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UAP / Drone Incident
Single-Record File

FAA Report 237UAP00031: Hovering UAS over Houston runway

Single-Record File: Only one inspectable record is attached. It documents a source or allegation but cannot independently corroborate the broader claim.
OverviewEvidenceTimelineAnalysisSources
2018-03-02
William P. Hobby Airport, Houston, Texas, USA
8/10
6/10
Air traffic controllers observed a radar target climbing from 1,000 to 10,100 feet and hovering over the runway approach end, visually confirmed as a large white UAS.
medium

Investigative Assessments

"The reported claim remains worth testing against the record: Air traffic controllers observed a radar target climbing from 1,000 to 10,100 feet and hovering over the runway approach end, visually confirmed as a large white UAS. The strongest documented reasons to keep the file open are: FAA SKYWATCH Incident Form 237UAP00031: Documents a pilot report of Air traffic controllers observed a radar target climbing from 1,000 to 10,100 feet and hovering over the runway approach end, visually confirmed as a large white UAS.. Key unresolved lead: Why did the object hover directly over the approach end of the runway?"
"Evidentiary limitations: medium Note that: FAA SKYWATCH Incident Form 237UAP00031 fails to support: The operational log does not contain physical telemetry, radar recordings, or photos to independently verify the nature of the object.."

Case Summary

An intake summary of FAA operational log 237UAP00031 recording an aircrew reporting an unidentified aerial phenomenon. Air traffic controllers observed a radar target climbing from 1,000 to 10,100 feet and hovering over the runway approach end, visually confirmed as a large white UAS. This pilot synopsis is an intake summary requiring source-by-source verification.

Evidence Locker

1 inspectable evidence item. Claims and source findings are kept separate.

FAA incident report Local copy hash-verified

FAA SKYWATCH Incident Form 237UAP00031

Analyst rating: Primary operational record of an aircrew report and the FAA's contemporaneous assessment.

“I90 advised observing a radar target initially over the approach end of RWY 22, climbing from 1,000 feet to 10,100 feet and then hovering over the approach end of RWY 31L. HOU ATCT visually observed a large white UAS until they lost sight of it to the ESE.”
Record locationPage 1
Evidence classFAA operational incident record
Relationship to claimPrimary document recording the pilot's intake report.
Authenticity assessmentHigh for document authenticity. The one-page FAA form was visually checked against the NARA PDF.
What this supportsDocuments a pilot report of Air traffic controllers observed a radar target climbing from 1,000 to 10,100 feet and hovering over the runway approach end, visually confirmed as a large white UAS.
What it does not supportThe operational log does not contain physical telemetry, radar recordings, or photos to independently verify the nature of the object.
ProvenanceOfficial NARA UAP bulk-download record, hash-registered in the Casebook manifest and served from the read-only VPS corpus mount.
Chain of custodyAircrew report -> FAA SKYWATCH incident form -> FAA transfer to NARA Record Group 615 -> NARA bulk archive -> Casebook.
Open Document (Local PDF Document) Download Copy Canonical Agency Record

Documented Timeline

Not documented: No source-verified chronology has been assembled.

Named Participants and Roles

Not documented: Named participants and roles have not been source-verified.

Contradictions and Record Conflicts

Not documented: Record conflicts have not been analyzed.

Conventional Explanations

Not documented: Conventional explanations have not been evaluated against evidence.

Missing Evidence

Not documented: The evidence gap itself has not yet been fully inventory.

What Remains Unresolved

Not documented: No source-level unresolved findings have been established.

Investigative Hypotheses

  • An unauthorized commercial or industrial drone testing high-altitude capabilities.
  • A military or law enforcement UAS operating in the terminal area.
  • A high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.

Open Questions

  • Why did the object hover directly over the approach end of the runway?
  • Did Houston Police locate the operator after being notified?
  • What type of drone is capable of hovering at 10,100 feet?

Archival Landing Pages and Evidence Corpus

NARA Record Group 615, FAA UAP Records

Official Bulk Archive

External URL: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/493468575