A JetBlue flight from New York to Puerto Rico was forced into a 20-minute holding pattern above the Bahia de Anguadilla due to an alleged MQ-9 Reaper RPA that had to be recovered from the runway. The JetBlue Airbus A320 was eventually able to land at Aeropuerto Internacional Rafael Hernández (BQN), and passengers were able to disembark.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a remotely piloted aircraft operated by the United States Air Force, and is capabale for suveillance and intelligence gathering, and precision strikes from Predator drones.

20 Minute Holding Pattern

JetBlue had operated flight B6 2839 from New York JFK Airport on the evening of Thursday, January 1, departing from the Big Apple at 11:07 pm, some one hour and 17 minutes behind its initial scheduled departure time of 9: 50 pm. The flight was a non-stop service to Puerto Rico’s second busiest airport, Rafael Hernández Airport, serving the north-western side of the island, and the municipality of Aguadilla.

Other than the initial delay on departure, the flight had a relatively usual journey south; however, as suggested by @r4streando on X, the flight was then forced into a holding pattern above Bahia de Anguadilla due to a damaged MQ-9 Reaper operated by the U.S Air Force sitting idle on the runway.

After some 20 minutes in the air, the JetBlue Airbus A320 was able to land and allow passengers to safely disembark. Simple Flying has reached out to JetBlue for comment.

Three Hours And 34 Minutes Flight Time

The Airbus A320 operating the service, bearing registration N794JB, eventually landed on the apron at BQN at 03:41. The 14-year-old A320 then operated the return service to schedule, departing as B6 2838, pushing back from BQN at 6:01 am, and arriving back in New York at 8:55 am.

While it remains unclear as to what the full situation was surrounding the MQ-9 Reaper, referred to as SPARK21, which was disabled on the runway surface, it forced the commercially scheduled JetBlue flight to wait in a holding pattern for clearance before being cleared for landing.

Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is one of three main airports in Puerto Rico, and the second busiest after San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU). The airport currently welcomes scheduled passenger flights from Frontier Airlines (Miami and Orlando), JetBlue (Fort Lauderdale, New York JFK, and Orlando), and United Airlines (Newark). The airport is also a gateway for significant cargo operations for Puerto Rico, with the following operators offering cargo services:

BQN is home to the longest runway in the Caribbean, reaching more than 11,702 feet (2.21 miles), and the airport is home to the Coast Guard, U.S Customs and Border Proection and Marine operations.

MQ-9 Reaper

The MQ-9 Reaper is an armed, medium altitude remotely piloted aircraft which is primarily operated by the U.S. Air Force, the UK’s Royal Air Force, Italian Air Force, Spanish Air Force, and French Air Force. These planes are used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance whilst being controlled by pilots situated in ground stations.

Operators receive live video streams from the aircraft via satellite, which enables them fly the aircraft thousands of miles away from the ground station. Reapers are designed to also carry weapons, including Hellfire missiles or laser-guided bombs, enabling them to deliver precision strikes when required.

The U.S. Air Force first activated its MQ-9 Reapers in the 432nd Wing on May 1, 2007. The first pilots to operate these were from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and were deployed to missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The MQ-9 made its first ‘kill’ on October 28, 2007, during a battle in the Deh Rawood region of Afghanistan against Afghan insurgents.