Commander David Fravor
Commander David Fravor
Commanding Officer, VFA-41 "Black Aces"
United States Navy (Retired)
Primary Visual Witness, 2004 USS Nimitz UAP Encounter
Commander David Fravor is a retired United States Navy aviator who served as Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41), known as the "Black Aces." With over 18 years of active duty service and approximately 3,500 flight hours in tactical aircraft including the F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18F Super Hornet, Fravor is one of the most experienced naval aviators to have publicly described a UAP encounter during an official military operation.
On November 14, 2004, while operating from the USS Nimitz off the coast of southern California, Fravor and his wingman Lieutenant Commander Alex Dietrich were vectored by the USS Princeton to investigate radar contacts that the ship's AEGIS system had been tracking for approximately two weeks. Fravor made visual contact with a white, oblong object approximately 40 feet in length, hovering over churning ocean water. He described the object as having no visible wings, rotors, propulsion system, or exhaust. When Fravor maneuvered to intercept, the object reportedly mirrored his descent before accelerating away at a speed he characterized as unlike any aircraft he had encountered in his career.
Fravor has provided consistent public testimony about the encounter since 2017, including interviews with the New York Times, CBS 60 Minutes, NBC News, and multiple podcast appearances. In July 2023, he testified before the House Oversight Committee's hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, providing sworn testimony about the encounter to members of Congress.
On-Record Interviews
Commander Fravor's sworn testimony before the House Oversight Committee, July 26, 2023. Full hearing on "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency."
Gadi Schwartz's full interview with Commander David Fravor for NBC News "The Overview" series. Fravor describes the 2004 encounter, the object's behavior, and his assessment of what he witnessed. Published April 16, 2021.
Commander Fravor interviewed alongside Lieutenant Commander Alex Dietrich for CBS 60 Minutes in May 2021. Bill Whitaker reporting. One of the most widely viewed accounts of the Nimitz encounter.
Episode #1361: Commander Fravor's detailed two-hour discussion of the Nimitz encounter, his naval career, and observations about the object's capabilities. October 2019.
On-Record Statements
"I said, 'Dude, do you see that thing down there?' And we saw this little white Tic Tac looking object. And it's just kind of moving above the whitewater area."
CBS 60 Minutes interview, May 16, 2021
"It was white, smooth, with no edges. It was like a Tic Tac. It moved like nothing I've ever seen. I have 16 years of flying F-18s. There was no rotor wash, no wings, no exhaust. It just went. And it was gone."
NBC News interview, April 2021
"This is not like, 'we saw it and it was gone,' or 'I saw lights in the sky and they were gone.' We watched this thing on a crystal clear day with four trained observers."
Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Episode 1361
"What we saw that day, I think it was something not from this world. But I'm not going to tell you what it was because I don't know. But I can tell you it was not any airplane or helicopter that I know of."
House Oversight Committee testimony, July 26, 2023
Congressional Testimony
On July 26, 2023, Commander Fravor testified before the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs in a hearing titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency." He appeared alongside David Grusch and Ryan Graves, providing sworn testimony about the 2004 Nimitz encounter.