selected ufo cases
Pilot / Aircrew Cases
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
Civil Aviation Authority Report on Near Miss With UFO
January, 6, 1995 - Pennines, near Manchester, United Kingdom
What follows is the full report of the CAA's conclusions relating to a near miss between a Boeing 737 and an unknown object on 6th January 1995, while on its final approach to Manchester Airport. View full report
Source: Mike Wootten - BUFORA ID: 31
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew
Air France Flight 3532 sighting of brown-red disk-shaped object
January, 28, 1994 - Paris, France
While flying over the Paris region, the crew noticed a large brown-red disk hovering on the horizon and constantly changing shape. From the pilot: "This object seemed to us then absolutely abnormal by its size which seemed immense, its dark red color and of the fuzzy edges. I had the impression to observe a gigantic lens in evolution. It did not resemble anything we had seen in our flying careers. " View full report
Source: UFOCOM (Credit: Ufologie.net - Patrick Gross) ID: 1062
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Photo
Two police officers have dogfight with UFO during helicopter patrol
February, 27, 1993 - Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States
Two Jefferson County air unit police officers — described by their lieutenant as "solid guys" — swear they had a two-minute dogfight with a UFO during a routine helicopter patrol Friday night. Two officers on the ground said they, too, spotted the object. The UFO — a glowing pear-shaped object about the size of a basketball — literally flew circles around the helicopter, even though the fliers say they were moving at speeds approaching 100 mph. View full report
Source: Gardiner Harris, Louisville Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), Mar. 4, 1993 ID: 764
Case Type: PressReport Features: Police, Pilot/Aircrew, Interaction/Reaction, Witness Photo
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
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
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
