A television network in Brazil is riding high on the attention it is receiving over what appeared to be a UFO flying over Sao Paulo that was not only broadcast during a network news program but seemed to have rattled the presenter who also saw it and referred to the object as “flying saucer.” The event was big enough that other Brazilian media sites rebroadcast it … with none offering an official explanation. The same is true for the paranormal and UFO sites that covered it. What did presenter José Luiz Datena and the audience of his show see flying at an unusually fast speed over Sao Paulo?
“Look at the plane passing there. It is a plane or flying saucer. It cannot be flying saucer because when the program starts talking about flying saucer it is because it is over, already comes out of the air. So it’s not a flying saucer, it’s an airplane.” (Google translation)
That’s some weather report José Luiz Datena gave Brazilians on February 16 watching the daily show Brazil Urgente. It was during his showing of the rain over Sao Paulo when the strange object zipped from right-to-left across the screen, catching his attention. While he seems to realize what he said and correct it quickly, first impressions say a lot. (Watch the video here.) The video was quickly posted on social media and picked up by other media news sources.
“As unlikely as it may be, the scene was spotted by the Brazil Urgent team and proved by internet followers, in scenes that went viral on social networks, showing that the Band team probably captured exclusive images of a UFO. Known as the Unidentified Flying Object, the body does not look like a drone or an aircraft, and has raised suspicions that it is a kind of spaceship. Filming the object live, the presenter made a point of commenting live what he was seeing, which scared the viewers. Live, José Luiz Datena commented what he imagined when he saw the scene, and that perhaps he would have been confused. In order not to scare the public, he said it was an airplane.” (Google translation)
What’s missing from the media coverage is a verified explanation of what the UFO really was. Needless to say, the UFO and paranormal sites like The Hidden Underbelly 2.0 and UFOmania have opinions, especially in the comments, which point out that the object appears to be traveling at Mach 2 or two times the speed of sound, and looks like a cigar or the Tic Tac UFO. Those sites and the publicity seemed to please José Luiz Datena, who said on Twitter:
“Meu amigos, será que um ovni passou ao vivo no #BrasilUrgente? Estão dizendo que sim! Assista ao vídeo: https://youtu.be/ePzo56BdOhU
(My friends, did a UFO live on #BrasilUrgente? They are saying yes! Watch the video: https://youtu.be/ePzo56BdOhU)”
Has he changed his mind from airplane back to flying saucer? Again, a search found no official explanation for the UFO. The Daily Star magnified a photo to the edge of blurriness and it’s impossible to positively identity it. The speed seems to rule out a blimp, the shape seems to rule out a passenger or military jet or even a bug or bird. It could have been a camera glitch – something the network might not want to admit. That leaves … a hoax? Would a reputable news organization like Rede Bandeirantes (which broadcasts Brasil Urgente) or a longtime journalist like José Luiz Datena pull a UFO hoax … on a day that’s not April 1? That leaves … an unidentified flying object.
Without any evidence or testimony other than the video, this observer leans towards a bird flying close enough to the camera to distort the perspective, but far enough away to distort its image. What do you think?