selected ufo cases
Radar Cases
Multiple pilots witness large object near Guernsey, United Kingdom
April, 23, 2007 - Guernsey, United Kingdom
Two experienced airline pilots on separate flights saw something up to a mile wide off the coast of Alderney on Monday afternoon. ‘It was a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area. It was 2,000ft up and stationary,’ one of the pilots said. "At first, I thought it was the size of a 737. But it must have been much bigger because of how far away it was. It could have been as much as a mile wide." View full report
Source: The Guernsey Press & Star - St Saviour, Jersey, - April 26, 2007 ID: 1148
Case Type: PressReport Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Photo, Radar, Multiple UFOs, Witness Sketch
Mexican Air Force Pilots Film 11 UFOs
March, 2004 - Over Campeche state, Mexico
Mexican Air Force pilots filmed 11 unidentified flying objects in the skies over southern Campeche state in Mexico, a Mexican Defense Department spokesman confirmed. A videotape was made widely available to the news media. The lights were filmed using infrared equipment. They appeared to be flying at an altitude of about 3,500 meters (11,480 feet), and allegedly surrounded the Air Force jet. View full report
Source: Associated Press / Jaime Maussan ID: 263
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Radar, Military, Pilot/Aircrew, Photo, Multiple UFOs, Witness Photo
Chinese Air Force pilot chases 'mushroom-shaped' UFO
October, 19, 1998 - Changzhou, China
The [Chinese] air force had a prolonged up-close encounter with a UFO last month that one fighter pilot described as "just like ones in foreign movies," a government-controlled newspaper reported Thursday. At least 140 people on the ground also saw the object. They described an object with a mushroom-shaped dome on top and a flat bottom covered with bright, continually rotating lights. View full report
Source: AFP (Agence France Presse) - November, 1998 ID: 1074
Case Type: PressReport Features: Group Sighting, Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar, Body Lights
America West Airlines Flight 564 UFO Case
May, 25, 1995 - Bovina, Texas, United States
A Boeing 757 piloted by Captain Eugene Tollefson and First Officer John J. Waller, was passing near Bovina, Texas. Captain Tollefson left his seat to look [at a line of regularly flashing lights]. As the lightning flashed behind the lights, it silhouetted something that to the observers appeared to be a large, dark, cigar shaped object between 300 and 500 feet in length. View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 225
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Radar
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
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
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
Retired Chilean General in air encounter with large 'banana-shaped' UFO
1978 - Antofagasta, Chile
Retired General Hernan Gabrielli Rojas had squared off against a gigantic UFO while engaging in a training flight in the skies of northern Chile. According to the military man, the object was the size of 10 or 15 aircraft carriers, and its presence was picked up by the radars aboard two F-5 jet fighters as well as the Cerro Moreno airport in Antofagasta. View full report
Source: Inexplicata, Scott Corrales, editor / Ovnivisión (Chile) / Revista TOC / Terra Chile ID: 997
Case Type: PressReport Features: Military, Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Photo, Radar
F-4 Jet Chase over Iran 1976
September, 18, 1976 - Tehran, Iran
One of the best documented UFO-aircraft incidents, when a UFO was observed flying over the restricted airspace of Tehran, Iran. Two U.S.-made F-4 Phantom II jet fighters of the Imperial Iranian Air Force were scrambled, but as the pilots closed in on the target, their communications and weapons systems were suddenly jammed. The incident was confirmed by high ranking officers of the Iranian Air Force and later documented by several agencies of the U.S. military. View full report
Source: Don Berliner, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence ID: 200
Case Type: MajorCase Features: E-M Effects, Radar, Pilot/Aircrew, Military
UFOs 'escort' Mexican aircraft
May, 2, 1974 - En route from Guerrero state to Mexico City, Mexico
Carlos Antonio de los Santos Montiel was flying en route from Guerrero state to Mexico city in his Piper Aztec 24, he became aware of three objects positioned extremely close around the plane. He heard a noise from below, as if one of the objects had collided with his plane. He then noticed that the aircraft controls and landing gear were frozen. View full report
Source: APRO Bulletin, Vol. 24 No. 2 (Aug 1975) ID: 311
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Radar, Pilot/Aircrew, Vehicle Interference, Multiple UFOs, Witness Photo
Domed Disc Near Airliner, Confirmed By Radar
February, 14, 1973 - McAlester, Oklahoma, United States
A domed disc near cargo airliner, confirmed by the airplane's airborne radar. The object was disc-shaped with a transparent dome on top, and a silvery, highly polished surface. The object reacted to the sweep of the plane's radar. Pilots from the airliner saw two or three shadowy entities moving around inside the object. View full report
Source: Richard Hall / UFO Casebook ID: 15
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Radar, Humanoid/Occupant
Chilean Navy ship encounters large UFO; tracked on radar
October, 24, 1969 - Chile
The incident involved a Chilean Naval destroyer and was witnessed by crew members and the commander of the vessel. Up to six UFOs, including one large object, were observed. The objects were verified on radar and observed visually. As the main object moved over the ship, the vessel's power went out." View full report
Source: Bill Chalker ID: 1016
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Water-Related, Radar, Multiple UFOs, Humming, E-M Effects, Body Lights, Group Sighting
Sheriffs Watch High-Performance Discs (The Michigan Sightings / 'Swamp Gas' Case)
March, 14, 1966 - Dexter-Hillsdale, Michigan, United States
Washtenaw County sheriffs and police in neighboring jurisdictions reported disc-shaped objects moving at fantastic speeds and making sharp turns, diving and climbing, and hovering. At one point, four UFOs in straight-line formation were observed. Selfridge AFB confirmed tracking UFOs over Lake Erie at 4:56 a.m. Their stories were backed up by more than 100 witnesses View full report
Source: FUFOR (Fund for UFO Research) ID: 778
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Police, Radar, Witness Sketch, Group Sighting, Mass Sighting
Red Bluff Incident
August, 13, 1960 - Red Bluff, California, United States
California Highway Patrol Officers Charles A. Carson and Stanley Scott were on patrol when they sighted what they thought was an airliner about to crash. When the UFO had descended to about 100 or 200 feet altitude it suddenly reversed direction and climbed to 500 ft. Description: round or oblong surrounded by a glow (color not mentioned) and having definite red lights at each end. They continued to watch the UFO as it performed "unbelievable" aerial feats. (NICAP, 1964) View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 107
Case Type: MajorCase Features: E-M Effects, Radar, Police
Object tracked on multiple radar flying at 5,000+ MPH
January, 1958 - Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
"I was on duty as a radar ATC operator and observed on my radar an object flying at 5,000mph+ and making impossible 90 degree turns. I coordinated and confirmed sighting with at least 3 other radar sites." View full report
Source: UFOEvidence.org ID: 334
Case Type: RawReport Features: Radar, Military
The RB-47 UFO Encounter
July, 17, 1957 - Gulf Coast Area, United States
An Air Force RB-47, equipped with electronic countermeasures (ECM) gear and manned by six officers, was followed by an unidentified object for a distance of well over 700 mi. and for a time period of 1.5 hr., as it flew from Mississippi, through Louisiana and Texas and into Oklahoma. The object was, at various times, seen visually by the cockpit crew as an intensely luminous light, followed by ground-radar and detected on ECM monitoring gear aboard the RB-47. View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon ID: 665
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar
Navy Sees 'Flying Saucers' on Radar Screen
December, 16, 1954 - Goulburn, Australia
Navy pilot has reported seeing two "flying saucers" flash past him while he was flying over Goulburn, N.S.W. Radar officers at Nowra Fleet Air station picked up the objects on their screen. View full report
Source: Daily Telegraph December 16th 1954 ID: 22
Case Type: PressReport Features: Radar, Pilot/Aircrew, Military
The 'Sea Fury' Incident
August, 31, 1954 - Nowra, Australia
One of the most controversial radar visual reports of the fifties occurred on August 31st, 1954. The story leaked out in December, 1954, and made front page headlines. The official navy file on the event remained classified until the Directorate of Naval Intelligence released a copy upon my request in 1982. During his 1973 visit to Australia, Dr. Hynek was able to interview the pilot involved in this famous incident. View full report
Source: Bill Chalker ID: 66
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Radar, Pilot/Aircrew, Military
The Kinross Air Force Base Incident (jet disappears while chasing UFO)
November, 23, 1953 - Lake Superior, Michigan, United States
On the evening of 23 November 1953, an Air Force radar controller became alerted to an "unidentified target" over Lake Superior, and an F-89C Scorpion jet was scrambled from Kinross AFB. Radar controllers watched as the F-89 closed in on the UFO, and then sat stunned in amazement as the two blips merged on the screen, and the UFO left. The F-89 and it’s two man crew, pilot Felix Moncla and radar operator Robert Wilson, were never found, even after a thorough search of the area. View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 610
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar, Witness Photo
Ellsworth Air Force Base UFO Incident
August, 5, 1953 - Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, United States
Shortly after dark on the night of twelfth [sic], the Air Defense Command radar station at Ellsworth AFB, just east of Rapid City, had received a call from the local Ground Observer Corps filter center. A lady spotter at Black Hawk, about 10 miles west of Ellsworth, had reported an extremely bright light low on the horizon, off to the northeast. View full report
Source: Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, Former Director of Project Blue Book ID: 41
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Radar, Pilot/Aircrew, Military
B-29 Radar Visual, Multiple Witness Observations
December, 6, 1952 - Gulf of Mexico, United States
When watching the radarscope, Coleman observed two UFOs which he tracked at a speed in excess of 5.000 miles per hour, quite impossible for planes of the day. View full report
Source: UFOs at Close Sight (Patrick Gross) ID: 16
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar
The Haneda AFB case, Japan, 1952
August, 5, 1952 - Haneda US Air Force Base , Near Tokyo, Japan, Japan
This is one of the cases that the Colorado Project has considered "explained" - a star and an anomalous radar propagation. Not so. On the contrary, as a careful study of the records shows, it is a very interesting case of anomalous flying objects in the sky who fly under intelligent control and cannot be of human origin. View full report
Source: UFOs at Close Sight (Patrick Gross) ID: 10
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Radar, Military
F-86 intercepts and shoots at saucer-shaped UFO
1952 - United States
In the summer of 1952 a United States Air Force F-86 jet interceptor shot at a flying saucer. This fact, like so many others that make up the full flying saucer story has never before been told... The object was definitely round and flat saucer shaped. The pilot described it as being "like a doughnut without a hole." View full report
Source: Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, 'The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects' (Credit: NICAP.org) ID: 1024
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar
The Bethune / Gandor Air Encounter
February, 10, 1951 - Gandor, Newfoundland, Canada
US Naval Reserve Lieutenant Graham Bethune, copilot of Flight 125, first sighted a huge object [at least] 300 feet in diameter on a near collision course with their aircraft. "A rough estimate would be at least 300 feet in diameter, over 1,000 miles per hour in speed, and approached to within 5 miles of the aircraft." View full report
Source: Disclosure Project / NICAP website / ufologien.net ID: 980
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
