The chase of 21 UFOs over the southeastern Brazilian airspace
| Name | 1986 Night of the UFOs Also known as:
|
| Occurred on | May 19, 1986 |
| Seen by | Multiple civilians and military personnel across southeastern Brazil |
| Investigated by | Ministry of Aeronautics – Air Defense Command |
In 1986, the night sky over southeast Brazil was crowded with military fighter jets and strange, unidentified objects, zooming left and right as if playing a game of cat and mouse.
This 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident is famously known as the “Official Night of the UFOs” (or “Festival of the UFOs,” as the involved air traffic controllers jokingly called it at the time). It’s also the most frequently visited and requested UFO case in Brazil’s National Archive to date.
Let’s go over the events that took place the night a series of UFOs were sighted over the country’s airspace.
What Is the 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident?
Also known as the 1986 Night of the UFOs, the event was a series of UFO sightings that occurred in four states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Goiás.
These bright, colorful unidentified objects were first detected on radar by the air traffic controller, Sgt. Sérgio Mota da Silva, of São José dos Campos, São Paulo, at around 8:00 PM on May 19, 1986. Sgt. da Silva called other nearby air traffic control towers to see if they had detected “any planes heading to his airfield,” and they replied negative.
Unable to come up with anything concrete regarding these objects, Sgt. da Silva reported it to higher authorities.
Aside from him, reports also came from the following witnesses:
- At 8:00 PM, 2,000 officers and cadets from the Escola de Especialistas da Aeronáutica (EEAR, School of Aeronautical Specialists)
- The pilots of two commercial planes: one with a flight path from Londrina to São Paulo and the other from Guarulhos to Brasília
This then led the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB, Brazilian Air Force) to send five fighter jets—two F-5E from the Santa Cruz Air Force Base (AFB), São Paulo and three Mirages from the Anápolis AFB, Goias—to approach and identify the objects. However, this proved to be a difficult feat, as the objects were capable of traveling at 11,500 mph and changing directions on a snap.
This military-UFO chase lasted until around 12:30 AM the next day, May 20.
As of record, the Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo (CINDACTA, Integrated Center for Air Defense and Air Traffic Control) counted at least 21 objects flying around Brazilian airspace that night, with some of them measuring up to 100 meters in diameter.
How Did the 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident Unfold?
Here’s the play-by-play of the events, including military actions, as outlined in the incident report by the Comando Aéreo de Defesa Aérea (COMDA, Air Defense Command) of the Ministry of Aeronautics.
ℹ️ We used DeepL Translate to understand the report. If you think there are parts that are inaccurate or lost in translation, please let us know—we would greatly appreciate it!
8:15 PM - CINDACTA Brasília informed Centro de Operações Militares (COpM, Military Operations Center) that Sgt. da Silva had observed red, yellow, green, and orange lights moving in the area.
9:08 PM - A PT-MBZ pilot observed the lights, like large, red stars, 150° radial of the São José dos Campos VOR, moving from east to west, and was unable to get closer to them.
The said pilot was Col. Ozires Silva, the president of the aerospace company, Embraer, who was, at the time, returning from Brasilia and was about to land his Xingu plane, PT-MBZ, at São José dos Campos Airport.
Sgt. da Silva contacted him, asking whether he had seen anything strange; he confirmed he had. Just as he was about to maneuver the plane closer, the lights disappeared.
9:14 PM - The on-call COpM officer was called in.
9:23 PM - The on-call Centro de Operações de Defesa Aérea (CODA, Air Defense Operations Center) was called in.
9:39 PM - Because the radar picked up unusual signals near São José dos Campos, the CODA Chief ordered that an early warning aircraft take off from Santa Cruz AFB to identify and intercept whatever was there.
10:10 PM - The APP-AN reported detecting persistent radar echoes, but these weren’t being displayed on COpM’s equipment.
10:11 PM - The APP-AN’s report triggered CODA to issue an alert to the Anápolis AFB.
The fact that APP-AN’s radar detected something that COpM didn’t was worrying, hence the alert to Anápolis AFB.
This situation was similar to Sgt. da Silva’s explanation, where, at times, these objects didn’t appear on radar but could be seen by pilots, and vice versa.
Because of this, FAB decided that the pilots would only pursue UFO sightings with visual and radar confirmation.
10:18 PM - Anticipating that the first aircraft wouldn’t remain airborne for longer than its range allows, CODA asked Santa Cruz AFB to have two additional aircraft on standby.
10:34 PM - The first aircraft took off from Santa Cruz AFB. COMDA directed it to Sector W, where radar echoes were detected south of the São José dos Campos area.
The pilot, later identified as Lt. Kleber Caldas Marinho, reported that he had observed a white light near his F-5 fighter jet at 17,000 feet, about 10° above him. This confirmed that he had attained visual contact, with a 10–12-mile distance between them.
When they were about 33,000 feet, he saw it change color from white to red to green, then back to white for a while.
His pursuit ended when it became clear that he couldn’t get a reason or explanation for the object’s approach. Further, his fighter jet was running low on fuel.
10:48 PM - The first aircraft took off from Anápolis AFB toward the area where the APP-AN reported persistent radar echoes.
The pilot, Capt. Armindo Sousa Viriato de Freitas, onboard a Mirage F-103, reportedly made radar contact with the object five times. In one instance, he came within two miles of it.
He also observed that the object’s trajectory varied, making zigzag maneuvers and sharp right turns intermittently.
What’s more, its unpredictable mid-flight maneuvers, including accelerations to Mach 15, eventually led him to lose radar contact and abandon the pursuit.
In an interview with TV Globo, the captain commented, “If there’s an aircraft that can develop this speed, I’m not aware of it.”
10:50 PM - The second aircraft took off from Santa Cruz AFB toward Sector W.
When the pilot, Capt. Márcio Brisolla Jordão, arrived, he saw an object with red lights at the coordinates COpM had directed, and it remained stationary. A few minutes later, he noticed that as its light went out, so did its detection on his fighter jet’s radar screen.
However, what made his chase notable was that his radar detected the brief appearance of 13 “blips” behind him. He quickly turned around for visual contact, but nothing could be seen.
11:17 PM - The second aircraft took off from Anápolis AFB. It didn’t make visual or radar contact with the luminous objects.
11:36 PM - A third aircraft took off from Anápolis AFB. It also didn’t make contact with the luminous objects.
11:37 PM - The first aircraft from Santa Cruz AFB was back at the base.
11:46 PM - The first aircraft from Anápolis AFB was back at the base.
12:05 AM - The second aircraft from Santa Cruz AFB had returned.
12:07 AM - The second aircraft from Anápolis AFB had returned.
12:30 AM - The third aircraft from Anápolis AFB had returned.
The pilots for the second and third fighter jets from the Anápolis AFB were later identified as Capt. Rodolfo Silva e Souza and Capt. Júlio Cézar Rozemberg, respectively.
What Did the Brazilian Military Conclude About the 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident?
Then-Minister of Aeronautics, Brigadier Octávio Júlio Moreira Lima, honestly told the people that “they have no explanation.” However, he promised they would provide the complete dossier, filled with technical information about the 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident—and they did, in the form of the COMDA report cited above.
From their investigation, they found that the UFOs “exhibited consistent characteristics.”
- They showed up on the bases’ and pilots’ radar systems, allowing pilots to make visual confirmations.
- They could fly from subsonic to supersonic speeds one moment and could hover in the air in the next.
- They could fly for as low as 5,000 feet to as high as 40,000 feet.
- They were visible at times due to their white, green, or red lights; other times, they showed no lights at all.
- They could accelerate and decelerate abruptly.
- They could turn in neat, predictable circles; other times, in strange, unpredictable curves.
Because of these, COMDA concluded:
Based on the consistent facts observed in nearly all sightings, this Command is of the opinion that the phenomena are solid and, to some extent, exhibit intelligence, given their ability to track and maintain a distance from observers, as well as to fly in formation, [although they are] not necessarily manned.
Note, though, that while Brazil openly embraces UFOs, it doesn’t treat them as synonymous with aliens and alien spacecraft. They’re simply “objects in the sky whose natural origin couldn’t be immediately discovered.”
What really happened in the skies over Kaikoura? Uncover the full story, witness accounts, and strange radar data in our article on UFO Connect. Don’t miss this deep dive into a case that refuses to be explained.
What Is the Significance of the 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident in Ufology?
At a time when official reports often dismissed or downplayed the UFO’s existence, the 1986 Brazilian UFO Incident stands out as one of the rare cases where military authorities acknowledged that an unusual aerial phenomenon had occurred—one that appeared to exhibit intelligent behavior and outperformed deployed military aircraft.
The incident also underscores the importance of trained, credible observers and advanced military systems in responding to and documenting UFO chases and dogfights.
More importantly, it considers an aspect of UFO research that many have neglected before: the most compelling cases involve direct government and military engagement. Their responses, investigations, and acknowledgments help researchers and scientists compile more robust data and evidence, bringing them closer to understanding the phenomenon.
If the 1986 Brazilian UFO case intrigued you, check out our collection of UFO documents and ongoing research at UFO Connect.
FAQ
Who else witnessed these colorful, luminous UFOs?
Photojournalist Adenir Britto2 was also a known witness when the UFO was spotted hovering above the newspaper’s building around 9:00 PM. He was even able to photograph these. Unfortunately, its negatives were now lost.
Could the UFOs be extraterrestrial?
Science has yet to ascertain that point. However, one thing is sure: the UFOs showed intelligence.
One concrete example was when Sgt. da Silva experimented with the airport runway lights.9 When he turned the brightness up, the UFOs moved away; when he turned it down, they came closer. He observed that it “seemed to answer to intelligence” with the signs he did with the runway lights.
References
- “Official UFO Night in Brazil.” Brazil Services and Information, https://www.gov.br/en/government-of-brazil/latest-news/2022/official-ufo-night-in-brazil. Accessed March 24, 2026.
- Tariq Tahir. “Clash in the Skies: Inside Chilling ‘Night of the Ufos’ Where Fighter Jets Chased Mystery ‘11,500MPH Craft’ Spotted by Hundreds of Troops.” The Sun, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18947134/night-of-the-ufos-fighter-jets-chased-mystery-craft/. Accessed March 24, 2026.
- Tariq Tahir. “Brazilian Pilots Encounter ‘11,500 Mph Craft’ During ‘Night of the Ufos’.” New York Post, https://nypost.com/2022/06/23/brazilian-pilots-meet-11-500mph-craft-during-night-of-the-ufos/. Accessed March 24, 2026.
- André Bernardo. “A Noite Em Que 21 óVnis Invadiram O Espaço Aéreo Brasileiro E Foram Perseguidos Por Caças Da FAB.” BBC News Brazil, https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-59953278. Accessed March 25, 2026.
- Don Berliner. “Jet Chase Over Brazil.” UFO Evidence, http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case51.htm. Accessed March 25, 2026.
- UFO Case Studies. “The Official UFO Night (Brazil, 1986).” YouTube, https://youtu.be/350K7xfT2tM?si=VEPrnnN4iQvWUA0D. Accessed March 26, 2026.
- “Incident Report.” Brazil Services and Information, https://imagem.sian.an.gov.br/acervo/derivadas/BR_DFANBSB_ARX/0/0/0249/BR_DFANBSB_ARX_0_0_0249_d0001de0001.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2026.
- Naiara Galarraga Gortázar. “UFOs in Brazil, the Official Story.” El Paiso, https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-09-30/ufos-in-brazil-the-official-story.html. Accessed March 25, 2026.
- Luís Carlos Machado. “The Official Night of UFOs 1986.” https://youtu.be/5OPrVkUSZVc?si=KUQxqkQvs3ht4lDd. Accessed March 25, 2026.
