Lonnie Zamora incident
The Lonnie Zamora incident was an alleged
Lonnie Zamora | |
---|---|
Born | Dionicio E. Zamora 7 September 1933 |
Died | 2 November 2009[1] | (aged 76)
Occupation | Police officer |
Incident
On April 24, 1964 at approximately 5:45 p.m., Socorro Police radio dispatcher Nep Lopez received a radio call from Sergeant Lonnie Zamora reporting a possible motor vehicle accident. Zamora advised Lopez that he would be “checking the car down in the
Zamora's claims
Zamora told authorities he was pursuing a speeding car south of Socorro, New Mexico when he "heard a roar and saw a flame in the sky to southwest some distance away—possibly a 1/2 mile or a mile." Believing a local dynamite shack might have exploded, Zamora said he discontinued the pursuit and investigated the potential explosion. Zamora claimed to have observed a shiny object, "to south about 150 to 200 yards (450 to 600 ft; 140 to 180 m)", that he initially believed to be an "overturned white car ... up on radiator or on trunk". The object was "like aluminum—it was whitish against the mesa background, but not chrome", and shaped like the letter "O". Zamora claimed to have briefly observed two people in white coveralls beside the object, who he later described as "normal in shape—but possibly they were small adults or large kids." Zamora claimed to hear a roar and see a blue and orange flame under the object which then rose and quickly moved away.[4]
Investigations and explanations
Zamora's claims were investigated by Project Blue Book and ufologists, and have been reported in the popular press.[5] Several plausible explanations have been presented. UFO skeptic Steuart Campbell has suggested that what Zamora observed was "almost certainly" a mirage of the star Canopus.[6] It has also been suggested Zamora witnessed the testing of a lunar landing device by personnel from the White Sands Missile Range,[7] or a prank perpetrated by students from the nearby New Mexico Tech. Then-president of New Mexico Tech Stirling Colgate supported the idea that students from the school were responsible for the hoax, and said that the object observed by Zamora was "a candle in a balloon… not sophisticated."[8] According to skeptic Philip J. Klass, his investigation led him to "unequivocally characterize the case as a hoax" perpetrated in an attempt to increase tourism.[9] Skeptic Robert Sheaffer wrote, "The assumption that the incident was a student hoax instead of one perpetrated by publicity-seeking town leaders changes Zamora from an “active participant” to “victim of the hoax,” which frankly seems more plausible."[10]
Aftermath
In 1966 the president of the
See also
- List of UFO sightings
References
- ^ "Lonnie Zamora, Socorro, New Mexico". www.STPNS.net. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ Harden, Paul. "The 1964 Socorro UFO Incident" (PDF). Socorro County Historical Society. Socorro County Historical Society. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- ^ US Air Force - Project Blue Book. "1964 04 8699462 CanyonFerryReservoir Montana". Internet Archives. The Internet Archive. p. 36. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- ^ Lonnie Zamora, Project Blue Book case number 8766
- ^ Thomas, David. "A Different Angle on the Socorro UFO of 1964". New Mexicans for Science and Reason. New Mexicans for Science and Reason. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ISBN 0952151200
- ^ Kooser, Amanda (April 18, 2012). "Investigating New Mexico's less-famous UFO landing". cnet. CNET. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ Dunning, Brian. "Lonnie Zamora and the Socorro UFO". Skeptoid. Skeptoid Media, Inc. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ Posner, Gary P. (1999). "Extraterrestrials May Be Out There: But He Says They're Not Here". www.skeptic.com. The Skeptic Society. Skeptic magazine volume 7, number 4. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Sheaffer, Robert. "Famous Socorro 'UFO Landing' a Student Prank?" (PDF). skepticalinquirer.org. Skeptical Inquirer Magazine - March/April 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Harden, Paul (August 2, 2008). "The 1964 Socorro UFO incident: The UFO landing site south of Soccoro, New Mexico" (PDF). El Defensor Chieftain. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ Burleigh, Erika. "Erika Burleigh's Murals". Burleigh Corrosion Consultants. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
- ^ "Obituary for ZAMORA". Albuquerque Journal. November 5, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
Further reading
- Brad Steiger, Project Blue Book, 1976, Ballantine Books, ISBN 0345260910 (contains Air Force's account with maps, Zamora's account, reports of J. Allen Hynek)
External links
- Death of a Legend at Saturday Night Uforia
- Socorro, New Mexico Landing (Lonnie Zamora) 1964 at UFO Casebook
- Lonnie Zamora interview on KSRC Radio
- Dunning, Brian (August 1, 2017). "Skeptoid #582: Lonnie Zamora and the Socorro UFO". Skeptoid.