Document · 2018
CEFAE annual report 2018 (Argentine Air Force), including the resolution of the Bariloche case
The Argentine Air Force's CEFAE annual report for 2018, published on argentina.gob.ar. Besides the year's 21 resolved cases, it contains a detailed re-investigation of the 31 July 1995 Bariloche case. The report reconstructs both aircraft's flight paths and draws on the tower recordings, Gendarmería commander Cipuzak's report and drawing, and new interviews with the 727's copilot and with the man who operated a discotheque searchlight that night.
Sources: Fuerza Aérea Argentina, CEFAE (2018)
Facts and claims
- documented The report analyses 21 sightings received by CEFAE in 2018 and states that all of them had known causes. It adds the resolution of two historical cases previously considered unexplained. Source: doc-cefae-informe-2018.pdf
- documented Bariloche section (pp. 51ff, by Commodore (ret.) Rubén Lianza): on 31 July 1995, between 20:00 and 21:00, Aerolíneas Argentinas flight 674 (Boeing 727: captain Jorge Polanco, copilot Carlos Atilio Dortona, flight engineer Jorge Allende) and Gendarmería Nacional Piper PA-31T GN-705 (Cmdts Juan Domingo Gaitán and Rubén Cipuzak) approached Bariloche during a city-wide power cut. Ground witnesses included two tower NCOs and a meteorologist. Source: doc-cefae-informe-2018.pdf
- documented The report finds that the movements described, including the abrupt climbs and instant stops in a cloud layer, are compatible with the reflection of a powerful searchlight beam on thin layers of ice-crystal cloud. It says the first light the 727 crew saw coincided with the position of the Gendarmería aircraft, which was about 11 miles closer than the tower believed. Source: doc-cefae-informe-2018.pdf
- documented Following researcher Heriberto Janosch's 1995–2004 investigation, it identifies Juan Carlos Rivero, an employee of the Rocket discotheque, who acknowledged in writing that he was testing a "trazador de cielo" (sky-tracer) searchlight that night between 20:00 and 21:00. A second employee, Sergio Segade, said he saw the beam reflected on the sky from the town centre and realised it was the projector. In 1995 the Air Force's Air Regions Command had already said reflections on the cloud base should not be ruled out. Source: doc-cefae-informe-2018.pdf
- documented CEFAE interviewed copilot Carlos Dortona for the first time. He said the lights looked to him from the start like "luces inusuales reflejadas" (unusual reflected lights), and that flight engineer Jorge Allende also took them for lights. The report notes that only Captain Polanco described a solid body. Source: doc-cefae-informe-2018.pdf
- documented Conclusion: the positions Cipuzak drew for the "UFO" matched the directions Rivero said he pointed the projector, and no other unusual light was reported. The Argentine Air Force, through CEFAE, declares the Bariloche case of 31 July 1995 resolved unless new evidence emerges. It attributes the flash seen at the airport to a power surge in the apron lighting just before the outage. Source: doc-cefae-informe-2018.pdf
Connected files
Organizations
- CEFAE (Argentine Air Force) (published by)
Incidents
People
- Jorge Polanco (describes) — The report notes that only Captain Polanco described a solid body
Videos
- The Bariloche UFO Incident - Argentina, 1995 (discussed in)
- Jorge Polanco, the pilot who spotted a UFO in Bariloche (CHANGO interview) (discussed in)
More documents
- Press conference transcript: Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono (September 15, 2020)
- Japanese Cabinet written answer on unidentified flying objects (House of Councillors, 18 December 2007)
- National Archives of Australia: "Flying saucers – fact or fiction?" (2018)
- Japanese Cabinet written answer on the government's view of unidentified flying objects (House of Representatives, 27 February 2018)
- Ministry of Defence UFO files: release of 21 June 2013 (25 files)
- The National Archives: guides to the Ministry of Defence UFO files (2008–2013)