selected ufo cases
Physical Trace Cases
South African constables observe disc-shaped object resting on highway
September, 16, 1965 - Pretoria, South Africa
On the night of September 16 two Pretoria, S. Africa, constables came upon a disc-shaped object resting on the highway. The headlights of their police van illuminated the copper-colored object which appeared to be about 30 feet in diameter. On top of the UFO was a small dome. In seconds the UFO suddenly lifted off the road, emitting tongues of flame. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 555
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Police, Physical Trace, Landing
Football shaped UFO hovers near milk barn, scares animals
August, 19, 1965 - Cherry Creek, New York, United States
Sixteen year old Harold Butcher was milking the cows in his father's barn in Cherry Creek, N.Y. Harold heard one of the bulls outside make a noise "like I have never heard come from an animal before." Simultaneously he saw a metallic-looking, football-shaped UFO about 50 feet long and approximately 20 feet thick hovering just above the trees an estimated 450 feet from the barn. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), 'Strange Effects from UFOs', by Donald Keyhoe and Gordon Lore ID: 572
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Animal Reaction, E-M Effects, Physical Trace
UFO on Australian Beach (Vaucluse Beach)
July, 19, 1965 - Vaucluse Beach, Australia
Disc-shaped object glowed as it sat on a beach. As witness approached the object, the object lifted off from the ground, quickly climbed in the air, and disappeared. Investigation revealed landing traces and effects on the nearby plant life. View full report
Source: UFO Casebook ID: 27
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physical Trace, Animal Reaction, Landing, Witness Sketch
Valensole, France Landing (Maurice Masse Case)
July, 1, 1965 - Valensole, Basses Alpes, France
Farmer Maurice Masse was inspecting his field of lavender when he heard a whistling sound, then noticed an egg-shaped object with six thin legs and a central pedestal standing nearby. A classic close encounter case from France. At the same time, he also saw two "small boys," humanoid-looking beings less than four feet tall, dressed in grayish-green one-piece coveralls. View full report
Source: Michael Lindemann / Center For Extraordinary Explorations ID: 140
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physical Trace, Physiological Effects, Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Witness Photo
James Flynn Florida Everglades Encounter
March, 12, 1965 - Everglades, Florida, United States
James Flynn was camping when he saw an object with a large cone-shaped structure hovering near the ground; it was some 75 feet wide and 25 feet high. As he approached the object a beam of light struck him in the forehead, knocking him unconscious and temporarily leaving him partially blinded. There were physical traces on trees and vegetation, and animal reactions from Flynn's dogs. View full report
Source: UFO Casebook ID: 23
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Physical Trace, Physiological Effects, Animal Reaction, Landing
Immense cone-shaped object crosses low over highway
December, 21, 1964 - Near Staunton, Virginia, United States
Horace Burns, a gunsmith in Harrisonburg, saw an immense cone-shaped object cross low over the highway ahead of him. "It was 125 feet in diameter, at least, and 80 to 90 feet high," he later reported. Its circular, sloping sides rose toward the top in six large, concentric convolutions that decreased in diameter and were surmounted by a dome. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 553
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Landing, Physical Trace
Giant spinning top encountered by businessman
June, 29, 1964 - Near Lavonia, Georgia, United States
Businessman Beauford E. Parham was returning home late on the evening of June 29, 1964. "I spotted a very bright light in the sky . . . coming directly toward my car," the witness said in a letter to a NICAP member. "The next instance it was directly in front of my headlights spinning like a giant top. It was shaped like a top and made a hissing sound like a million snakes." View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), 'Strange Effects from UFOs', by Donald Keyhoe and Gordon Lore ID: 565
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Physiological Effects, Physical Trace, Vehicle Interference, Portholes/Windows
Landed UFO frightens boy and cow; depressions left in field
May, 19, 1964 - Hubbard, Oregon, United States
Young Michael J. Bizon had gone outside his home in Hubbard, Oregon, to let the cow out of her stall. The cow seemed very nervous, and "was bucking all the way." Then he saw a square object about four feet high. The silver-colored UFO was sitting in the middle of a wheat field. It had four shiny legs. The object rose, slowly at first, and then "shot up just like a rocket." A flattened area with three spots was found in the wheat field. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), 'Strange Effects from UFOs', by Donald Keyhoe and Gordon Lore ID: 579
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Physical Trace, Animal Reaction, Landing
UFO lands and leaves crater-like depression with holes
May, 5, 1964 - Barnesville, Minnesota, United States
Early on the morning of May 5, 1964, farmer Alfred Ernst, of Barnesville, Minnesota, drove his truck up to his grain drill, when at 8:00 AM he saw a 3 to 4 foot long UFO on the ground. "It was a glowing oval object approximately 1,500 feet away." Afterwards, the farmer and his brother returned to the landing site. There they discovered a crater-like depression about three feet in diameter. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), 'Strange Effects from UFOs', by Donald Keyhoe and Gordon Lore ID: 573
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Physical Trace, Landing
Socorro / Zamora UFO Incident
April, 24, 1964 - Socorro, New Mexico, United States
The experience of Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964 stands as one of the most profound ufo events in the modern history of the phenomena. Lonnie Zamora saw a highly unusual device of unknown origin, what can only be described as a "craft" of some kind, and he reported seeing what he believes were occupants. View full report
Source: Chris Lambright ID: 90
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physical Trace, Landing, Police, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
Metal artifact found after close encounter on Island of Vaddo, Sweden
November, 11, 1956 - Isle of Vaddo, Sweden
Stig Ekberg and Harry Sjoberg were driving on the Island of Vaddo, Sweden, when they were approached by a flattened sphere shaped object. It settled in the middle of the road, about 100 meters in front of them. After about ten minutes, the object lifted off and accelerated away. At the landing site, the witnesses found a shiny "rock" that was hot to the touch. It was a three-sided piece of metal about the size of a matchbox, and had a heavy weight. Upon analysis, the object was found to be composed of tungsten carbide and cobalt. View full report
Source: Jacques Vallee, in Peter Sturrock, 'The UFO Enigma' ID: 837
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Artifact, Vehicle Interference, Smell/Odor, Physical Trace
The 1954 Cennina Landing and Encounter with Humanoids
November, 1, 1954 - Cennina, Italy
Rosa Lotti was walking into Cennina, when she perceived a big vertical spindle, "like 2 cones joined at their bases." From behind this craft emerged two little men 3 ft tall, who approached her with friendly expressions, the older one laughing. They were speaking a language that sounded like Chinese, 'liu, lai, loi." Approaching Lotti, they snatched from her the carnations and one of her stockings. Lotti ran away. A deep hole in the ground was later found at the site. View full report
Source: Sergio Conti, excerpt from FSR (Sept/Oct 1972) ID: 703
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Physical Trace
The Flatwoods Monster
September, 12, 1952 - Flatwoods, West Virginia, United States
Just before dark on September 12, 1952, at Flatwoods, WV, some young school boys saw a fiery UFO streak across the sky and apparently land on a nearby hilltop. Rushing to the site, and gathering a few others along the way, they saw a pulsating red light, encountered a nauseating mist, and turned a flashlight on a pair of shining eyes, revealing a huge creature. As it hissed and glided at them, the group panicked and fled. The next day investigators discovered skid marks and an oil-like substance that presumably came from the UFO. View full report
Source: Subversive Element ID: 535
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Children, Animal Reaction, Physical Trace, Landing, Group Sighting, Witness Photo
'Figures' seen through windows of oval-shaped object
August, 25, 1952 - Pittsburg, Kansas, United States
Among those cases declared Unidentified by the Air Force which are reported to involve alleged occupants is a sighting by William Squyres. He described the object as resembling two turtle shells placed edge to edge. Along the rim where the two halves joined he noticed a series of small propellers six to twelve inches in diameter projecting outward all the way around the object. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 556
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physical Trace, Portholes/Windows
UFO with occupants encountered by former mayor in Hasselbach, Germany
July, 9, 1952 - Hasselbach, Germany
Oscar Linke, former Wehrmacht major, and his daughter Gabrielle, 11, had to leave their motorcycle when they had a flat tire. Inside the woods the girl noticed two men in silvery suits examining the ground in a clearing near a pink disk-shaped object, 13-15 meters in diameter, showing a double row of openings around the rim and a black turret on top. One of the men had a flashing box. Both men went inside, and the disk vibrated, rose along the turretlike cylinder, then spun faster and rose out of sight. View full report
Source: Kathimerini newspaper (Athens, Greece), 1952, found in declassfied CIA files ID: 715
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Portholes/Windows, Humming, Physical Trace
Man encounters humanoids at Varese, Italy (the Bruno Facchini case)
April, 24, 1950 - Varese, Italy
Bruno Facchini heard and saw sparks coming from a dark, hovering object, near which a man dressed in tight-fitting clothes and wearing a helmet seemed to be making repairs. Three other men were seen near the craft. The full realization of what he was witnessing sent Bruno into a full run away from the frightening encounter, at which point one of the beings projected a "light" from a tube and the witness fell to the ground. When the work was finished, a trap through which light had been shining was closed and the craft took off. View full report
Source: Ezio Bernardini, excerpt from FSR 1987 No. 4 ID: 746
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physiological Effects, Physical Trace, Artifact, Witness Photo
