ufo_data/bin/rr0/tran1996.md

- The journalists of the television show *Sightings* compare the craft filmed by the security camera of the Nellis base (discovered in 1995) with one of the objects filmed in Mexico during the 1991 eclipse. Considering the two objects as identical, they conclude that the UFOs seen over Mexico could be part of a secret military program of the United States Army.


- Guillermo Osorio films bands of light (pictured below) passing silently over the city of Puebla (Mexico), in the eyes of many witnesses. At first, astronomers think they are comets, but quickly change their minds when they notice that these objects move very slowly and at a very low altitude. Computer analysis conducted in the United States indicates that it cannot be a natural phenomenon.


- Eurico de Freitas and his wife are awoken by an abnormal commotion from the animals on their farm. They then see, through the window of their bedroom, a greyish object, emitting some kind of smoke, silently traverse the fields at about 5 m from the ground, before disappearing into the night.

- **January**


-   A [Groom Lake](Area51.html), Bechtel Corp. begins work to extend the second runway (14L-32R) to 5000 feet [\[Glenn Campbell, *Groom Lake Desert Rat*\]]{.source}.


-   **January 19:** An object 10 m wide is observed in the swamps of Tully (Australia). A large trace is discovered (photo below), as will be several others a few days later.


-   **January 20** : [Varginha Encounter](1996-01-20_Varginha.html).


- **February:** (Brazil?) Coming out of a bend, a motorist takes in his headlights a strange being about 50 m from his truck. He brakes abruptly and sees the creature shielding its face before disappearing into the night. According to the motorist, it had large eyes, eyes the color of blood.

- **Mars**


-   Start of filming of the movie "[MIB](MIB.html)", produced by [Steven Spielberg](SpielbergSteven.html).


-   **Friday, March 22:** American Shannon Lucid settles for 6 months on *Mir* (female duration record).


-   **Sunday, March 24th:** A man claiming to be a friend of a military officer assigned to collect debris from the 1947 Roswell crash arrives at the Roswell UFO Museum and asks Max Little, the museum curator, if he would like to see a piece of the crashed craft. Upon Max's approval, the man calls the former military officer in question who arrives 20 minutes later with the debris in question. They call a photographer, to whom they ask to take a series of shots of the fragment. Local television and newspaper chains are summoned for a press conference. The event was covered by television channels 7, ABC Albertkurky, and the Roswell newspaper. The military officer possessing the fragment wished to remain anonymous, declared to have had the object for almost 49 years, and keeps it in a safe place, awaiting an analysis that will determine its authenticity.


- **April 21, 9 PM:** Mrs. Terezinha Gallo Clepf, 67, who was dining with friends at the restaurant of the Varginha Zoo (Brazil), left the table to smoke a cigarette under the veranda. She then almost had a heart attack when she found herself face to face with a creature matching the description of the two creatures captured on [January 20](#01-20).


-   **April 27:** The *Priroda* module docks to *Mir.*


-   **June 4:** The first *Ariane 5* explodes on takeoff, with the *Cluster* satellites.


-   **July 17th:** The Boeing 747 of TWA Flight 800 crashes with its 230
    passengers. Three official hypotheses will be evoked: a failure of
    the aircraft, a bomb, and a missile from the army. A fourth
    unofficial hypothesis is the voluntary or involuntary collision with
    a UFO: according to an international official, we could be dealing
    with a collision with an unknown type of engine to this day. This
    would explain the embarrassment of the US administration and the
    blocking of the investigation.


-   **Sunday, August 11th, 5am:** John Weyleigh films [the Oliver Castle video](video/OliverCastle.mpg) showing the formation of [crop circles](CropCircles.html) by flying lights.


-   **August 17:** Claudie André-Deshays, first French woman in space,
    stays 15 days aboard *Mir.*


- **August 28**


-   **4 h :** A police patrol, stationed in Centurion, a few km from Pretoria ([South Africa](ZA.html)), observed a strong light surrounded by small red lights arranged in a circle. They pursued the object for a hundred kilometers.


-   **5:30:** The patrol is relieved by a police helicopter which begins its pursuit above the Mamelodi suburb. The phenomenon, which had been moving slowly until then, quickly gains altitude before disappearing without being disturbed.


-   **September 7:** An anomalous signal is detected by amateur researchers of the [SETI](SETI.html).


-   **September 16:** A resident of Nazareth (Israel) who went to post a letter claims to have been grabbed by the hair and dragged into an egg-shaped object where he sees beings with a head like a bulb and thin limbs. The man recounts having been sprinkled with some kind of powder. When he wakes up, he is lying on his back, on a sports field 500 m from his home. In the hospital, doctors find the presence of a powder which, when analyzed, turns out to be 60% aluminum.


-   **September 21, 0 h** : At La Roche-Guyon (Val d'Oise), observation of a light moving to the Northwest, towards the town of Marines. [\[*Gazette du Val d'Oise,* July 16, 1997\]]{.source}


-   **September 27th, 11:30 PM** : At La Roche-Guyon (Val d'Oise), observation of aerial luminous points for 10 minutes. [ \[*Gazette du Val d'Oise,* July 16th 1997\]]{.source}


-   **23 October, 7:45 PM** : In Chérence (Val d'Oise), observation for 4 minutes of a static luminous ball [ \[*Gazette du Val d'Oise,* 16 July 1997\]]{.source}.


-   **October 25, 10:30 PM**: Near the N 14 in Magny-en-Véxin (Val d'Oise), observation of a triangular shape with spots, stationary for 3 minutes, then it flew away and stopped again, before leaving definitively [ \[*Gazette du Val d'Oise,* July 16, 1997\]]{.source}.


-   **October 26th, 4:10 PM:** Not far from the Isle of Lewis, in the north of Scotland, a bright light, then a trail of fire and smoke is observed in the sky from Port of Ness. Witnesses report seeing 2 large debris spiraling down towards the ocean, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. These pieces fall into the water, causing further explosions; the surface of the ocean is seen to be flaming in places for several minutes. Not far away, in Stornoway, coast guards are alerted; rescue boats are dispatched to the scene. The authorities think that an airplane has crashed --- several transatlantic lines pass over Lewis. A RAF [RAF](RAF.html) Nimrod plane joins the rescue teams. But, at this stage of the search, it is already known that no airplane --- civilian or military --- is missing.

-   **October 27th:** The search is called off, and a RAF spokesperson
    declares: We have conducted extensive searches, without result. We
    remain puzzled as to the cause of this incident. However, as even
    civilian vessels are staying away from the Lewis area, a large
    manoeuvre involving planes, boats and military submarines starts
    in the same place. Officially, it is only a coincidence, but
    according to a source from the Scottish National Party, fishermen
    reported having seen a frigate from the navy retrieving a wreck
    from the ocean floor. The army seems to have found something. 4
    months later, in April 1997, an unidentified substance is washed
    up on the beach of Tangusdale, in Barra (Scotland). Regional
    experts confirmed that the prevailing currents and winds could
    have brought this substance - possibly a residue of an unknown
    fuel - from the Lewis area.


-   **November 7:** Launch of *Mars Pathfinder* and *Mars Global Surveyor.*


-   **November 21, 5am:** A violent explosion shakes the Parmelan massif, above the town of Dingy-Saint-Clair (Haute-Savoie). The few witnesses speak of a flash, which will lead to the thought that an airplane could have crashed. The rescuers are immediately called and Dingy becomes a rear base for the search teams (more than 200 men). Journalists, ufologists and curious people flock to the small town. It is then that several witnesses notice the presence of two men dressed in black, who keep asking questions. When Jean-Pierre Troadec, journalist and head of the Rhônes-Alpes branch of the [SOS OVNI](SOS-OVNI.html) association, questions them about the reasons for their curiosity, they cut off any discussion, turn on their heels and leave the place. Were they [MIB](MIB.html)?


-   **December 11**: More than 30 inhabitants of the Yukon Territories (Canada) observe a huge flying object moving slowly and silently above the countryside, at 100 m altitude. Alone or in small groups, the eye witnesses of the object's passage all give similar descriptions of its shape, size and lighting. One witness is on a mountain at the same level as the object while it flies only a few hundred meters away. To see the ship in its entirety, he must turn his head from side to side. Triangulation and background references such as mountains or constellations, allow to estimate the size of the object (approved by the witnesses) between 1 and 2 km [\[Compiled report by Martin Jasek, 2000\]]{.source}.


- A Gallup poll indicates that 71% of Americans think the US government knows more about UFOs than it is willing to say (45% think UFOs have actually visited Earth, and 12% claim to have seen a UFO). On the same subject, after the US military offered an elaborate explanation of what really happened at [Roswell](1947-07-02_Roswell.html) (New Mexico) 50 years ago, the public remains unconvinced. Only 25% of Americans think the government is telling the truth about it, despite the fact that a majority of them don't believe there were UFOs at [Roswell](1947-07-02_Roswell.html).