{"id":21618,"date":"2026-11-03T14:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=21618"},"modified":"2026-11-03T14:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:00:46","slug":"faa-records-reveal-military-prepared-to-engage-drone-during-san-diego-airport-shutdown-atc-audio-references-possible-shootdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/faa-records-reveal-military-prepared-to-engage-drone-during-san-diego-airport-shutdown-atc-audio-references-possible-shootdown\/","title":{"rendered":"FAA Records Reveal Military Prepared to Engage Drone During San Diego Airport Shutdown; ATC Audio References Possible Shootdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A September 4, 2026, disruption at San Diego International Airport that delayed hundreds of flights is now documented in newly released Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, including air traffic control recordings and two Mandatory Occurrence Reports describing sightings of suspected drones near the airport’s runway.<\/p>\n

The records, obtained by The Black Vault through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), provide additional details about what pilots and air traffic controllers reported during the incident, how flight operations were affected, and the involvement of law enforcement. They also reveal a previously unreported detail involving nearby Naval Air Station North Island, where military personnel reportedly were preparing to engage an unauthorized drone. More notably, an air traffic control recording contains a statement indicating that a drone near the military installation may have been shot down.<\/p>\n

While the FAA’s written report confirms that North Island personnel communicated their intention to engage an unauthorized drone, the separate reference to a possible shootdown remains unverified. No corroborating military records or public confirmation of such an engagement have been identified, as of the writing of this article. The newly released material raises additional questions about the military’s response to the incident, although the records do not establish whether a drone was actually destroyed, who operated the reported objects, or whether the various sightings involved separate aircraft.<\/p>\n

An Afternoon of Disrupted Flights<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>On Friday, September 4, 2026, San Diego International Airport publicly confirmed<\/a> that a drone and a weather balloon had been identified in the immediate vicinity of the airport at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time.<\/p>\n

The FAA temporarily paused arrivals and departures in response, with the airport reporting that an all-clear was issued at approximately 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

According to NBC 7 San Diego, airport spokesperson Nicole Hall confirmed the sightings and said that airport operations had resumed following the all-clear. Hall also stated that airport personnel would continue coordinating with the FAA, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and local law enforcement. TSA law enforcement was investigating the drone activity.<\/p>\n

The interruption occurred as Labor Day weekend travel was beginning. NBC 7 reported that approximately 420 flights had been delayed by 6:00 p.m., citing FlightAware, while FAA figures indicated average delays of approximately 122 minutes. Those figures describe the broader disruption and do not establish that every delayed flight was directly attributable to the reported objects.<\/p>\n

FAA traffic-management advisories independently document the operational effects. An advisory issued at 21:02 UTC, or 2:02 p.m. Pacific time, warned<\/a> that aircraft arriving at San Diego could encounter airborne holding of up to 30 minutes because of compacted demand. A subsequent advisory activated diversion-recovery procedures for the airport.<\/p>\n

The publicly reported drone and balloon sightings provided the initial explanation for the disruption. The FAA’s subsequently released internal records offer a more detailed account of what personnel were reporting as the incident unfolded.<\/p>\n

The FAA Releases Two Incident Reports and Air Traffic Control Recordings<\/h3>\n

9-4 GC FOIA.wav<\/a>\u00a0 (Transcripts: .srt<\/a>, .txt<\/a>)<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/documents2.theblackvault.com\/documents\/faa\/9-4%20GC%20FOIA.wav<\/a><\/audio>

9-4 LC FOIA.wav<\/a> (Transcripts: .srt<\/a>, .txt<\/a>)<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/documents2.theblackvault.com\/documents\/faa\/9-4%20LC%20FOIA.wav<\/a><\/audio>

The Black Vault submitted its FOIA request on September 10, 2026, seeking records concerning the September 4 incident.<\/p>\n

In an October 22, 2026, response under case number 2026-05893, the FAA confirmed that searches had been conducted at San Diego Airport Traffic Control Tower and by the agency’s Quality Control Group.<\/p>\n

The FAA identified four responsive records: two audio re-recordings from the tower’s Ground Control and Local Control positions, and two Mandatory Occurrence Reports.<\/p>\n

Multiple Pilots Reported an Object Near the Runway<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The more extensive occurrence report, SAN-M-2026\/09\/04-0004, documents activity beginning at 20:54 UTC, corresponding to 1:54 p.m. Pacific time.<\/p>\n

Its summary states:<\/p>\n

“MULTIPLE TAXIING A\/C REPORTED DRONE ABOUT 003 FEET TO 015 FEET DIRECTLY OVER THE RUNWAY DEPARTURE END BETWEEN B7 AND B10. ALL DEPARTURES STOPPED.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report uses three-digit altitude notation. The precise altitude associated with this passage is not independently established by the released materials.<\/p>\n

The report continues:<\/p>\n

“TOWER WAS UNABLE TO GET VISUAL WITH THIS OBJECT BUT AT LEAST 7 PLUS A\/C KEPT REPORTING IT.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At approximately 21:30 UTC, or 2:30 p.m. local time, the tower reported obtaining visual contact with a silver object hovering north of the runway over Taxiway F. The report attributes an additional sighting to a United Airlines flight.<\/p>\n

According to the report, a law enforcement helicopter subsequently observed the object:<\/p>\n

“ASTREA POLICE HELICOPTER WAS ABLE TO GET A VISUAL WITH THE OBJECT AT 2140Z BUT UNABLE TO GET VIDEO.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

ASTREA<\/a> is the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s aviation unit.<\/p>\n

This distinction is important. The FAA report documents a visual observation by the helicopter crew but does not provide imagery from the encounter. The report also does not identify the object’s manufacturer, model, operator, or physical characteristics beyond the reported observations.<\/p>\n

The report’s quality-assurance findings state:<\/p>\n

“multiple pilots both airborne and taxiing reported a UAS in the vicinity of SAN airport.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The same findings describe reported altitudes of approximately 300 to 1,500 feet.<\/p>\n

The report classified the occurrence as significant and recorded a suspension of operations. It did not identify a verified near-midair collision, aircraft collision, or injury.<\/p>\n

A Second Reported Object Near the Departure End<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The FAA’s second occurrence report, SAN-M-2026\/09\/04-0001, focuses on a sighting reported by Southwest Airlines Flight 1562.<\/p>\n

The report records the following:<\/p>\n

“SWA1562 REPORTED DRONE 1 MILE OFF DEPARTURE END AT 010 FEET NORTH OF RUNWAY. ZEBRA, DEN, HPD NOTIFIED.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report’s quality-assurance review provides additional context:<\/p>\n

“Pilot reported a UAS in their vicinity at an altitude of approximately 1,000ft. Closest proximity not reported.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The larger occurrence report also describes this sighting at approximately 22:00 UTC, or 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. It states that the object was silver and that another Southwest Airlines flight reported a similar object eight minutes later.<\/p>\n

However, the FAA expressly acknowledged uncertainty about whether these reports involved a different object.<\/p>\n

The summary states:<\/p>\n

“BUT THIS TIME THE TOWER LOST SIGHT OF OBJECT 1 SO THIS COULD BE POTENTIALLY BE THAT OBJECT.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report adds that the ASTREA helicopter returned but was again unable to obtain video.<\/p>\n

Consequently, although the FAA documented multiple sightings at different locations, the records do not conclusively establish how many separate objects were involved.<\/p>\n

Military Reports From Naval Air Station North Island<\/h3>\n

One of the additional details in the released records concerns activity at Naval Air Station North Island.<\/p>\n

The larger FAA occurrence report contains a separate entry identified as the third object, timed at approximately 21:30 UTC, or 2:30 p.m. Pacific.<\/p>\n

It states:<\/p>\n

“NAVY NORTH ISLAND CALLED STATING THE MILITARY HAD AN UNATHORUIZED DRONE THEY WERE PREPARING TO ENGAGE.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report subsequently identifies DEN, JSEN, ZEBRA, and HPD as having been notified.<\/p>\n

This passage documents what the FAA recorded receiving from North Island. It does not establish whether military personnel actually engaged the reported drone, what equipment or methods were contemplated, or whether the object was recovered.<\/p>\n

The released materials also do not establish a connection between the reported military activity and the objects observed near San Diego International Airport.<\/p>\n

What the Air Traffic Control Transcripts Reveal<\/h3>\n

The FAA also released recordings from the Local Control and Ground Control positions. The accompanying SRT transcripts reviewed by The Black Vault contain several exchanges that provide further context about the controllers’ response and the uncertainty surrounding the sightings.<\/p>\n

The transcripts were not prepared by the FAA, but rather, generated by The Black Vault’s own software designed for this purpose. The agency specifically stated that no responsive transcripts were found. Accordingly, the SRT files should be treated as working transcriptions of the released recordings, rather than independently authenticated verbatim FAA transcripts.<\/p>\n

In the Local Control transcript, at approximately 00:06:39 of the recording, a controller announces:<\/p>\n

“And for everyone holding for departure, we got a drone, unauthorized drone activity over the runway, so just stand by a couple minutes.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Ground Control transcript contains a similar explanation at approximately 00:28:40, when a controller responds to a pilot asking how long the delay might last:<\/p>\n

“Not too sure at the moment, this drone is just kind of hanging around in the vicinity and once we get word on its removal or once it’s gone then we can kind of get things going but for the moment we can’t depart just for safety purposes”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These exchanges document controllers communicating a safety-based reason for holding departures while the reported object remained in the vicinity.<\/p>\n

Other portions of the transcripts describe efforts to locate and characterize the object.<\/p>\n

At approximately 00:11:29 in the Ground Control transcript, one speaker describes its appearance:<\/p>\n

“It’s probably metallic color because it’s reflecting a lot of light, almost looks like a silver sphere.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This description is consistent with the silver appearance recorded in the FAA occurrence reports, but it does not independently establish the object’s identity or whether it was a drone, balloon, or something else.<\/p>\n

The transcripts also document uncertainty over reports of an additional object. At approximately 00:46:54 in the Ground Control recording, a speaker states:<\/p>\n

“Looks like there might be two drones out there now”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A subsequent exchange questions whether one of the objects could instead have been a helicopter. The transcription includes the response:<\/p>\n

“I mean, it’s getting so far away, it could have been a helicopter, we just couldn’t tell”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Reference to a Drone Being Shot Down<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Ground Control transcript also contains an exchange concerning Naval Air Station North Island that warrants attention, although its contents remain unverified.<\/p>\n

At approximately 00:55:52, a speaker is transcribed as saying:<\/p>\n

“I think there’s one over North Island that just got shot down.”<\/p>\n

“I don’t know what they can do, but one over North Island got shot down.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This exchange is distinct from the written FAA occurrence report, which states only that military personnel were preparing to engage an unauthorized drone.<\/p>\n

The released documents do not confirm that a drone was shot down. The statement in the transcript should therefore be understood as an unverified assertion made during the incident, not a confirmed military action.<\/p>\n

The recordings provide no independently established outcome for the reported North Island activity.<\/p>\n

What Remains Unanswered<\/h3>\n

The FAA records substantiate that numerous pilots reported suspected unmanned aircraft activity near San Diego International Airport, that controllers suspended departures, and that law enforcement personnel were involved in attempts to observe the objects.<\/p>\n

The released records leave several questions unresolved, including the identities and operators of the reported objects, the number of separate drones involved, whether the weather balloon identified in the airport’s public statement corresponds to any of the sightings documented in the FAA reports, and the outcome of the military’s reported response at North Island.<\/p>\n

The documents and associated air traffic control recordings are preserved in The Black Vault’s document archive, and are available below.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Document Archive<\/h3>\n

FOIA Request Response<\/a><\/p>\n

SAN-M-2026-09-04-0001.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n