The story began when Ibrahim Sued, a journalist with O Globo (a leading Brazilian newspaper), received a letter on 13th September. The letter was signed but the signature was unreadable. The latter stated:
"As a faithful reader of your column and your admirer, I wish to give you something of the highest interest to a newspaper man, about the flying disks. If you believe that they are real, of course. I didn't believe anything said or published about them. But just a few days ago I was forced to change my mind. I was fishing together with some friends, at a place close to the town of Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, when I sighted a flying disk. It approached the beach at an unbelievable speed and an accident, i.e. a crash into the sea seemed imminent. At the last moment, however, when it was almost striking the waters, it made a sharp turn upward and climbed rapidly on a fantastic impulse. We followed the spectacle with our eyes, startled, when we saw the disk explode in flames. It disintegrated into thousands of fiery fragments, which fell sparkling with magnificent brightness. They looked like fireworks, despite the time of the accident, at noon i.e. midday. Most of these fragments, almost all, fell into the sea. But a number of small pieces fell close to the beach and we picked up a large amount of this material, which was as light as paper. I am enclosing a small sample of it. I don't know anyone that could be trusted to whom I might send it for analysis. I never read about a flying disc being found, or about fragments or parts of a saucer that had been picked up."
Two of the three samples were sent to APRO, whilst the third was retained by Brazilian UFOlogist Dr Olavo Fontes for further study.
The three samples looked like pieces of irregular and highly oxidised metal, coloured dull whitish grey.
The first sample was tested at the mineral production labs in the Brazilian agricultural ministry. They applied chemical, spectrographic analysis and X-ray diffusion techniques on the metal. These tests indicated that the material was very pure magnesium. The chemist also noted that the normal trace elements expected in magnesium were all missing.
Fontes used up all of his sample in a series of further tests, which included another chemist conducting X-ray investigation at the labs of a geology unit and pieces being taken to the Brazilian Army and Navy research departments. The Army and Navy both kept the results of their findings secret.
UBATUBA:
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A sample of the Ubatuba debris (left) examined under a microscope (right) revealed a higher level of purity than occurs in nature. |
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF WALTER WALKER AND J. ALLEN HYNEK CENTER FOR UFO STUDIES. |
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The geology lab determined that the magnesium was of a very high purity with a reading of 1.87 as opposed to a normal reading of 1.74.
APRO sent a sample to the USAF, but the sample they sent met with an 'accident' while the USAF were testing it. The USAF asked for a further sample to be sent. APRO declined.
The remaining samples where used with varying results, until the samples became too small to of been any use in tests.
APRO still have one small remaining sample in their vaults.
