contacts had been tracked for days
    “The only reason why I became concerned with these is because of that air defense exercise. Captain comes down to combat and says, hey, sir, you know we've been tracking these objects for days now.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:15:00.9-00:15:09.4
  12. An object descended from ~8,500 m to the ocean surface in 0.78 seconds
    “It went from 28,000 feet to the surface of the ocean in 0.78 seconds.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:16:27.3-00:16:29.5
  13. Fravor and three crew flew two F/A-18F Super Hornets when their training mission was cancelled
    “So originally it was the four of us. There's two jets, two people in each jet. They're F-18Fs.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:15:07.6-01:15:11.9
  14. Princeton gave bearing, range and altitude calls at ~80, 64 and 48 km
    “they're calling ranges, they're called BRA calls, bearing range and altitude. And they're telling us, hey, it's at 40 miles or 50 miles and 40 miles and 30 miles.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:16:37.3-01:16:44.7
  15. The sighting occurred on a clear day, unrestricted visibility, calm seas
    “this is a it's a clear day there's no clouds and there's no white caps it's just a calm... It's 50, it's unrestricted visibility.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:18:45.5-01:18:55.7
  16. White water in a cross shape, size of a Boeing 737, caused by something 5-6 m below
    “the white water and i like to shape it you can say it was a cross i say it's about the size of a 737 so it looks like if you took a 737 put it about 15 20 feet below the water”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:21:18.2-01:21:27.2
  17. No object was visible beneath the surface, only the white water
    “We don't see an object because there's all kinds of, oh, they saw another craft below the wave. We didn't see anything below the water. We just saw whitewater.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:21:09.8-01:21:17.1
  18. Fravor spotted a small white Tic Tac-shaped object ~6,100 m below his aircraft
    “then we see this little white tic-tac, because we're about 20,000 feet above it.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:21:56.7-01:22:00.9
  19. Dietrich circled above while Fravor descended for a closer look
    “As Dietrich circled above, Fravor went in for a closer look.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:08:12.3-00:08:16.3
  20. Object was about the size of an F/A-18, no markings, no wings, no exhaust
    “He said it was about the size of his F-18, with no markings, no wings, no exhaust plumes.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:08:30.6-00:08:36.6
  21. Object moved abruptly between directions, no gradual deceleration, unlike a helicopter
    “It's very abrupt. So it's not like a helicopter... This thing's not. It's like left, right, left, right, with no...”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:22:05.7-01:22:12.8
  22. No visible rotor wash on the water below
    “So you see it and you go, well, there's no rotor wash. What is that thing?”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:22:53.3-01:22:57.0
  23. Fravor descended while his wingman stayed higher to observe from a different angle
    “So she's up here and I'm down here as I'm descending. She can watch because right now all I'm watching is the Tic Tac. She can watch me and the Tic Tac.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:23:35.3-01:23:44.4
  24. Fravor descended at an airspeed of approximately 556 km/h
    “I'm doing about 300 knots, which is a really good airspeed for the airplane for maneuvering”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:24:11.1-01:24:15.1
  25. Fravor closed to within approximately 0.8 km of the object
    “I'm probably about a half mile away, which you think, well, a half mile is pretty far.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:25:44.9-01:25:47.4
  26. Object appeared to react, turning west and beginning to ascend
    “as the Tic Tac's doing this, it literally, it's like it's aware of us and it just goes bloop and it kind of points out towards the West and starts coming up.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:24:22.2-01:24:28.9
  27. Acceleration and disappearance occurred at ~3,700 m, ~2,400 m below the other aircraft
    “this happens at around estimating about 12,000 feet. So they're at 20. So they've got about 8,000 foot of altitude above us when this happens.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:26:09.2-01:26:14.9
  28. The white water disappeared at the same time as the object, no trace left
    “we're looking for the whitewater and we can't even, the whitewater's gone. There's nothing. It's literally all blue.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:26:36.0-01:26:40.9
  29. Four aviators watched the object for approximately five minutes
    “There was four of us in the airplanes literally watching this thing for roughly about five minutes.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:09:04.2-00:09:08.2
  30. Elizondo: object disappeared instantly, radar reported it at the cap point five seconds later
    “and then all of a sudden, bam, it's gone. Bing, disappears instantaneously. Five seconds later, you can do the math, one of the radar operators radios into the F-18 and says, sir, you're not gonna believe this, but the object is now waiting for you at your cap point.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:16:34.0-00:16:52.4
  31. The cap point was ~97 km away, known only to a handful of Navy personnel and pilots
    “The cap point was an aerial rendezvous point 60 miles away, known only to a handful of Navy personnel and pilots.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:16:53.9-00:17:03.3
  32. The object was already at the cap point though its location was known only in the Nimitz briefing room
    “They go to their cap point. It's a secret. Nobody's meant to know this outside of the briefing room of the USS Nimitz. They get to the cap point, and what's there waiting for them? The tic-tac. It's there. It's waiting for them. It knows they're coming.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:17:04.6-00:17:21.4
  33. Fravor's flight searched by radar but never located the object again
    “we get out there we never see it we never see it again”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:28:45.0-01:28:46.8
  34. Fravor said he did not know how it knew to be there, speculating on the daily-used point
    “We don't tell it. We don't broadcast it. We have a waypoint in the system. But I don't know, maybe it knew where we were going, because we used the same one day after day after day.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:30:20.9-01:30:29.7
  35. Chad Underwood recorded FLIR video of the object
    “Chad Underwood recorded that video.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:13:27.6-01:13:28.9
  36. Only the FLIR targeting-pod tape has been publicly released; other data has not
    “When you look at his video and this is the stuff that isn't out that they don't see because not all the all you see is the FLIR tape.”
    David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 01:30:54.0-01:30:59.3
  37. The encounter went unaddressed for five years until Elizondo investigated it
    “Nothing was said or done officially for five years until Lou Elizondo came across the story and investigated.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:10:04.3-00:10:11.8
  38. The New York Times reported a Pentagon unit investigating UFOs in December 2017
    “Then in December 2017, everything changed. One of the world's greatest newspapers, the New York Times, revealed the existence of a Pentagon unit secretly investigating UFOs. And even more extraordinary, it had the videos to prove it.”
    The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:12:11.8-00:12:31.4
  39. Dietrich had not spoken publicly about the encounter before this interview
    “flying at his wing, Lieutenant Alex Dietrich, who has never spoken publicly about the encounter”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:06:50.6-00:06:56.2
  40. Dietrich felt a responsibility to share her account given the unclassified, on-duty nature of the sighting
    “Because I was in a government aircraft, because I was on the clock, and so I feel a responsibility to share what I can, and it is unclassified.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:07:02.7-00:07:11.2
  41. Dietrich felt vulnerable, having nothing with which to defend themselves
    “I felt the vulnerability of not having anything to defend ourselves.”
    Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs 00:13:37.4-00:13:40.8

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