US Coast Guard spreads festive cheer with huge 'Ho Ho Ho' flight path over Puerto Rico

Published on Dec 10, 2025 at 10:14 PM (UTC+4)
by Daisy Edwards

Last updated on Dec 10, 2025 at 1:44 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Daisy Edwards

The US Coast Guard has spread festive cheer with a huge “Ho Ho Ho” flight path over Puerto Rico, and the holiday spirit went totally viral.

A Jayhawk helicopter crew traced the words ‘ho ho ho’ across the sky as they flew over the island.

The crew had Santa and an elf on board as they headed on their way to a community event for the children of Puerto Rico.

The festive message turned a routine flight (sans reindeer) into a FlightRadar Christmas card.

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The US Coast Guard has been spreading festive cheer

The US Coast Guard set off in its MH-60 T Jayhawk helicopter, which had departed Arecibo, before heading towards the Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in the northwest of Puerto Rico.

While waiting for new instructions, the crew used the time to do a flight path spelling out a “Ho Ho Ho” visible on Flightradar24.

The Coast Guard later confirmed the pattern was intentional and designed to bring holiday cheer to local families.

The move was part of the station’s seasonal outreach, with the helicopter delivering Santa to an event for excited children in Aguadilla.

Ho Ho Ho flight path

The crew executed a series of precise loops and turns to form each letter in cursive over the Caribbean Sea.

The message stood out as one of the more wholesome flight path drawings seen on a tracking map.

Aviation fans quickly picked up the pattern and began sharing screenshots across social platforms and FlightRadar itself drew attention to the inadvertent holiday card through its X account.

The helicopter’s path doubled as both a festive greeting and a showcase of precise helicopter flying and handling.

It brought a rare mix of military aviation and Christmas fun to the skies, and for anyone watching the radar that day, the message came through loud and clear – Merry Christmas!

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Daisy Edwards is a Content Writer at supercarblondie.com. Daisy has more than five years’ experience as a qualified journalist, having graduated with a History and Journalism degree from Goldsmiths, University of London and a dissertation in vintage electric vehicles. Daisy specializes in writing about cars, EVs, tech and luxury lifestyle. When she's not writing, she's at a country music concert or working on one of her many unfinished craft projects.