Military19 Sep 1976Tehran, Iran

Tehran jet intercept

Name: Tehran jet intercept
Start: 1976-09-19
Location: Tehran, Iran

An Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom, the type sent after the light in 1976 Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Iranian Air Force F-4 jets were sent after a bright light over Tehran overnight, and crews reported losing instruments and communications as they closed in. A U.S. Defense Attache report on the incident, circulated by the DIA, was later released under FOIA.

Evidence

Significance

Sources

OfficialRouting and Transmittal Slip from Louis E. Foster, DIA, with a DIA summary sheet and US Defense Attache report on the sighting of a UFO in Iran on 19 September 1976 (opens in a new tab)National Security Agency (declassified UFO document collection)
PressWhat Were Those Mysterious Craft? (Ward Sinclair and Art Harris, Washington Post, Jan 1979; CIA clipping file) (opens in a new tab)CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room / 1979-01-19

How sources are chosen and tiered

Oct 1975Military

Northern-tier base overflights

Air Force and NORAD records released under FOIA describe unidentified, low-flying objects, often likened to helicopters, over Loring, Wurtsmith and Malmstrom bases in late October and November 1975. Pursuit efforts failed; the Washington Post reported the files in 1979.

Evidence

Significance

Oct 1977Military

Brazilian Air Force Operacao Prato

After residents of Colares and nearby Para coastal towns reported lights in the sky, a Brazilian Air Force team from Belem logged sightings and took photographs into 1978. The Air Force says the files went to the National Archives; no explanation covers every report.

Evidence

Significance

18 Oct 1973Military

Coyne helicopter encounter

A four-man Army Reserve UH-1H crew led by Capt. Lawrence Coyne reported that a gray, cigar-shaped object approached their helicopter near Mansfield, Ohio, bathed the cockpit in green light, and that the helicopter rose sharply during the encounter. Ground witnesses reported a red light.

Evidence

Significance

11 Nov 1979Military

Manises incident: airliner diverts, Spanish Air Force Mirage scrambled

A TAE Super Caravelle bound for the Canary Islands diverted to Valencia-Manises after its crew reported red lights closing on the aircraft. A Spanish Air Force Mirage F1 later chased lights without success; the declassified file records no radar contact. A deputy raised it in parliament.

Evidence

Significance