selected ufo cases
All Cases: Sorted by Date Posted
Several groups of UFOs fly over witnesses in Flint, Michigan
April, 20, 1952 - Flint, Michigan, United States
A naval aviation student, his wife, and several others were at a drive-in movie, during which time they saw several groups of objects fly over. There were from two to nine objects in a group and there were about 20 groups. The objects were shaped like conventional aircraft. The unaccountable feature of the objects was that each had a red glow surrounding it and was glowing itself, although it was a cloudless night. View full report
Source: U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report #14 (Battelle Institute Study), 1955 ID: 671
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Multiple UFOs, Group Sighting
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
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
Two police officers in UK encounter UFO (researcher Tony Dodd's sighting)
December, 12, 1978 - Skipton, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
At 4:30 a.m., a lonely police patrol car was driving on a remote country road along the Cononley Moor. In the car were Sgt. Anthony Dodd and Constable Alan Dale. They saw a bright white light that seemed to be diving towards them in a glide. a big shining disc which flew over their heads at a speed of about 40 mph. At its closest, it was hardly 100 feet away from them, so that they could see a number of details. "It was a huge thing, about 100 feet in diameter, and it made no noise whatsoever." View full report
Source: Michael Hesemann ID: 662
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Police, Body Lights, Silent, Portholes/Windows, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
Police Officer Herbert Schirmer Abduction
December, 3, 1967 - Ashland, Nebraska, United States
Sgt. Schirmer was on patrol when he encountered a UFO hovering above the road, which shot up when he flashed his high beams at the object. Soon, Schirmer realized he had experienced "missing time", and a red welt appeared on his neck. Hypnotic sessions revealed that the occupants of the landed craft came and took Schirmer aboard, and communicated with him through some form of mental telepathy. They told him that they would visit him twice more and that some day he would "see the universe". View full report
Source: Brent Raynes ID: 659
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Abduction, Police, Missing Time, Contact, Physiological Effects, Artifact, Polygraph Test, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
The Buff Ledge Abduction (two teenagers abducted in Vermont)
August, 7, 1969 - Buff Ledge Camp, Vermont, United States
"Michael" and "Janet", two teenage employees at Buff Ledge summer camp were sitting on a boat dock, when a UFO approached them. Two occupants were visible inside the craft. When it was directly over them, a beam of light shone from the craft. The next thing they remembered was sitting on the dock watching the now distant light. Ten years later under hypnosis, Michael and Janet each recounted a similar detailed story of abduction, a medical examination, and being taken on board a "mother ship." View full report
Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 658
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Abduction, Witness Sketch, Water-Related, 'Dyad Scout Craft', Children
Man has close encounter with UFO occupants (the Dawson encounter)
August, 6, 1977 - Pelham, Georgia, United States
Retired automobile salesman Tom Dawson, 63, was walking with his two dogs from his trailer home to a nearby farm when a "circular shaped space ship" with a dome and portholes, 40-50 ft in diameter and 12-14 ft high, set down in a field in front of him. He found he was unable to move a muscle. A hatch in the object opened, a ramp was extended, and 7 strange looking humans 5 ft tall emerged, five men and two women. View full report
Source: Billy Rachels / Ronald Story (2001) ID: 657
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, 'Dyad Scout Craft'
TWA airline pilot sees round metallic object with portholes
July, 4, 1981 - South central Lake Michigan, United States
On a clear day in 1981, Captain Schultz was piloting TWA flight 842 from San Francisco to John F. Kennedy Airport over Lake Michigan. In his written report, he described seeing a "large, round, silver metal object" with six jet black "portholes" equally spaced around the circumference, which "descended into the atmosphere from above." View full report
Source: Richard Haines, 2000 (Credit: CFI / NARCAP) ID: 656
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Portholes/Windows
Amateur astronomer observes large triangle with luminous rings in corners
February, 2, 1990 - Hamburg, Germany
A soundless flying triangle was observed near Hamburg, by the amateur astronomer Gutschke when he looked at the sky to observe the stars. The 70 meters long triangle was surrounded by a luminous dust. In the three corners there were pinkish luminous rings. The altitude was approximately 300 meters. In about 8 seconds the triangle moved from the zenith to the horizon, in the direction of the city of Hamburg, where it vanished in the dust. View full report
Source: Illobrand von Ludwiger / MUFON-CES (1998) ID: 655
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Astronomer
Cigar-shaped UFO with smaller objects observed in Jemgum, Germany
March, 7, 1977 - Jemgum, Germany
A 16 year old student, standing in front of his parents house, observed a bright spot in the sky. Through his binoculars, he could see that the object was cigar-shaped and surrounded by an orange-colored halo. This object filled 4/5 of his field-of-view in the binoculars. It appeared reflective, almost glaring. Smaller objects were also observed. View full report
Source: Illobrand von Ludwiger / MUFON-CES (1998) ID: 654
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Multiple UFOs, Children
Star-shaped objects observed for several nights over Ingolstadt, Germany
September, 6, 1979 - Ingolstadt, Germany
Star-shaped objects were observed for several nights in September 1979 over the city of Ingolstadt. Since that time members of MUFON-CES, the German UFO research organization, have interviewed several flight controllers, a dozen police officers and numerous other witnesses. They have also analyzed photographs and radar recordings that where made on film. View full report
Source: Illobrand von Ludwiger / MUFON-CES, (1998) ID: 653
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Group Sighting, Police, Pilot/Aircrew
Egg-shaped UFO seen from mountain lodge, reacts to firing of signal flare
December, 10, 1973 - Hochries Mountain, Germany
Mr. L., the proprietor of an Alpine lodge on Hochries mountain in Germany, along with the caretaker, noticed a red light on the top of the mountain. Mr. L. fired a red flare signal rocket in the direction of the unidentified object. Soon after, the object started to shine in a much brighter red color and rose-up slowly in the air. It moved in the direction of the Hochries-lodge, and the witnesses now recognized that the object was egg-shaped. View full report
Source: Illobrand von Ludwiger / MUFON-CES, (1998) ID: 652
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Interaction/Reaction, Body Lights
Disk-shaped UFO seen by group of teenagers in Messel, Germany
March, 13, 1982 - Messel, Germany
Several 15-17 year olds were at a discotheque in the town of Messel, when they saw outside a steel blue luminous disk with a dome on top which appeared over the woods about 600 meters from where they where standing. It slowly approached the witnesses at very low altitude, a distance of about 100 meters. Its diameter was about 10 meters wide. After a few seconds the disc started to move in spiral curves down to the ground; it stopped for a moment before it flew away at a steep upward angle. View full report
Source: Illobrand von Ludwiger / MUFON-CES, (1998) ID: 651
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Group Sighting, Children, Light Beam
Elliptical UFO with portholes observed by architect
May, 4, 1960 - Sarasota, Florida, United States
A yellow, elliptical object with four evenly spaced windowlike openings was observed at ground level by an architect. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (from NICAP UFO Investigator, May 1960) ID: 649
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Portholes/Windows
Cigar-shaped UFO over Mt. Kilimanjaro witnessed by pilot and passengers
February, 19, 1951 - Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
In 1951 a huge cigar-shaped UFO, which hovered over the famous Mt. Kilimanjaro, was photographed from an East African Airways plane flying in the vicinity, and witnessed by the crew and passengers. After remaining motionless for a considerable period of time, the object suddenly climbed steeply and disappeared. The movie film was developed and reportedly showed a clear and sizeable image of the object, according to the Natal Mercury. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (citing Nairobi Sunday Post, Feb. 25, 1951) ID: 648
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Group Sighting
Two disc-shaped UFOs seen by marine engineer in Holland
August, 7, 1952 - Kerkrade, Netherlands
On the night of August 6-7, 1952, Will Jansen, a marine engineer and designer, was visiting in Kerkrade, Holland. Just after midnight a disc-shaped craft with visible superstructure swooped down to low altitude, hovered, zigzagged and sped away. A second disc-shaped UFO, similar in outline, was then seen hovering farther away. Finally it tilted up vertically and shot up out of sight. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (from letter to CSI of Los Angeles) ID: 647
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Scientist/Engineer, Multiple UFOs
Circular object, appearing as a flaming ring, seen by architect
April, 26, 1954 - Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States
Russell M. Peirce, architect, reported a circular object which made a right-angle turn. "I was standing at the rear of the local High School building talking with two friends... Suddenly we all heard a very loud deep roar as of many motors... The object as I first saw it appeared as a flaming ring. The color was a little on the whitish tone but also had some suggestion of the orange-yellow of the common flame of burning wood, say." View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (from NICAP case file) ID: 646
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Sound, Witness Sketch
Disc-shaped UFO, larger than full moon, seen by police officers and others
September, 26, 1963 - Sunnyvale, California, United States
During the early morning of September 26, 1963, a UFO was sighted by people in scattered locations around the San Francisco Bay area. Officer Galen Anderson of Sunnvale Police Dept. observed the UFO for 45 seconds and submitted a particularly detailed report. This object appeared larger than a full moon, according to Officer Anderson, about basketball size at about 8 feet away. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (reported in San Jose Mercury News and SF Chronicle) ID: 645
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Police, Group Sighting
Cigar-shaped UFO with portholes seen by Honeywell metallurgist
November, 22, 1961 - Near Grafton, Nebraska, United States
A Minneapolis Honeywell metallurgist, Melvin C. Vagle, Jr., and his wife saw a cigar-shaped UFO while driving along U.S. Highway 81. "At the lower end. . . there was a bright 'flashing white light ann at the upper end there was a steady red light. Along the length of the fuselage there was a row of square-appearing ports, illuminated with a white yellowish light." View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (original case in "The Honeywell World," Jan. 1962) ID: 644
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Scientist/Engineer, Portholes/Windows
Sighting by zoologist and UFO researcher Ivan T. Sanderson
October, 2, 1958 - Near Blairstown, New Jersey, United States
Shortly after 5:00 p.m., noted Zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson observed a disc- shaped UFO maneuvering over the Delaware Water Gap. The flat disc looped back and forth, appearing sometimes edge-on (as a very thin line), sometimes oval to circular. It vanished once, but quickly reappeared, and continued its rapid gyrations, finally speeding away to the west. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) ID: 643
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Scientist/Engineer, Witness Sketch
UFO descends, then speeds away, near Walworth, Wisconsin
January, 8, 1959 - Walworth, Wisconsin, United States
Gordon Higgins, a draftsman who has had two years USAF experience as control tower operator and flight controller, watched a UFO descend and then speed away horizontally. The object glowed bright white, before changing to orange as it sped away, leaving a trail of sparks. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) ID: 642
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Witness Sketch
Strategic Air Command officers watch UFO with satellite objects
September, 8, 1958 - Offutt AFB, Omaha, Nebraska, United States
At SAC headquarters in 1958, a group of officers, airmen and missile engineers observed an elongated UFO with satellite objects for about 20 minutes. According to the report filed by Major Paul A. Duich, USAF (Ret.), "all except a few of the airmen were seasoned, veteran flyers or highly trained missile engineers. We concluded that what was seen by all was no conventional vehicle, nor was it an atmospheric phenomenon." View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) from NICAP case file ID: 641
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Group Sighting, Witness Sketch
Formation of round UFOs maneuver near ship in 1904
February, 28, 1904 - Pacific Ocean off San Francisco, California, United States
Three members of the crew of the USS Supply, at 6:10 a.m. local time, sighted an echelon formation of three objects which appeared near the horizon below clouds, moving directly toward the ship. As they approached, the UFOs began soaring, rose above the cloud layer, and were observed climbing into space, still in echelon. The lead object was egg-shaped and about the size of six suns, and the other two were smaller and round. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) citing "Monthly Weather Review" (1904) ID: 640
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Multiple UFOs, Water-Related
Two patrolmen see glowing red UFO in New Jersey
December, 20, 1958 - Dunellen, New Jersey, United States
Patrolmen LeRoy A. Arboreen and B. Talada were on night patrol when they saw an object coming from the west. "At first it looked like a red hot piece of coal about the size of a quarter held at arm's length. In a matter of seconds it was as large as a ruler held at arm's length... The body of the object was solid bright red and it gave off a pulsating red glow... The object hovered a few seconds, then made a left turn and again hovered for a few seconds, then went straight up like a shot." View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) from NICAP case report ID: 639
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Police, Witness Sketch
