Person
Armindo de Sousa Viriato
Also known as Armindo Viriato, Viriato
- Captain and fighter pilot, Brazilian Air Force
Armindo de Sousa Viriato was a Brazilian Air Force captain and one of the fighter pilots scrambled during the "Official UFO Night" of 19–20 May 1986. Recordings of his intercept, with his missile armed and the target on radar before it pulled away, were released from Brazil's National Archives and broadcast in 2016.
Sources: TV Globo, Fantástico (2016)
Facts and claims
- claimed One of the interceptor pilots on 19–20 May 1986. He says the Brasília air-defence radar measured an acceleration equivalent to roughly 15,000 km/h. — Armindo de Sousa Viriato Source: Fantástico: A Noite Oficial dos OVNIs — 30 anos depois (TV Globo, 2016) at 9:40
- documented The Air Defence Command's report of 2 June 1986 concluded that “the phenomena are solid and reflect a certain intelligence”, “not necessarily crewed”, while stressing that its radars were built for air traffic control, tracking was manual, and many detections were too weak to establish tracks. Source: Brazilian Air Defence Command report on the events of 19–20 May 1986 ("Official UFO Night")
Connected files
Incidents
- Official UFO Night (Brazil, 1986) (witness)
Documents
- Brazilian Air Defence Command report on the events of 19–20 May 1986 ("Official UFO Night") (described in) — The Brazilian Air Force report records the interceptor pilots' radar contacts and lights