Case file · Sighting
Haroldo Westendorff, Patos Lagoon
A pilot said he circled a huge rotating cone-shaped object over the Patos Lagoon for about 15 minutes.
1996 CE · -31.77, -52.34 · status: account
The account
Pilot Haroldo Westendorff reported a cone 50 to 60 m tall with a base the size of a football stadium near Saragonha Island, and a smaller object rising from its top. An Infraero operator at Pelotas airport said he also saw something in that direction.
The sceptical view
The regional air-defence radar (CINDACTA II) did not detect it.
The researched reading
One pilot’s striking story with inconsistent details and no confirmed radar. It remains open, but thin.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 25% | A large balloon or reflection over the lagoon could appear as a huge cone; one pilot judging size at distance is unreliable. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 22% | An experienced pilot reported circling a giant object for 15 minutes, and airport staff reportedly saw something. |
| Undetermined | 20% | The share the reading had given to fabrication on doubt rather than evidence: the record does not settle it either way. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 10% | A rotating cloud formation or water spout could look like a conical object. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 10% | Excitement in the cockpit inflates size and duration. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 5% | Nothing points strongly that way. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | Details (size, date, radar support) vary between accounts and the claimed secret Air Force file has never surfaced. |
| Secret human technology | 3% | Nothing fits. |
Official position: No official finding has been published; a Brazilian Air Force inquiry is claimed but undocumented.