Flights across the Caribbean were urgently rerouted on Thursday after a rocket built by Elon Musk's company SpaceX exploded. Flight tracking data and audio exchanges between pilots and air traffic control revealed the confusion, NPR reported.

Audio from LiveATC.net shows the chaos in the moments after the giant Starship rocket exploded.

"A whole bunch of different-colored planes just came in from at least 60 miles away," an unidentified pilot told air traffic controllers on the ground in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "It looks like it's coming toward us... it's just Let you know.”

"Can you estimate the distance?" the controller asked.

"This is Starlink," another unidentified pilot chimed in, speculating that the stripes could be communications satellites that SpaceX regularly launches.

In fact, the stripes are remnants of SpaceX's experimental Starship spacecraft. At 5:37 p.m. ET, Starship lifted off from its launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, for its seventh flight test. The launch seemed to be going smoothly until SpaceX lost contact around 5:45 p.m. ET. Within minutes, pilots near Puerto Rico reported seeing strange lights in the sky.

A pilot on Silver Airways Flight 127 told the controller: "I don't know what this is, this is a red light... I don't know what this is." In response, the pilot was advised to reduce altitude and was allowed to deviate from the flight path to avoid fragmentation. The plane landed safely in San Juan.

It was not until 5:58 p.m., about 13 minutes after the spacecraft was reported to have exploded, that controllers in Puerto Rico declared a "spacecraft accident" and closed the airspace around the incident. At that time, air traffic control communications indicated that much of the debris may have fallen into the water.

"Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" SpaceX founder Elon Musk described the incident on his social media platform Video of the shot.

SpaceX is currently investigating the exact cause of the explosion, but telemetry data from the launch shows that several of the Starship's rocket engines unexpectedly shut down as it ascended into space. A statement on the company's website noted that "preliminary data indicates that a fire occurred at the stern of the vessel, resulting in a rapid and unintended disassembly."

While Musk envisions Starship as having the potential to transport humans to Mars, there were no passengers on the test flight.

Around the same time, bystander video taken from Caribbean cruise ships and resorts showed what appeared to be a large explosion in the sky, followed by a stream of brightly colored meteors. Debris appeared to pass directly through the Turks and Caicos Islands, shocking vacationers.

Aircraft data from flight tracking websites FlightAware and Flightradar24 showed at least 20 flights appeared to be delayed or diverted due to the incident. Ian Petchenik of Flightradar24 said at least 16 of those flights actually had to be diverted to other airports.

Videos posted on X also appeared to capture scenes from the plane, although NPR could not immediately verify those videos. Nonetheless, they are consistent with other recordings of the incident.

FlightAware's Kathleen Bangs said she believed there were "dozens" of other flights delayed as a result of the incident. Some flights had to change routes while others continued on the ground, waiting for airspace to reopen.

"There was quite a bit of damage," she said, adding that the damage was not as great as that caused by weather events such as blizzards or major thunderstorms.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates SpaceX and commercial aviation, said in a statement that there were no reports of injuries or property damage.

"Due to low fuel levels, several aircraft requested diversions while remaining outside the affected area," the agency said, which will require SpaceX to conduct an investigation into the accident.