UFO Potpourri No 440

Magazine Overview

Title: UFO POTPOURRI
Issue: No. 440
Date: January 2001
Publisher: John Schuessler
Contact: [email protected]

This issue of UFO Potpourri presents a collection of UFO sighting reports, primarily from the late 1960s and early 1970s, compiled from the APRO Bulletin. The magazine focuses on detailed accounts of encounters with unidentified flying objects, including descriptions of their appearance, behavior, and the reactions of witnesses.

Plane Buzzed by UFO (September-October 1967)

This report details an incident where a Bolivian Air Force Captain, Samuel Sanguaza, and his crew observed an unconventional flying object for 15 minutes while piloting a route from La Paz to Miami. The object, described as a bright light about the size of a truck headlight, changed color from red to orange to blue. Oscar Guevara, the first to spot it, noted it occasionally bobbed up and down. Sanguaza contacted the Lima International Airport Control Tower, which confirmed no other traffic. The experience was described by Sanguaza as "the longest 15 minutes of our lives" before the object zipped off and disappeared.

Bell-shaped Object Paces Plane (January-February 1968)

This account describes a pilot's encounter with a "flattened bell-shaped object" on November 26, 1967. The sighting occurred 46 air miles east of El Cajon, California, while the pilot was cruising at 140 miles per hour. The object appeared at an altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 feet, stayed off the right wingtip of the plane for 2-3 minutes, and then pulled away eastward, ascending to at least 7,000 feet. The pilot attempted to follow but was outdistanced. The object glowed an orange-red color and was estimated to be 30-40 feet in diameter and 10-20 feet thick.

1967 Landing in Colorado (March-April 1969)

A UFO reportedly landed about one mile east of Texas Creek, Colorado, on August 27, 1967, at 11:20 p.m. The main witness, Kenneth Flack, a student, noticed two other cars ahead. As he attempted to overtake them, his engine died and lights went out, an event that also occurred in the other vehicles. All occupants exited their cars and saw an oval object between them and the Arkansas River. Flack, who had been a disbeliever, decided to investigate. The moon was bright, and the object was clearly visible and described as "egg-shaped," supported by three "legs." As Flack approached, the object rotated on its legs, raised its back end, and emitted a bright flash. He felt paralyzed and unable to proceed. The object then slowly raised up, headed north without sound or lights, and the "legs" retracted. Flack lost consciousness, and other witnesses revived him, taking him back to his college dorm in a state of shock.

Object Over Illinois Farm (November-December 1970)

Field investigators Arthur J. Epstein and Joseph Gurney documented an incident on October 5, 1970, at 4:15 a.m. on a dairy farm one mile east of Walsh, Illinois. A farmer, while preparing to feed cows, observed a circular light beam with a red, fuzzy "neon" appearance, seemingly with fog around it. He initially mistook it for the moon but realized there was no moon that night. A searchlight-like beam ran through the center of the red light. Toward the end of the sighting, a third beam of light focused directly on the farmer for about three seconds, appearing to come from the bottom center of the UFO. The farmer described being in a circle of light about four feet in diameter. The object was estimated to be 25-30 feet above a 75-foot tree and compared in size to a volleyball held at arm's length. Five cows were found on the other side of a broken electric fence. No sound accompanied the sighting, and the cattle were undisturbed.

Mexican UFO Seen From Control Tower (September-October 1971)

Officials and tower operators at La Manga Airport, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, observed a strange luminous object for 15 minutes. Crew and passengers of a Mexicana airliner in the vicinity also saw the object. Alfonso Molina Elias, chief of the control tower, reported that the object remained stationary in the sky about 15 miles northeast of the airport at an altitude of 3,500 feet.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring theme throughout this issue is the reporting of unexplained aerial phenomena and close encounters. The magazine, through its compilation of APRO Bulletin reports, adopts a stance of presenting eyewitness accounts and investigative findings related to UFOs. The editorial approach is to document these events, providing details about the objects, their perceived characteristics, and the circumstances of the sightings, without overtly promoting a specific conclusion but rather allowing the data to speak for itself. The focus is on credible reports from pilots, students, and farmers, highlighting the persistent nature of UFO phenomena across different locations and time periods.