Colares UFO Flap / Operação Prato

Case

Overview

During 1977, residents of communities around Colares reported luminous aerial phenomena and alleged beams causing injury or weakness. The Brazilian Air Force First Regional Air Command investigated through Operação Prato, collecting witness statements, photographs and observation logs. The military investigation is documented; causes of sightings and alleged injuries remain unresolved.

Investigative phases

Two main field phases: October 20–November 11 and November 25–December 5, 1977; further records and correspondence through 1978–1979. Captain Uyrangê Hollanda led field investigations; Sgt. Flávio de Freitas Costa also documented observations. | V99: Bob Pratt describes a seven-person team (Capt. Hollanda and six sergeants) with cameras, tape recorders and a theodolite, Sgt. Flávio Costa as second-in-command, and an order to end the work after about four months from Belém base commander Brig. Protázio Lopes de Oliveira (order not located); a military physician's interview describes four personnel in his phase. Later interviews: Pratt and Giese 1993; Pratt and Cynthia Luce with retired Lt. Col. Hollanda, Aug 1997; FAB showed researchers some records in May 2005.

Reported phenomena

Luminous aerial objects, unusual movements and reported light beams; civilian accounts of burns, weakness, paralysis-like sensations and other symptoms (chupa-chupa). | V99: Elizondo's Imminent ch. 2 adds discs, spheres, triangles and cylinders; a yellow orb said to pursue people and turn blue; attempted lifting by nets, hooks or beams; animal reactions and stalled cars; lights entering thatched roofs; some pale tall or large-headed figures. All secondhand reports.

Public evidence status

Brazilian National Archives holds military documents, including BR DFANBSB ARX.0.0.184 (130 observation records). Some photos, witness reports and observation logs are accessible; extraordinary interpretations and injury causation are not established. | V99: Pratt's compilation reports about 500 pages of documents, photos, films, maps and sketches, about 110 photos and 160 documents shown to researchers in May 2005, and leaked copies summarizing more than 300 sightings; these are retrospective reports, not an inventory of the official archive.

Alternative explanations / caveats

Nighttime misidentification, atmospheric/astronomical effects, perception and social contagion warrant examination; contemporaneous records must be separated from Hollanda’s 1997 recollections; reported injuries lack independently verified causal linkage. | V99: Pratt notes few leaked military documents mention injuries and none he reviewed mention deaths. Carvalho's patient counts differ by date (about 35 in the late 1980s, about 40 in 1993; Pratt disputed a later 80). Pratt tallies quoted in Imminent (514 witnesses, >300 animal deaths, 10 later deaths) are reports, not diagnoses or causation. Flávio Costa's son disputes sensational claims about his father's death. Imminent calls Hollanda a lieutenant colonel (his reported retirement rank); 1977 records describe a captain. Uchoa's cover-up allegation is undemonstrated.

Next research tasks

Review original Portuguese observation registers, mission reports and medical accounts; authenticate images; distinguish civilian claims from military firsthand observations and medical findings. | V99: Review Imminent ch. 2 pp. 13–21 (Jason's V86 tabs: 25 detailed evidence entries, 12 witnesses, 17 reported counts). Prioritize original Hollanda records, Carvalho medical charts, Pratt interviews and Vallée field documentation; verify 1977 rank. | V99: Locate original mission orders and the termination order attributed to Brig. Protázio Lopes de Oliveira; reconcile mission-by-mission rosters; index leaked report copies report by report; crosswalk Pratt's 2005-era compilation to the Arquivo Nacional Fundo OVNI; find the 1997 Hollanda–Luce interview recording.

Last reviewed

2026-11-12

Assessment

Event date

1977–1978

Source category

Original Brazilian military archival documents; civilian testimony

Original data accessibility

Digitized military observation registers and some photographs available; full original material not yet assessed

Witness / instrument basis

Military field observers and multiple civilian witnesses; reported medical symptoms

Corroboration limitations

No demonstrated extraordinary mechanism; uneven corroboration, image provenance and clinical documentation

Extraordinary claim assessment

Official investigation well documented; physical origin and injury causation unproven

Current status

Documented investigation; unresolved reported sightings and medical allegations

Priority research task

Analyze ARX 184 primary observation forms and medical records; separate contemporary documents from 1997 retrospective testimony

Lead source ID

SRC-136; SRC-137

Last reviewed

2026-11-01

Evidence (17)

• I COMAR Operação Prato field investigation; archive holds observation registers and photographs Claim unverified
  CE-155 · 1977–1978 · Contemporaneous military field records
  Gaps: Photos and logs need original-level verification; sensor data and independent triangulation limited
• Colares-area residents reported beams, burns, weakness and other chupa-chupa symptoms Claim unverified
  CE-156 · 1977 · Civilian eyewitness and reported medical effects
  Gaps: Medical records, differential diagnoses and contemporaneous clinical observations needed
• Bob Pratt compilation: seven-person FAB team, about 500-page dossier with photos, films, maps and sketches, leaked copies summarizing more than 300 sightings Unverified
  CE-V99-050 · 1977–1978 · Researcher compilation / retrospective report
  Gaps: Original mission orders, rosters and full archive inventory missing; missing-media claims not proven
• Dr. Wellaide Cecim Carvalho's reported treatment of burn patients (about 35–40; two deaths reported to Pratt) Unverified
  CE-V99-051 · 1977; interviews 1980s–1993 · Physician recollection via researcher interviews and memoir
  Gaps: Differential diagnoses, examination methods and lab values missing; later 80-person figure disputed by Pratt
• Two formal mission phases (20 Oct–11 Nov; 25 Nov–5 Dec 1977); military physician's interview describes four personnel in his phase Reported
  CE-V99-052 · 1977-10-20 to 1977-12-05 · Secondary analysis of military records; retrospective interview
  Gaps: Team size differs from Pratt's seven; may reflect different phases
• Fernando Costa disputes sensational allegations about his father Sgt. Flávio Costa's death and bodily marks Alleged
  CE-V99-053 · 2000s · Family counter-testimony
  Gaps: Original sources of the implant/death rumors not identified
• Elizondo's Imminent ch. 2 'Colares': Uchoa dinner, 371 locations, >3,500 case files, Pratt's 514 interviews and symptom tallies, Carvalho findings, entity descriptions, Uchoa cover-up allegation Unverified
  CE-V99-054 · Retold 2024 (events 1977; dinner c. 2008) · Retrospective memoir; secondhand historical account
  Gaps: Pratt notes, Carvalho records and Vallée fieldwork not located; Hollanda's rank given as lieutenant colonel vs captain in 1977 records
• Brazilian Air Force meeting with civilian ufologists in Brasília; about 110 photos and 160 documents shown Documented
  CE-V99-055 · 2005-05-20 · Contemporaneous researcher report
  Gaps: Does not establish nature of reported objects or archive completeness
• Dr. Wellaide Cecim Carvalho told Bob Pratt and Daniel Rebisso Giese in 1993 she treated about 40 people with burns and that two died Claim unverifiedFirsthand
  E-V99-040 · 1977; interviewed 1993 · Reported direct interview by researcher
• Carvalho patient counts differ by date: about 35 to Giese in the late 1980s, about 40 to Pratt in 1993; Pratt disputed a later 80-person report ReportedFirsthand
  E-V99-041 · 1980s–2000s recollections · First-person clarification by interviewer
• Imminent says Carvalho watched a shimmering daytime object above a beach, treated about 40 burn patients (23 wounds with two punctures) and found low hemoglobin in those tested Claim unverifiedFirsthand
  E-V99-042 · 1977 · Memoir attribution
• Imminent attributes to Robert Pratt 514 witness interviews and tallies including >300 unexplained animal deaths, 34 temporary blindness, 55 severe headaches, 55 temporary partial paralysis, ~18 beam lifting reports, 36 chronic illness and 10 later deaths ReportedSecondhand
  E-V99-043 · 1970s compiled; published 2024 · Researcher tallies summarized in memoir
• Pratt observed that few leaked military documents mention injuries and none he reviewed mention deaths; leaked copies summarize more than 300 sightings, at least half by investigators themselves ReportedFirsthand
  E-V99-044 · Pre-2005 review · Researcher documentary observation
• At an AAWSAP-related dinner with Lacatski, Stratton, Bigelow and Puthoff, Gen. Paulo Uchoa described Colares and told Elizondo the Brazilian government covered up the events AllegedSecondhand
  E-V99-045 · c. 2008 · Memoir account of meeting
• Pratt describes Capt. Hollanda leading a seven-person team (captain and six sergeants) with cameras, tape recorders and a theodolite; Pratt and Cynthia Luce interviewed retired Lt. Col. Hollanda in Aug 1997 ReportedFirsthand
  E-V99-046 · 1977–1978; interview Aug 1997 · Researcher report
• Sgt. Flávio Costa named as Hollanda's second-in-command; daughter described family UFO watches; son Fernando Costa disputes sensational claims about his father's death and bodily marks DocumentedFirsthand
  E-V99-047 · 1977–1978; family accounts 1999 and 2000s · Researcher report and family counter-testimony
• Brazilian Air Force officials met civilian ufologists in Brasília and let them inspect some UFO records; Pratt reports about 110 photos and 160 documents seen ReportedSecondhand
  E-V99-048 · 2005-05-20 · Contemporaneous researcher report

Documents gathered (17 lines of evidence)

0 readable here · 7 with a linked primary record · 10 still need a document · All cases on the evidence map

• I COMAR Operação Prato field investigation; archive holds observation registers and photographs Primary record linked
  CE-155 · Os OVNIs no Arquivo Nacional; Operação Prato — Registros de Observações de OVNI, ARX 184
• Colares-area residents reported beams, burns, weakness and other chupa-chupa symptoms Primary record linked
  CE-156 · Os OVNIs no Arquivo Nacional
• Bob Pratt compilation: seven-person FAB team, about 500-page dossier with photos, films, maps and sketches, leaked copies summarizing more than 300 sightings Accounts / secondary only
  CE-V99-050 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation)
  Why it's still open: Crosswalk to Arquivo Nacional holdings (SRC-137) report by report Crosswalk to the Arquivo Nacional (SRC-137, ARX 184, 160 PDF pp.): one I COMAR register of 130 numbered forms (REG 001-130, 2 Sep 1977 to 28 Nov 1978) with sketches and pilot reports, plus press clippings, not 300+ sightings or 500 pages. A 2022 federal-court ruling quotes the Arquivo Nacional: a SIAN search for 'operação prato' returns 6 items (codes not seen; SIAN needs a gov.br login). The 500-page dossier and the films are not located. (chunk G, 2026-11-12) Browser pass (2026-11-12): Record exists behind SIAN (Arquivo Nacional, gov.br) login: 6 'operação prato' items; not pursued (Raymond, 2026-11-12). Flag stays.
• Dr. Wellaide Cecim Carvalho's reported treatment of burn patients (about 35–40; two deaths reported to Pratt) Accounts / secondary only
  CE-V99-051 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation); Último e-mail de Bob Pratt para a revista brasileira UFO; Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs
  Why it's still open: Seek full Carvalho interviews and original medical records. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Two formal mission phases (20 Oct–11 Nov; 25 Nov–5 Dec 1977); military physician's interview describes four personnel in his phase Primary record linked
  CE-V99-052 · Exclusivo: entrevista inédita com um dos principais militares da Operação Prato
• Fernando Costa disputes sensational allegations about his father Sgt. Flávio Costa's death and bodily marks Primary record linked
  CE-V99-053 · Filho de oficial faz revelações surpreendentes sobre a Operação Prato
• Elizondo's Imminent ch. 2 'Colares': Uchoa dinner, 371 locations, >3,500 case files, Pratt's 514 interviews and symptom tallies, Carvalho findings, entity descriptions, Uchoa cover-up allegation Accounts / secondary only
  CE-V99-054 · Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs
  Why it's still open: Match memoir claims to original FAB archive, Pratt notes and Carvalho records. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Brazilian Air Force meeting with civilian ufologists in Brasília; about 110 photos and 160 documents shown Accounts / secondary only
  CE-V99-055 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation)
  Why it's still open: Locate official meeting record and match released images to archive IDs Searched (Portuguese web, gov.br, CMRI decisions, court rulings): no FAB record of the 20 May 2005 meeting. The only government text is Senate Requerimento 193/2022, quoted in a 2023 appeal ruling, repeating the ufologists' account. The FAB communications archive and SIAN were not searched (login- and firewall-blocked). (chunk G, 2026-11-12) Browser pass (2026-11-12): Record exists behind SIAN (Arquivo Nacional, gov.br) login: 6 'operação prato' items; not pursued (Raymond, 2026-11-12). Flag stays.
• Dr. Wellaide Cecim Carvalho told Bob Pratt and Daniel Rebisso Giese in 1993 she treated about 40 people with burns and that two died Accounts / secondary only
  E-V99-040 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation)
  Why it's still open: SRC-V99-050 p. 7. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Carvalho patient counts differ by date: about 35 to Giese in the late 1980s, about 40 to Pratt in 1993; Pratt disputed a later 80-person report Accounts / secondary only
  E-V99-041 · Último e-mail de Bob Pratt para a revista brasileira UFO
  Why it's still open: SRC-V99-051, Pratt letter item 05. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Imminent says Carvalho watched a shimmering daytime object above a beach, treated about 40 burn patients (23 wounds with two punctures) and found low hemoglobin in those tested Accounts / secondary only
  E-V99-042 · Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs
  Why it's still open: Source SRC-233 (Imminent ch. 2 'Colares', pp. 13–21) Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Imminent attributes to Robert Pratt 514 witness interviews and tallies including >300 unexplained animal deaths, 34 temporary blindness, 55 severe headaches, 55 temporary partial paralysis, ~18 beam lifting reports, 36 chronic illness and 10 later deaths Accounts / secondary only
  E-V99-043 · Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs
  Why it's still open: Source SRC-233; Jason's V86 Quantities tab lists 17 counts. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Pratt observed that few leaked military documents mention injuries and none he reviewed mention deaths; leaked copies summarize more than 300 sightings, at least half by investigators themselves Primary record linked
  E-V99-044 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation); Operação Prato — Registros de Observações de OVNI, ARX 184
• At an AAWSAP-related dinner with Lacatski, Stratton, Bigelow and Puthoff, Gen. Paulo Uchoa described Colares and told Elizondo the Brazilian government covered up the events Accounts / secondary only
  E-V99-045 · Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs
  Why it's still open: Source SRC-233. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): No file on this site mentions Colares, Carvalho, Uchoa or Pratt's tallies. Carvalho's only other published statement found is a 2005 interview in Revista UFO (Carlos Mendes; English reprint at ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colareswc.htm): it describes light-beam symptoms and says the military made her understate them, but gives no burn or death count. No medical records found online. The one I COMAR register read in chunk G (archive item ARX 184: 130 forms, Sep 1977 to Nov 1978) records no deaths and few injuries, which cuts against the death counts. Uchoa's dinner remark has no record outside Imminent. Flag stays.
• Pratt describes Capt. Hollanda leading a seven-person team (captain and six sergeants) with cameras, tape recorders and a theodolite; Pratt and Cynthia Luce interviewed retired Lt. Col. Hollanda in Aug 1997 Primary record linked
  E-V99-046 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation); Exclusivo: entrevista inédita com um dos principais militares da Operação Prato
• Sgt. Flávio Costa named as Hollanda's second-in-command; daughter described family UFO watches; son Fernando Costa disputes sensational claims about his father's death and bodily marks Primary record linked
  E-V99-047 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation); Último e-mail de Bob Pratt para a revista brasileira UFO; Filho de oficial faz revelações surpreendentes sobre a Operação Prato
• Brazilian Air Force officials met civilian ufologists in Brasília and let them inspect some UFO records; Pratt reports about 110 photos and 160 documents seen Accounts / secondary only
  E-V99-048 · Operação Prato (Bob Pratt compilation)
  Why it's still open: SRC-V99-050 pp. 1–3; Searched for an official record of the 20 May 2005 meeting (Portuguese web, gov.br, CMRI decisions, court rulings): none found; the only government text, Senate Requerimento 193/2022, repeats the ufologists' account (chunk G, 2026-11-12) Browser pass (2026-11-12): Record exists behind SIAN (Arquivo Nacional, gov.br) login: 6 'operação prato' items; not pursued (Raymond, 2026-11-12). Flag stays.

On the timeline (3)

• 1977-10 to 1977-12 Operação Prato: Brazilian Air Force documents Colares-region lights and alleged physical effects Claim unverified
  Official investigation documented; cause of lights and reported injuries not established
• 1977-04 Bob Pratt describes a wave of reports beginning in Maranhão and extending west across northern Brazil, later including Colares/Belém Reported
  Retrospective geographic synthesis; not every report was part of Operação Prato
• 2005-05-20 Brazilian Air Force officials meet civilian ufologists in Brasília and permit inspection of some UFO records Documented
  Reported by Pratt; official meeting record not located