Person
Jorge Polanco
Also known as Captain Polanco, Polanco
- Captain, Aerolíneas Argentinas (Boeing 727, flight 674, 1995)
Jorge Polanco was a captain with Aerolíneas Argentinas. On the evening of 31 July 1995, flying Boeing 727 flight 674 into San Carlos de Bariloche, he reported a light that rushed towards his aircraft and then paced it as an object with coloured lights, while the airport and city lights failed and he had to go around. The case made national headlines and was cited in the French COMETA report.
In later interviews he describes a 30-metre, plate-shaped craft with a pulsing amber light, flying within metres of his wingtip and racing over the lake. He says it was one of three sightings in his career, and that he went public when the air force declined to investigate. He also cites Gendarmería officers flying nearby as witnesses.
The case is now officially explained. In its 2018 report the Argentine Air Force's CEFAE concluded that the lights were a discotheque sky-tracer searchlight reflecting off ice-crystal cloud during the blackout. The operator confirmed he was testing it that night, and the beam directions matched the Gendarmería commander's sketches. CEFAE noted that Polanco's copilot saw only reflected lights and the Gendarmería pilot saw a light with no structure, so only Polanco described a solid craft.
Sources: Clarín (2 August 1995) · CHANGO interview · CEFAE report (2018) · Bariloche incident record
Facts and claims
- claimed Polanco, captain of Aerolíneas Argentinas flight 674, said that on approach to Bariloche on 31 July 1995 a white light rushed towards the aircraft and stopped about 100 m away, and an object with three lights later flew alongside. — Jorge Polanco Source: ufologie.patrickgross.org (archived)
- claimed He describes the object as about 30 m across, an inverted soup-plate shape with a pulsing amber light on top and green and white lights spinning around it, no more than 15 m from his wingtip; he says the runway and airport lights went out at about 200 ft, forcing a go-around. — Jorge Polanco Source: Jorge Polanco, the pilot who spotted a UFO in Bariloche (CHANGO interview) at 11:21
- claimed He says Bariloche was one of three sightings he had, the others on 6 February 1995 near Córdoba and 11 August 1996 departing Trelew, and that the air force refused to open an official investigation, so he went public. — Jorge Polanco Source: Jorge Polanco, the pilot who spotted a UFO in Bariloche (CHANGO interview) at 4:55
- documented The Argentine Air Force's CEFAE resolved the case in 2018 as the reflection of a discotheque “sky-tracer” searchlight on thin ice-crystal cloud during the city-wide power cut; the operator acknowledged testing it that night, and the directions matched the Gendarmería commander's drawings. Source: CEFAE annual report 2018 (Argentine Air Force), including the resolution of the Bariloche case
- documented CEFAE also recorded that his copilot, Carlos Dortona, saw “luces inusuales reflejadas” (unusual reflected lights) from the first moment, that only Polanco described a solid body, and that the Gendarmería pilot saw it clearly as a light with no structure. Source: CEFAE annual report 2018 (Argentine Air Force), including the resolution of the Bariloche case
Connected files
Documents
- CEFAE annual report 2018 (Argentine Air Force), including the resolution of the Bariloche case (described in) — The report notes that only Captain Polanco described a solid body
Incidents
Videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: South American Encounters, Part 1 (discussed in)
- The Bariloche UFO Incident - Argentina, 1995 (speaks in)
- Jorge Polanco, the pilot who spotted a UFO in Bariloche (CHANGO interview) (appears in)