Sightings1982

VASP Flight 169 crew and passengers report a light pacing the airliner

When: 8 Feb 1982
Sources: 2 public sources

A VASP Boeing 727 in 1982, the airline and type of Flight 169 HELIO BASTOS SALMON, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The captain of a VASP Boeing 727 flying from Fortaleza to Rio de Janeiro reported a bright, color-changing light that seemed to follow the plane, and some passengers also saw it. Ground radar showed nothing; a 2014 journal analysis argued the light was Venus, possibly distorted by a mirage.

Sources

PressConheca o enigma extraterrestre que intriga o Brasil ha mais de 40 anos (opens in a new tab)BNews Sao Paulo / 2025-05-26
OtherUnidentified Aerial Phenomena: The VASP-169 Flight Brazilian Episode Revisited (Luiz Augusto da Silva) (opens in a new tab)Journal of Scientific Exploration / 2014-02-20

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Where it fits

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