The Campeche Infrared Video
A Mexican Air Force patrol plane, hunting drug smugglers, filmed eleven glowing objects with its infrared camera.
What was reported
On 5 March 2004, a Mexican Air Force surveillance plane searching for drug-smuggling flights over the state of Campeche filmed a group of bright objects on its infrared camera. They couldn't be seen with the naked eye or on radar.
The Mexican defence ministry released the footage in May 2004, and it made headlines around the world as an official UFO video.
Explanations offered
Researchers who studied the video concluded that the objects were the flames of oil and gas flares on platforms in the Cantarell oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, far beyond the horizon. The camera picked up their heat, and the plane's movement made them seem to shift. Most researchers accept this explanation.
- When
- 5 March 2004
- Where
- Over Campeche, Mexico
- Witnesses
- A Mexican Air Force crew
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.