Chile’s SEFAA has now assigned case numbers past 2,200. The April 2026 batch alone included 10 individual downloadable case PDFs, with cases ranging from CASO N° 1402 (first investigated January 8, 2021) through CASO N° 2229 (April 11, 2026). The programme is processing cases that are years old alongside fresh 2026 reports — a backlog that reflects the scale and rigour of SEFAA’s investigation process.
The Case Number System
SEFAA’s case numbers are sequential and permanent. CASO N° 2227, for example, was first observed on April 4, 2026. CASO N° 1402 was observed on January 8, 2021 — and only resolved and published in April 2026, five years after the original sighting. This tells us two things: SEFAA never closes a case without completing the investigation, even if it takes years; and the programme is processing a substantial backlog that reflects genuine investigative depth rather than quick dismissal.
Why 32 Million Square Kilometres Matters
Chile’s airspace responsibility is not just continental Chile — it includes the vast Pacific oceanic zone between 120° and 131° west longitude, stretching from the equatorial zone down through the Southern Ocean to the geographic South Pole. This region has extraordinarily low civilian air traffic density, high astronomical clarity, and minimal light pollution. It is also among the most sparsely monitored airspace on Earth. UAP reports from this zone carry a different analytical profile than urban-area sightings.
SEFAA as a Flight Safety Function
SEFAA’s stated mission explicitly frames UAP investigation as a flight safety function: supporting the security of air operations in Chile’s national territory and DGAC’s area of responsibility. This is the same framing the UK MoD used — “does it threaten UK airspace?” — before closing its UFO desk in 2009. Chile chose to keep running the programme, maintain the numbering system, and publish every resolved case. That is a different institutional decision about the value of the data.
Source: sefaa.dgac.gob.cl. April 2026 batch: sefaa.dgac.gob.cl/2026/05/07/casos-abril-2026/. DGAC Chile.