Case · C-094

Darregueira 2023: flashes filmed from the cockpit, Starlink satellites according to the CIAE

Darregueira, Buenos Aires Province (in flight) · Argentina · Mar 17, 2023

In flight Pilots Video

What happened

On the night of March 17, 2023, around 23:36, during a scheduled flight from Aeroparque (Buenos Aires) to Bariloche, points of light that flashed on and off in a small sector of sky, low on the horizon toward the southwest, were filmed from the cockpit over Darregueira; according to the pilot's account some seemed stationary and others in motion. The witness also sent to the Centro de Identificación Aeroespacial the flight track recorded by Flightradar24. The CIAE concluded that they were reflections of the Sun on Starlink satellites, as in a similar case filmed from another cockpit in the same year.

Proposed explanation

According to the CIAE, with a Stellarium simulation for the date, time and observed direction, the flashes were temporary sun reflections on Starlink satellites at the moment when the Sun was beneath them; since November 2022 the agency had received several similar reports.

Official investigation

Fuerza Aérea Argentina – Centro de Identificación Aeroespacial (CIAE)

Words of the document

corresponden a reflejos solares temporarios sobre los satélites Starlink

Official documents

1. Informe anual CIAE 2023 – Caso Darregueira, vuelo AEP/BAR (17/3/2023) · Fuerza Aérea Argentina – CIAE · 2023

Sources

1. Fuerza Aérea Argentina, Informe anual CIAE 2023 (primary source)

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