March 5, 2004; publicized May 2004 / T198
Mexican Air Force infrared lights
Campeche region and Bay of Campeche
Witness account
A Mexican Air Force surveillance flight recorded infrared lights during an anti-drug patrol near Campeche on March 5. Public release and a May press presentation generated international headlines about military UFO footage. The recorded bright spots were not equivalent to a formation of solid objects seen clearly by the unaided eye. Reports of radar returns also need to be distinguished from a demonstrated one-to-one correlation with every infrared light.
Public record
The central evidence is a genuine military infrared recording and the crew's account. Investigators compared the camera's viewing geometry with offshore installations in the Cantarell oil-producing area. Contemporary analysis by Robert Sheaffer, drawing on infrared expertise and Alejandro Franz's investigation, explained the main lights as distant oil-field flares.