Three 'Close Encounter' UFO Reports -on the Same Day.

The year 1976 does not seem to have been one of the most important years for reported sightings of unknown objects in the sky, with rather more of these reports in some previous and following years.

Official records released by the British Ministry of Defence have revealed that there were two hundred sightings reported to the Department during that year for investigation. In other countries, sighting report details are mostly unknown, but it is known that other governments also take an active but guarded interest in the subject, because of the number of sightings remaining unidentified, and significant periods of increased sightings. 

In general, most of the sightings reported are found to have some rather normal or perhaps unusual natural explanation as a probable cause when investigated, leaving just a small proportion of unknown UFO reports. The sightings become more interesting if there are separate sightings of the same object, from different locations, if there are close proximity sightings described as sometimes reported, or when an unknown object is seen occasionally on the ground and causing effects as part of the reported event. 

There were good examples of these sightings globally in 1976, with close proximity reports and a number of CE-3 type incidents. More surprisingly, there were three reports of this kind on the same day, from very well separated locations in different countries -in England, Brazil, and Italy. 

A UK report, on September 3rd that year, was from the north of England. At the coal mine village of Fencehouses, County Durham, two women aged 63 and 18 were walking home at around 9p.m.  in cool dry weather conditions, after visiting a friend's home in the village, when they noticed a strange object on an area of waste land from a mine shaft. They walked closer to the object, and saw that it was oval in shape, about five feet long and three feet high, standing on what looked like chrome or steel runners. The main part of the object was glass-like with an orange coloured section on top. The more elderly of the two women reported that when they reached the object, the wind and nearby traffic noise stopped, and when she touched the side of the object it felt warm. Two strange looking small beings, described as about the size of a large doll, then appeared inside the object. They had long white hair, large eyes and claw like hands. The women became frightened and hurried away, with the normal street noise returning when they had moved away from the object -which then took off at high speed and with a humming noise. The incident lasted about ten minutes, and it was reported that the watches of the two women had both stopped as they approached the object, but worked normally again afterwards.  The older witness also reported that on the following day she could not plug her vacuum cleaner into the electric socket, because some kind of force seemed to be pushing it out, and that her daughter had needed to plug it in for her. 

Another reported incident on the same evening of September 3rd was from Brazil. At Serra do Mouro, Santa Catarina, a 19 year old farm worker was returning home at 7p.m. when he observed a disc-shaped object in the sky. The object was coming from the south, and seemed to be in two parts. The lower part was described as being shaped like a deep bowl, and was rotating slowly. The upper part looked more flat, and had a light on top which seemed to vary with the object's speed. The light was changing in colour from red and orange through to yellow and green, then finally to white and becoming less bright. The actual colour of the object itself looked greyish, but this was uncertain because it was getting dark at the time. The craft looked to be about three metres in diameter, and passed overhead before becoming stationary about five metres above the ground. It then projected a beam of red light from the centre of the base downwards.  Three small beings about one metre tall could then be seen within the beam, descending slowly to the ground. The beings stood across the roadway, barring the way ahead. Faced with this situation, the witness took out a large knife which he normally used to cut leaves off sugarcane. He threw the knife directly at one of the figures, but the knife seemed to meet an invisible obstacle, and was deflected. One of the small figures then pointed a rod-like device at him. The other two dwarf-like beings were also seen to be carrying similar devices, but did not use them. The rod emitted a bluish beam of light, which struck the witness on his thigh, causing paralysis and loss of consciousness. Some of his neighbours carried him into his house, where he began to recover consciousness, but needed further hospital treatment for the paralysis effects. 

Another incident also on the same day was reported from Ravenna, in Italy. When looking outside after hearing a noise, Mrs Lorenza Jole had seen an oval shaped object between two houses opposite. The object was about three metres in diameter and two metres in height, and four or five small spheres could be seen nearby. The main object was described as pinkish-mauve in colour, and the spheres were white -about 0.2 metres in diameter. She also described seeing, between herself and the object, a 'being' about 1.7 metres tall, in 'warlike' dress. This included a helmet with a protuberance at the centre. When she went to another window for a better view, she found that the object was taking off, gathering speed rapidly before it disappeared. In reading through these three reports, it can be seen that they are similar, sharing some of the same characteristics. Apart from these reported close proximity UFO sightings happening on the same day and in different countries, which is very unusual, two of the incidents were at around the same time of day in the evening. The British case at Fencehouses on September 3rd at 9p.m. would have been shortly after sunset, and in the Brazilian case it was also reported to be getting dark at the time of the sighting. The timing of the Italian sighting is at present unknown. The reports on this day were of objects seen on or near the ground as part of the sighting, with the objects being of relatively small size, described as no more than about three metres in diameter, oval in shape in two cases, or disc-shaped like a bowl.  The reported occupants of the craft were mostly small, and with descriptions of a size like large dolls or dwarf-like in the British and Brazilian cases. 

There are also similarities to be seen between these reports and the characteristics or ef ts described in many other UFO close proximity UFO incidents. The description of wind and traffic noise stopping for a while, with total silence in the surroundings has been described in a number of cases, and has been called the Oz Factor -which can perhaps be best likened to an unknown other-worldly kind of experience. 

The British case also describes both watches of the eyewitnesses stopping temporarily during the incident, with magnetic effects of this kind also reported occasionally during vehicle effect cases and other close proximity events. 

One of the most interesting characteristics is described in the Brazilian case, with a beam of light and small beings within it, then seen descending from the object to the ground, before a rod-like device was used, emitting a blue light beam which paralysed the witness. There have been well documented cases of this 'solid' or coherent light beam which can be emitted gradually. Some kind of unknown force is apparent, and has also been described in other cases. 

Geoff Falla.

References. 

Fencehouses, County Durham :-  FSR (Flying Saucer Review) Vol 22, No 6, (1976) p 2-3. 

Serra do Mouro, Brazil :- FSR Vol 28, No 1, (1982) p 5-8. 

Ravenna, Italy :- BUFORA Journal Vol 8, No 3, (June 1979) p 8. 

Coherent Light Beams: 

Jan Heering. UFO Physics-1. FSR Vol 22, No 5,(1976) p 19-22. 

BUFORA. The Journal of Transient Aerial Phenomena Vol 2, No 3, (1982) p 48-50.

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