El Bosque air base object, Santiago
During a Chilean Air Force (FACh) change-of-command ceremony and flypast at El Bosque air base in November 2010, spectators filmed a small dark object that seemed to streak past a formation of aircraft.
2010 CE · -33.56, -70.69 · status: disputed
The account
Nobody noticed the object at the time; it was found later in the footage. In March 2012 retired general Ricardo Bermúdez, then director of Chile's official UAP committee CEFAA, presented the case at a UFO congress in Phoenix. He said CEFAA had gathered seven videos taken from different positions, and that outside analysts had ruled out a meteor, space debris, an aircraft or a bird. Sources differ on whether the date was 4 or 5 November 2010.
The sceptical view
Fast objects that only appear in video and are invisible to the eye are a classic signature of insects close to the lens, blurred by the camera's shutter speed. Several commentators suggested exactly that, and CEFAA did not publish its full analysis.
The researched reading
A streak that only the cameras caught, which is the classic insect-near-lens effect. The multi-camera claim would matter if it were documented.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 50% | Nobody saw the object. It appears only on video as a fast dark streak, which is the signature of an insect or bird near the lens, smeared by the camera’s exposure. Insects are abundant on an airfield in spring. |
| Undetermined | 28% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 8% | CEFAA said seven videos from different positions showed the object, which would argue against a nearby insect. However, the full analysis was never published. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | There is no evidence of fakery. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 3% | Debris carried by wind is possible. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 2% | Not a perception case, because no one saw anything at the time. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 2% | Nothing points that way. |
| Secret human technology | 2% | A secret craft invisible to an Air Force crowd is implausible. |
Official position: Chile’s CEFAA presented it as unexplained in 2012, without publishing its full analysis.