selected ufo cases
Cases by Decade: 1980s
'Arrowhead triangle' with lights during night launch of Space Shuttle
November, 22, 1989 - Cooper City, Florida, United States
"My wife and I observed a very large, dark triangle (arrowhead shaped) flying low from east to west. It was completely silent. We counted seven (7) circular white lights on the underside. The triangle craft was moving at a high rate of speed, surrounded by a white haze." View full report
Source: NUFORC (National UFO Reporting Center), Peter Davenport, Director ID: 577
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Witness Sketch
Large 'V'-Shaped UFO encounter with US Navy nuclear submarine; electromagnetic effects
October, 24, 1989 - Florida, United States
From the witness: "My ship was on patrol about 150 miles of the Florida coast. We were cruising at about 500 feet when the submarine started experiencing electronics problems.... I saw a large inverted V-shaped UFO off the port side....This huge vessel was over a half mile across. The UFO made a half circle around our ship then passed across the stern..." View full report
Source: George Filer (MUFON Eastern Director), Filer's Files #43-1998, 10-30-98 ID: 1110
Case Type: RawReport Features: Military, Water-Related, E-M Effects
Belgium Triangle UFO Sightings
October, 1989 - Belgium
From October 1989 throughout 1990, hundreds of reports of lighted objects, frequently described as enormous and triangular in shape were recorded in Belgium. Air Force supersonic F-16 jets chased these strange objects, which were simultaneously tracked by both airborne and ground radars. The Belgian Government cooperated fully with civilian UFO investigators, an action without precedent in the history of government involvement in this field. View full report
Source: Don Berliner ID: 1125
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Body Lights, Military, Mass Sighting, Witness Sketch, Radar, Police
Voronezh, Russia UFO Landing and Aliens
September, 27, 1989 - Voronezh, Russian Federation
The story of the Voronezh aliens recounts the adventures of several young children who claimed to have seen a three-eyed alien with a robot escort. The alien was said to be about nine foot tall. The craft, according to eye witness testimony, landed on the outskirts of the city. Shortly thereafter, the tall alien appeared, and upon seeing the young lad, shot a type of weapon at him, causing him to vanish before the eyes of the other people around him. View full report
Source: UFO Casebook / other sources ID: 120
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physical Trace, Physiological Effects, Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Children, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
UFO hovers over Russian military base near nuclear test site of Kapustin Yar
July, 28, 1989 - Kapustin Yar, Russian Federation
In 1989, at a military base near the nuclear test site of Kapustin Yar, members of two army units noticed a UFO which hovered for hours over the arsenal of the base. The KGB files contained the handwritten reports of the sighting. It flew over the stores of the unit and moved in the direction of the missile arsenal. When it hovered over the arsenal, a bright ray appeared on its underside. View full report
Source: Michael Hesemann, 1998 ID: 663
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Nuclear Facility, Light Beam, Witness Sketch
Contact Case in Georgia (Eastern Europe)
July, 4, 1989 - Tbilisi, Georgia
From the witness: "...I saw a "flying saucer". It was standing to the left of me and has three legs. All around it were colored lights. At the bottom were stairs and illuminated windows. From the "Saucer" 15-20 meters away were standing four figures. They were 2.5 – 3 meters in height." View full report
Source: Georgian Ufological Association (GUFOA), ID: 998
Case Type: RawReport Features: Humanoid/Occupant, E-M Effects, Vehicle Interference, Humming, Communication, Contact
Large cylindrical object with cupola and portholes in Duclair, France
January, 12, 1989 - Duclair, France
On January 12, 1989, a woman at the wheel of her car observes with approximately 30 meters with the top of the marshes an “enormous” cylindrical form comprising at the top a cupola emitting a yellow light and a series of red luminescent port-holes and white at its base. With its passage, the object disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later much higher in the sky. The observation lasted a total of only a few seconds. The investigations did not make it possible to collect other information nor to identify the phenomenon. View full report
Source: GEIPAN (CNES, France) (French gov't UFO program) ID: 1116
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Portholes/Windows, Vehicle Encounter, Witness Sketch
Knowles Family UFO Encounter in Mundrabilla, Australia
January, 21, 1988 - Mundrabilla , Australia
The Mundrabilla incident of a few years ago received much media publicity. The Knowles described how the UFO shot over their car and lifted it off the road. Their voices changed in pitch, the family dog in the car went crazy, and the car started shaking. The news media described the incident as a 'UFO attack' and reported that the car was covered by strange dust. View full report
Source: UFO Research Queensland (Australia) ID: 1090
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Vehicle Encounter, Physiological Effects, Animal Reaction, Vehicle Interference, Physical Trace, Humming, Light Beam
Gulf Breeze Sightings
November, 11, 1987 - Gulf Breeze, Florida, United States
"Ed Walters was working in his home office when he noticed a light moving outside, partially obscured by the pine tree in his yard. To get a better look Ed went out of the front door, and could see that the light was in fact a glowing bluish-gray craft like none he had seen before... Edwould go on to photograph it many time" View full report
Source: Ed Walters and Frances Walters, The Gulf Breeze Sightings ID: 325
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Photo, Humanoid/Occupant, Polygraph Test, Humming
Cone-shaped object with light beam in Farmville, NC
1987 - Farmville, North Carolina, United States
From the witness: "I grabbed the binoculars and looked at it. This time I could see a distinct shape. It was like an ice-cream cone pointing upward. The flat part of the cone was facing the earth. On the back of the cone was what looked like a small hull or house or hut of some kind. It was about a fifth of the size of the cone itself. Out of this hut came a very faint blue light. It passed directly over our heads at about 15 MPH. That’s how slow it was going." View full report
Source: UFOCasebook.com (B.J. Booth, editor) ID: 1059
Case Type: RawReport Features: Light Beam, Vehicle Encounter
Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 Over Alaska
November, 17, 1986 - Alaska, United States
In November, 1986, a Japanese crew of a jumbo freighter aircraft witnessed three unidentified objects while flying over Alaska, USA. This sighting gained international attention when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it was going to officially investigate this sighting because the Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage, Alaska, had reported that the UFO had been detected on radar. The UFOs in this case were tracked on both ground and airborne radar, witnessed by experienced airline pilots, and confirmed by a FAA Division Chief. View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon ID: 287
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Radar
Bright, glowing disc-shaped object hovers over cabin in Old Crow, Yukon
September, 20, 1986 - Old Crow , Yukon Territory, Canada
From the witness: "I looked outside and there was this UFO right over the trees! It was bright blue, almost too bright to look at and was rotating fairly fast... I continued to watch the UFO for about 5 minutes, then it just slowly descended down towards the river bank and away from us, started speeding up going cross river, then it just shot off rapidly into the distance!" View full report
Source: Martin Jasek ID: 1011
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Rotary/Spin Motion, Sound
Jet Chase Over Brazil
May, 19, 1986 - Brazil
As many as twenty UFOs were seen and tracked by ground radar and at least six airplanes. Unidentified radar returns were tracked by airports in São Paulo and the Integrated Air Defense & Air Traffic Control Center (CINDACTA) in Brasilia. Two F-5E and three Mirage jet fighters were scrambled from Santa Cruz AFB in Sao Paulo State, and Anápolis AFB in Goias State. View full report
Source: Don Berliner, UFO Briefing Document ID: 51
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Radar, Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Multiple UFOs
Large Triangular Craft Doing Unusual Maneuvers
February, 1986 - Franklin, North Carolina, United States
"The outline of the craft was indistinct but the mass blocked the stars and sky while it passed overhead. It was totally silent....It was no more than about 300 feet up and moving at a crawl, maybe 10 mph, it was massive and approximately 100 yards (300 feet) in-between each light... As the craft moved over us, it performed an amazing feat!... it stopped and turned up on its axis and cart wheeled off into the eastern sky!" View full report
Source: Brian Vike, HBCCUFO Research (hbccufo.org) ID: 1114
Case Type: RawReport Features: Body Lights, Silent
Unidentified maneuvering lights seen from US Navy ship; radiation detected afterwards
1986 - Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States
During one of my scans of the night sky, out of know where, four red circular lights appeared... The four lights, in a flash, darted towards the horizon amazingly fast... Then all four shot straight up into outer-space and out of sight, all within a split second... After a half hour had passed since the sighting, the radiation detection system on the bridge started making a loud clicking sound." View full report
Source: UFOCasebook.com (B. J. Booth, editor), citing MUFON CMS (Case Management System) ID: 1111
Case Type: RawReport Features: Military, Water-Related, E-M Effects, Silent
Two large saucer-shaped objects encountered by family in car in Surrey, UK
September, 15, 1985 - Bagshot Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom
David and Susan McMurray were driving home across Bagshot Heath, Surrey, to Famborough, Hampshire, with their two children when they encountered a "huge saucer-like craft about 50ft. long with brilliant lights coming from portholes around the centre. Then it suddenly took off." When a second craft began to tail the family's car David stopped, got out and went to investigate. But it too, took off. View full report
Source: Bill Davey, Sunday Mirror (London, UK), Sept. 29, 1985 ID: 947
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Portholes/Windows, Vehicle Encounter, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Flying 'ball of fire' seen by 3 children camping in backyard in Redwood Valley, CA
June, 19, 1985 - Redwood Valley, California, United States
Three children were camping in their Redwood Valley backyard when they heard a "whoosh" and saw a bright light. The flying "ball of fire" made three circles above their yard. Debbie, 11, said the object was bigger than a beach ball. The object began to get smaller and increase its speed until it disappeared in the southwest. View full report
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, CA), June 20, 1985 ID: 944
Case Type: PressReport Features: Children, Sound, Witness Photo
Cigar-shaped object with three lighted windows seen by driver in Sweden
June, 1985 - Uppsala to Orsundsbro, Sweden
A woman driver who prefers to remain anonymous was driving home to Orsundsbro from Uppsala (Sweden) on route 55. After one mile, she saw two policecars blinking bluish lights, or so she thought. Later she saw the object again. It appeared larger than an ordinary helicopter. It had three lighted windows and a blindingly strong white light. It had been seven to eight minutes since she first saw the object. View full report
Source: Enkopings Posten (Encoping, Sweden), July 12, 1985 ID: 946
Case Type: PressReport Features: Witness Sketch
Oblong shaped flying object witnessed by 3 women near Ascutney, VT
February, 5, 1985 - Ascutney, Vermont, United States
Three women were driving to a high school basketball game, when they noticed a bright object in the night sky. They described it as basically oblong in shape, with an extremely bright white light at the front end. There seemed to be a sphere or halo of a grayish-bluish hue around the middle of the object, and lots of tiny flashing lights at the rear. One of these, a. small white light, was stationary for a while but suddenly detached itself from the rest of the lights and sped rapidly away. View full report
Source: Windsor Chronicle (Windsor, VT), Feb. 7, 1985 ID: 950
Case Type: PressReport Features: Body Lights, Witness Sketch
Bob White Alien Artifact
1985 - Near Grand Junction, Colorado, United States
White and a friend were driving from Denver to Las Vegas, when they witnessed an object that was about 100 yards in front of him, he said, "and it was huge ... absolutely huge." As the craft flew away, White said, he noticed an orange light falling to the ground. He recovered the object, which is about 7-1/2 inches long and shaped like a teardrop. View full report
Source: Knight Ridder Newspapers, June 22, 2004 ID: 365
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Artifact, Witness Photo, Polygraph Test, Interaction/Reaction
Man sees unusual object with lights in night sky over Amherst, Ohio
1985 - Amherst, Ohio, United States
Arthur Schindler and his wife, Eva, had just returned from Lenten services at St. Paul Church, when he saw a light in the sky. He watched the object for more than an hour. "It looks like a huge dish with two sets of yellow lights around the rim. On top of the dish, it looks like a castle. Kind of like a pyramid. There are lights all over it. The blue and white beams shoot out from the front of it." View full report
Source: Lorain Journal (Lorain, OH), June 13, 1985 ID: 945
Case Type: PressReport Features: Body Lights, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Cigar-shaped UFO and three small discs at Hexam, NSW, Australia
December, 1984 - Hexam, Australia
The witness "observed a large, cigar-shaped object with a brilliant white light at the front it was coming towards them... The cigar had windows along the side... three small disc-shaped objects (3-4 metres across) flew into view moving towards the object...They travelled very quickly, zigzagging to join the larger cigar... Mrs L said that she saw what seemed to be a shadow or outline of a head with a helmet on in one of the smaller discs..." View full report
Source: UFO Research (NSW), Australia - UFO Reporter, June 1992 ID: 1071
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Multiple UFOs, Humming, Portholes/Windows, Body Lights
Police officer and others see dirigible-shaped UFO over Keene, NH
October, 16, 1984 - Keene, New Hampshire, United States
On Oct. 16,1984, a mysterious craft was seen over Keene near Route 12. Keene police Sgt. John C. Zeller got the call and drove out to the highway to see what was going on. He caught sight of something in the sky and shined his cruiser's spotlight on a white, dirigible-shaped object before it moved off. The following night it was back, hovering above Keene again. A lot of people reported something strange during those two nights. View full report
Source: Paul Montgomery, The Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH), Sept. 25, 1992 ID: 762
Case Type: PressReport Features: Police, Witness Photo, Interaction/Reaction
UFO follows witnesses home, hovers over driveway
August, 20, 1984 - Mahopac Falls, New York, United States
Mrs. Irene Lunn, the wife of a policeman, and her daughter Erica were driving home when they saw a large object directly over the pond at the Circle A Farm. The object suddenly made a 90-degree left turn and came slowly towards them. It stayed with them as they reached home, until it was directly over their driveway. About one minute after it started hovering, another UFO came out of the west over the driveway. View full report
Source: APRO Bulletin, Vol. 32 No. 11 (May 1985) ID: 359
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Multiple UFOs
