UFO sightings in Brazil

1947
Main article: José Higgins
On July 23, 1947, topographer José Higgins was working with many laborers in Bauru, São Paulo. Suddenly, they heard an extremely sharp sound. Some moments later, a big object landed near them. Its diameter was about 45 meters, and it seemed made of metal, grey colored and landed on the ground with also metallized “feet”. There was also a “ring” around it, making the object look like Saturn. A hatch opened and out emerged strange humanoid creatures which communicated to Higgins using hand signals.

1952

On 5 May 1952, the journalist Joao Martins and the photographer Eduardo Keffel claimed to have seen a flying disk in the vicinity of Barra da Tijuca. Keffel took some photographs of the UFO, which were published by the magazine O Cruzeiro.

1957

On 13 September 1957 The journalist Ibrahim Sued received an envelope containing a letter and three fragments of metal. The author of the letter wrote that he saw a UFO which exploded in the sky over the beach of Ubatuba; he collected some fragments and sent three of these to the journal together with the letter. Sued sent the fragments to a laboratory which analized them and discovered that they consisted of pure magnesium. James Harder and other ufologists came to the conclusion that the fragments of Ubatuba have an extraterrestrial origin, but other investigators think that this story is a hoax.
Main article: Antonio Villas Boas
Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials on 16 October 1957. Though similar stories had circulated for years beforehand, Boas’s claims was among the first alien abduction stories to receive wide attention.
Main article: Burning on Fort Itaipu Sentinels
The Burning on Forte Itaipu Sentinels UFO Incident was one of the most famous that involved injuries to human beings. It took place on November 4, 1957, on the Forte Itaipu, in the city of Praia Grande, São Paulo, Brazil.

1958
Main article: The Trindade Island’s UFO
At 12:00 pm of January 16, 1958, the Brazilian ship Almirante Saldanha, taking part in projects of the Ano Geofísico Internacional, was preparing to sail away from Ilha de Trindade, off the coast of Espírito Santo. Captain Viegas was on the deck with several scientists and members of the crew when he suddenly noticed a flying object, which had a “ring” around it, just like Saturn. Everyone reportedly saw the UFO at the same time. It came to the island from the east, flew towards the Pico Desejado (Wished Peak), made a step turn and went away very quickly to the northwest. As soon as the object was noticed Almiro Baraúna was requested for photographing. After getting the camera and going up the quarter-deck, he stated that he managed to take pictures of the object.

1966
Main article: Lead Masks Case
Two men are found dead in Niterói. Both were wearing lead masks. Some UFOs were seen flying near the point where both died.

1977
Main article: Colares UFO flap
The Colares flap refers to an outbreak of UFO sightings that occurred in 1977 on the Brazilian island of Colares. During the outbreak, the UFOs allegedly attacked the citizens with intense beams of radiation that left burn marks and puncture wounds. These sightings led to the Brazilian government dispatching a team to investigate under the codename Operation Saucer (Portuguese: Prato, see below), but the government later recalled the team and classified the files until the late 1990s.
Main article: Operação Prato
The first operation of the Brazilian Air Force created only to investigate UFO-related issues. This operation was started shortly after the Colares UFO flap (see above).

1979
Main article: Mirassol UFO Incident
On 28 July 1979, ‘Antonio Carlos Ferreira’ claims to have lived an experience of contacts with extraterrestrials. He worked as a security guard at a furniture company, located at Mirassol, São Paulo, Brazil.

1980

Elias Seixas de Mattos was a truck driver from Rio de Janeiro in 1980, when he had suffered an unexplainable experience. His story, along with the ones from his two friends, has earned an important page in the history of Brazilian Ufology because of the quantity of details he displayed to describe the situations.

1986
Main article: 1986 São Paulo UFO sighting
A series of Ufo sightings all over the states of Southeastern Brazil.

1996
Main article: Varginha UFO incident
The Varginha UFO incident was an incident in Varginha, Brazil, in 1996 involving reports of unidentified flying objects and strange creatures (allegedly extraterrestrials) which were supposedly captured by Brazilian officials.
Main article: Westendorff UFO sighting
In Saragonha Island, at Patos Lagoon, Haroldo Westendorff witnessed a cone-shaped UFO, 50 to 60 meters tall, and its base was as big as a soccer stadium, with about 100 meters diameter.