Southeastern and central Brazil: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiás, Brazil
The Brazilian Night of the UFOs
On 19 May 1986 Brazilian air-defence radars and multiple civilian/military witnesses reported numerous unidentified aerial targets. Five Air Force fighters were launched, and the Air Minister publicly confirmed the incident days later.
Why This Case Matters
One of the world's strongest publicly documented military UAP events: multiple radar sites, professional observers, fighter intercepts, official contemporaneous acknowledgement and later release of Air Force records/audio.
Chronology
- 19 May evening São José dos Campos controller reports unusual lights
- radar contacts appear across defence network
- Santa Cruz and Anápolis bases alerted
- F-5 and Mirage fighters launched in several intercept attempts
- pilots obtain intermittent visual/radar contacts while other targets remain ground-radar only
- 23 May Air Minister holds press conference
- 2 Jun Air Force report completed
- report released publicly in 2009; archival audio later released
The Witnesses
Evidence
The following evidence types are documented for this case:
Conventional explanations: Radar propagation/anomalous returns, astronomical objects and multiple mundane stimuli may explain some contacts, but the event comprised many separate detections and the Air Force did not reach a single conventional identification.
What Remains Unresolved
- Full raw radar data
- complete unedited audio set with timestamps
- sortie/maintenance logs
- exact correspondence between each visual and radar contact
- itemised resolution of the 21-object figure
Key Takeaways
- Distinguish '21 unidentified objects/contacts' from 21 simultaneously observed physical craft. Even with that discipline, the official multi-sensor/interceptor record is unusually strong.
Sources
Primary and secondary sources for this case file: