November 1977
The November 1977 issue of the Australian UFO Bulletin. 12 pages. Colombian pilot Manuel Jose Lopez Ojeda blinded by UFO during flight, guided to landing by four rescue aircraft over 30+ minutes (most dramatic pilot case in the Bulletin's run). Meekatharra, WA sighting wave: silver disc ejected red object; Mt.
In This Issue
Eastern Suburbs Sightings (Fischer/Bristol Investigations)
Pages 1-2
Blackburn, 17 August 1977, 8.00 p.m.: High school mathematics teacher heard a “whooshing noise like a blow torch but lower in pitch.” Saw a large object moving slowly west, directly over her house. Son (19) joined her from upstairs balcony.
Thermoluminescence Technique (ACOS)
Pages 2-3
New analytical capability for physical trace cases. Measures ionising radiation damage in soil/rock.
Meekatharra, WA Sighting Wave (October 1977)
Pages 4-5
Meekatharra, 16 October (2.30 p.m.): Victor Trace and nine others (wife Angela, five children, neighbour Mrs. Kingswood, 12-year-old Geoffrey Miller).
Colombian Pilot Blinded by UFO (Bogota, 5 May 1977)
Pages 6-7
Other Interstate Reports
Tasmania (3 February 1977): Children at youth camp. Domed object with flashing lights and windows.
Overseas Items
Kenneth Arnold (30th anniversary): “I think we’re going to have a solution to the UFO mystery very soon, perhaps even this year.” Still investigating.
French Sighting (Eyragues, 1/2 February 1977)
Pages 8
Three girls (14-16) at a rural school. White hemisphere with orange/green/red rotating disc, “corkscrew” tail underneath (~60 cm).
Antimatter Essay (Guy Richards)
Pages 9
Richards surveys matter-antimatter cosmology (Dirac, Anderson, Alfven/Klein, Hoyle, Omnes) and Feynman’s proposal that antiparticles move backward in time. Speculates: “Could it be that the UFOs visiting Earth are actually from a negative world?” An “energy field” could protect both human witnesses and alien occupants from mutual annihilation.
NUFON Conference Report (J.M. Reid)
Pages 10
VUFORS member attends Northern UFO Network conference, Nottingham, UK, 10-11 September 1977. Papers on ley lines, UFO photography, clouds behaving anomalously (including a British Army division reportedly disappearing under a descending cloud during WWI).
Notable Quotes
“The UFO moved to the front of the plane and that was when I began to lose my sight… It seemed to me as if I were flying over a desert… The strange object disappeared and I was left blind.” Lopez Ojeda (Colombian pilot)
“We are very accustomed to seeing UFOs on clear and cloudless nights.” Danilo Zambrano (Eldorado ATC)
“If this isn’t NEWS, then what is?” Joseph Brill (on Colombian case)
“We saw saucers, they were there for sure.” Bob Freestone (Mt. Magnet hotel)
“We have no reason to doubt Mr. Trace’s story.” Sgt. Carlson (Meekatharra police)
“The film was rushed to Washington never to be seen again.” Gordon Cooper (on Edwards AFB film)
“I think we’re going to have a solution to the UFO mystery very soon.” Kenneth Arnold (30th anniversary)
