CHENNAI: Last week we analysed Close Encounters of the Second Kind, this week let us look at Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This encounter describes cases where witnesses report seeing humanoid shaped beings near the landed UFOs.
In the beginning nobody took these kinds of reports seriously as there was lack of proper evidence. But the encounter of policeman Lonnie Zamora around 5:45 pm on Friday, April 24, 1964 at Socorro New Mexico, which was later confirmed by a second reputable witness, changed everything.
Zamora was chasing a speeding car when his attention was drawn to a peculiar sight in the sky. He heard a roar and saw a flame in the sky to the southwest some distance away. Thinking it might be an explosion connected with a building known to contain explosives he ignored the car chase, and speeded off in the direction of the UFO.
As he drove closer, the UFO was already on the ground, and it resembled a large egg, sitting on one end and supported by slender legs. Zamora stated that he saw two people in white coveralls very close to the object. One of these persons seemed to turn and look straight at my car and seemed startled. They appeared normal in shape, but had the size of small adults or kids.
Zamora parked his police car, got out, and walked towards the craft. When he neared the UFO there was no one near it. At this point he heard two or three loud thumps, like someone shutting a door hard. Now the UFO began to roar, which started at a low frequency, then quickly became loud. Flames were under the object... light blue and at bottom was a sort of orange color. Assuming it might explode, Zamora quickly hid behind his cruiser for protection. The roaring then stopped and he looked up to see the UFO hovering very quietly a few feet above the ground. The craft then moved away slowly, gathering speed as it flew away.
At this time, Zamora was joined by a police sergeant who watched the craft fly away into the distance. Zamora and the sergeant then walked to where it had been parked, and noted charred and singed grass, underbrush and imprints in the ground corresponding to where the vehicle had landed. Within hours, Zamora was interviewed by US Army Captain Richard Holder, commander of the White Sands Missile Range, and FBI Special Agent Arthur Byrnes.
Two days later, Astronomer DrAllen Hynek arrived to investigate the incident. In addition to questioning Zamora, Hynek measured and photographed the landing site. He located what appeared to be impressions in the ground made by the landing gear, as well as several small footprints. The case received rapid and extensive press coverage. Two days later, another family in the same area also reported seeing craft of similar nature.
Project Blue Book Director Major Quintanilla, stated there is no question about Zamora’s reliability. This is the best documented case on record, and we have been unable to explain in spite of thorough investigation. Astronomer Hynek, labeled this encounter — one of the classics of UFO literature.
The name Close Encounters of the Third Kind is familiar to many people because in 1977 Spielberg made a movie by that name. Two scenes from the movie depict the whole UFO story of the last 70 years. First on one side while seriously denying the UFO phenomenon to the public, government agents will be trying to study, understand and make contact with the UFOs. Second when eye witnesses meet government officials and media to tell about their genuine UFO encounters, a man gets up and narrates a wild story of his encounter with Big-Foot, turning the entire proceedings into a farce- A classic diversionary tactic.
(The writer is the Director of INSETS: Indian Society for Extraterrestrial Studies and also the author of ‘Accidental Apocalypse’)