USS Nimitz / Tic Tac encounter

Case

Overview

Carrier strike group personnel reported unusual radar and visual contacts; Navy FLIR1 video subsequently released.

Investigative phases

USS Princeton radar reports; aviator visual encounter; later public witness testimony; 2020 DoD video release; Alex Dietrich firsthand wing-pilot account (public CBS interview 2021)

Reported phenomena

White oblong object, reported unusual motion; FLIR recording

Public evidence status

DoD confirms provenance of 2004 Navy video; original radar datasets not publicly available

Alternative explanations / caveats

Sensor geometry, range, perception, and missing data limit performance conclusions

Next research tasks

Gather witness-specific timelines; distinguish FLIR video from visual encounter; seek radar originals; compare Dietrich and Fravor visual accounts, distinguishing later FLIR sortie and shipboard radar reports

Last reviewed

2026-11-01

Assessment

Not yet in the Case Assessment Matrix.

Evidence (7)

• Navy FLIR1 infrared video Claim unverified
  CE-005 · 2004-11 · Government-released sensor video
  Gaps: Missing full original sensor context, range, radar logs
• Pilot and radar-operator accounts Unverified
  CE-006 · 2004-11 · Witness testimony
  Gaps: Retrospective reports and incomplete contemporaneous data
• Alex Dietrich, wing F/A-18F pilot, describes white oblong object and unusual movement from covering aircraft Unverified
  CE-150 · 2004-11-14 (reported in 2021) · Firsthand visual witness testimony
  Gaps: Elapsed time since event; separate radar data and later FLIR1 sortie not firsthand observations by Dietrich
• David Fravor recounts visual Tic Tac encounter during Nimitz operations Claim unverifiedFirsthand
  E048 · 2004; 2023-07-26 · Firsthand testimony
• Published kinematic analyses of reported UAP events; field-investigation participation ReportedAnalysis
  E074 · 2022–2026 · Institutional / published research
• Fravor recounted his firsthand 2004 Nimitz Tic Tac encounter Claim unverifiedFirsthand
  E158 · 2023-07-26 · Congressional testimony
• Fravor and Dietrich describe Tic Tac object above ocean-surface whitewater disturbance ReportedFirsthand
  E-NIMITZ-60M · 2004-11; broadcast 2021-05-16 · Firsthand pilot interview

Documents gathered (7 lines of evidence)

2 readable here · 4 with a linked primary record · 1 still need a document · All cases on the evidence map

• Navy FLIR1 infrared video Primary record linked
  CE-005 · Statement on release of historical Navy videos
• Pilot and radar-operator accounts Primary record linked
  CE-006 · Statement on release of historical Navy videos
• Alex Dietrich, wing F/A-18F pilot, describes white oblong object and unusual movement from covering aircraft Accounts / secondary only
  CE-150 · Navy pilots recall unsettling 2004 UAP sighting
  Why it's still open: Compare Dietrich and Fravor testimony; seek contemporaneous crew statements and original records. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): Dietrich has given no sworn testimony. Fravor's sworn July 2023 testimony (SRC-209 p. 18) names her as the other pilot and is already cited on E-NIMITZ-60M; it confirms her presence, not her description. No contemporaneous crew statement or Navy record of her account found. Flag stays.
• David Fravor recounts visual Tic Tac encounter during Nimitz operations Primary record linked
  E048 · UAP: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency
• Published kinematic analyses of reported UAP events; field-investigation participation Primary record linked
  E074 · Kevin Knuth — Physics Faculty
• Fravor recounted his firsthand 2004 Nimitz Tic Tac encounter Readable here
  E158 · July 26, 2023 UAP hearing transcript (read here)
• Fravor and Dietrich describe Tic Tac object above ocean-surface whitewater disturbance Readable here
  E-NIMITZ-60M · July 26, 2023 UAP hearing transcript (read here); Navy pilots recall unsettling 2004 UAP sighting

On the timeline (5)

• 2004-11 USS Nimitz / Tic Tac encounters Documented
  Military eyewitness and video record
• 2017-12 Major public reporting on Navy UAP videos and AATIP Documented
  Documented media disclosure
• 2020-04 DoD publicly releases three Navy UAP videos Documented
  Video authenticity not proof of exotic origin
• 2021-05-16 CBS 60 Minutes broadcasts Fravor and Dietrich discussing 2004 Nimitz Tic Tac encounter Unverified
  Firsthand pilot interviews; underwater source not established
• 2023-07-26 Graves, Grusch and Fravor testify before House committee Alleged
  Firsthand pilot testimony alongside Grusch secondhand program allegations