1966 UFO Photograph by James Pfeiffer -

1966 was a good year for UFO sightings and reports of alleged humanoid encounters.

In October of that year, LIFE magazine published a photo and claimed sighting of a UFO by ‘respected aviation industry executive,’ James Pfeiffer. It was probably a fluff piece to fill column inches and hasn’t left any legacy at all…

Nevertheless, it’s a photograph of something and I wonder if anyone can identify it?

The object...


...and the text.


There aren’t enough details to identify the lake so we’re left with a name and a photograph.

I’ve spent some time trying to identify who Pfeiffer was to try and get a measure of his credibility. If we accept the likelihood that the LIFE staff had verified his credentials, it appears that ‘James Pfeiffer’ was an R. James Pfeiffer.' The only 'James Pfeiffer' with a known connection to aviation is this fellow....



R. James Pfeiffer was a one-time Vice-President of Fairchild Aircraft...

In 1964 he was buying 20 Boeing 727s:



The magazine can be read on Google Books here. I've uploaded a pdf version at this link.

far too poorly defined to warrant serious consideration, it could be one of any number of things

am i the only one who sees a cut and paste "box" around this object ?

i`m calling fake , but if i`m wrong , well ......... i`m wrong

There doesn't seem to be a reflection of the object in the water... Though it could be further away than it looks I guess

reply to post by Kandinsky


Its an interesting picture Kandinsky let down by the fact its a low quality scan , my first thought is it looks like a hot air balloon but I don't see a gondola , I downloaded the image and on close inspection I think I see a pattern running around it .... or is that just a result of the scan ?
Whatever it is I'd say it there and not fake .

hot air balloon?

reply to post by Idonthaveabeard


200 mph hot air balloon. yep, thats what it was.

or are you saying that the whole story is a lie?

lmao, teaches me to judge without reading the text

Didnt see that bit

Originally posted by liquidsmoke206
reply to post by Idonthaveabeard

 

200 mph hot air balloon. yep, thats what it was.
or are you saying that the whole story is a lie?

The problem with eyewitness reports is they are notoriously unreliable , the object in the picture isn't doing 200mph nor does it appear to be hovering at 1500 ft , maybe he caught it as it was descending into the woods but what did it do after that , did it take off again or stay there ... he doesn't say .

www.ufobc.ca...

Well, it appears Major Quintanilla knew who this guy was and didn't try character assassination. Based on that, the default seems to be giving the witness benefit of the doubt. LIFE personnel also apparently considered him a reliable source.

reply to post by gortex

The problem with eyewitness reports is they are notoriously unreliable , the object in the picture isn't doing 200mph nor does it appear to be hovering at 1500 ft , maybe he caught it as it was descending into the woods but what did it do after that , did it take off again or stay there ... he doesn't say .

I agree with this - it boils down to a photo of an object and the claims of a guy who we assume was known to the LIFE staffer or the Editor who approved its publication. I was hoping someone might recognise the object as something specific.

It struck me as unusual to have this random image and vague (no location, no series of images, no time) write-up buried in the LIFE magazine. The magazine didn't have a habit of printing UFO images and, when they ran a ufological story, it was topical and extended to a few pages.

In this case, Pfeiffer isn't identified to the extent that it would help his business. The mention of the Condon Committee isn't central to the report either.

reply to post by xpoq47

Well, it appears Major Quintanilla knew who this guy was and didn't try character assassination. Based on that, the default seems to be giving the witness benefit of the doubt. LIFE personnel also apparently considered him a reliable source.

We can only speculate how, or if, the LIFE staff verified Pfeiffer's story. Maybe they did as it would lend some reason to printing the story? Another thought is that perhaps the original image was of a good enough quality/ resolution that it was apparent the object wasn't a hot-air balloon.

A good look through the Condon Report showed no mention of Pfeiffer or his photograph. Likewise, Project Blue Book drew a blank.

Perhaps it was just a slow news week and they had a page to fill up? We can give them the benefit of the doubt and yet I suspect there's no more to be learned in the story.

reply to post by gortex


The problem with people who read things on ATS is they can't pass a simple reading comprehension test.

I don't know if this is a hoax or if the report is a total lie but it CLEARLY says the object hovered THEN sped away at 200 mph. It's not too far fetched to believe that a picture was snapped while it was hovering BEFORE it sped away or even more likely after it was descending into the woods beyond the lagoon.

Jeezus you people are hopeless, sorry to be a jerk, but you couldn't even pass a first grade reading test, on a good day.

Good day to you.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


I read the piece but failed to add information as you appear to have done .
He said

It hovered at about 1,500 feet above the lagoon-side restaurant where we sat , then sped away at 200 mph and abruptly changed direction , it didn't skid or bank but made a flat 90 deg turn setting down in the woods across the water

The object in the picture is not above the restaurant at 1,500 feet it is above the woods across the water so we can assume the picture was taken after the above is alleged to have happened and as it was setting down in the woods .
There is no mention as to what happened after it set down in the woods other than it made a low pitched whining sound , but it certainly didn't speed away at 200 mph .

post by liquidsmoke206
can't pass a simple reading comprehension test.

Indeed , and a good day to you too

reply to post by Kandinsky

post by Kandinsky
There aren’t enough details to identify the lake so we’re left with a name and a photograph.

I believe I have found that information , according to This Site it was the Ipameri River, Brazil .

why just the one photo? why didnt he take a picture of it moving? we only have his account that it sped away at 200mph...........i agree with the others looks like a hot air baloon or a weather baloon (dont think they have gondalas)

reply to post by gortex
Good work!

On the downside, Mr Robinson doesn't seem to provide the information for how he identified the image as a hoax or its location. I wonder if 'In mirror, bad silver, mounting stud' means he thinks it's a metal stud on a mirror reflecting the Ipameri River? Maybe Pfeiffer told him?

As I looked around for more commentary, I noticed his explanation for the Trent saucer photos (scroll down a little) and it looks very similar.

reply to post by Kandinsky


Thanks Kandinsky
To be honest I'm not taking the " In mirror, bad silver, mounting stud " as an explanation for the picture , mainly because its just to cryptic , most of the other explanations on there like " [Win-flect: Photographer's nose]" make sense but In mirror, bad silver, mounting stud could mean anything or nothing , but at least they give the location for the sighting .

In regard to the Trent saucer photos I'm now ( since my thread ) in the cooking pot lid camp as I think there's more of a likelihood of them having one of those to hand .

All the best

They flew millions of light years to get here in a cute little "yellow" balloon. Come on guys it's yellow for crying out loud. It's yellow as a banana lol. Enough said here..next!

reply to post by Kandinsky


The same guy has been attributed to that picture elewhere, I'm trying to remember where, perhaps the Fortean Times. I'll have a look.

reply to post by Mr_skepticc


have you never seen a yellow baloon? i think they are a few more yellow baloons around than alien spacecraft

reply to post by Kandinsky

This photo is interesting, just for the source alone. This guy was unlikely to be hoaxing. For it to be featured in Life magazine is a pretty big deal.
What I'd like to know is if there are any reports in Brazil of this event.