Evidence Ignored: The South American Roswell of 1957

The year that saw a man-made satellite launched was also a strange year with vast areas of the planet reporting a) UFOS over military installations, b) interference with electrical systems of cars, planes, and other equipment and c) wide spread reports from several countries in the same windows of time. It was also, by the way, the 10 ear anniversary of the "non-event" at Roswell.  The one where paper thin and harder than metal debris were held and collected.

Oddly, in 1957 the big complaint was the lack of hard physical evidence to support the theory of interplanetary visitors. 

Into that void stepped a medical doctor from Brazil, Dr. Olavo T Frontes, who followed up on a snippet of story concerning a UFO, an explosion, and falling debris. The debris site was near Ubotuba, San Paulo, Brazil. Two men out fishing in the daytime saw a glowing disc appear to crash-diving into the water. At the last minute, it nosed straight up and exploded. Raining down were bits of debris.  The men gathered some of this: metallic looking but so lightweight it was amazing. 

Read the technical report of analysis done of the debris : ubatubatd (nicap.org).  Also, The Ubatuba Incident - A UFO Exploded in 1957 with Fragments? - Strange Strange Strange AND the Condon Report of their exploration at Ubatuba Incident - Condon (nicap.org).  The case still has many fascinating aspects and many unanswered questions.

The men notified a well-known radio personality who then in turn made contact with Dr. Fontes. He was a growing name in the study if UFOs in Brazil at the time. A member of A.P.R.O. he published several major studies in their newsletter. The purity levels of some materials found in the debris was troubling and apparently eliminated the idea of earth made objects or satellites as well as mere meteorite materials.

Fontes died in 1969 but left a legacy often ignored.  Here, ten years later, there was evidence and it matched in some descriptive elements that reported by witnesses at Roswell. A small sample sent to the Air Force was destroyed before testing was completed and APRO was reluctant to give them more and offered to co-study the material but never received a response to their offer.

Fontes, in taking charge and arranging the analysis and then publishing the results was a true scientific pioneer stepping where few had been willing to venture.