Socorro landing
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 7
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Socorro incident, Zamora incident |
| On the Timeline | 1 event, 2003 |
The Socorro incident, also called the Zamora incident, took place on the evening of 24 April 1964 near Socorro, New Mexico, when police sergeant Lonnie Zamora reported seeing a shiny object and two small figures in a gully, followed by the object rising with a roar and flame. Project Blue Book listed it as unexplained, and it is considered one of the most significant close-encounter cases of the 1960s.[1][2]
The sighting
At about 5:45 p.m., Zamora was chasing a speeding car south of Socorro when he heard a roar and saw a flame in the sky to the south-west, between about 0.8 and 1.6 km away. Thinking a dynamite shack might have exploded, he broke off the chase to investigate.[1]
Driving toward a gully, he saw a shiny, whitish object about 140–180 metres away that he at first took for an overturned car. He described it as "like aluminum", shaped somewhat like the letter "O". Beside it he briefly saw two people in white overalls, "normal in shape" but perhaps small adults or large children. He radioed the police dispatcher, then heard a loud roar and saw a blue and orange flame beneath the object as it rose and moved quickly away.[1][3]
Physical traces
Zamora called New Mexico State Police Sgt. Sam Chavez to meet him. Chavez found him examining burning brush, and other officers later saw smouldering grass and brush and shallow depressions in the ground, which Zamora said the object had made while landing.[1]
Investigation
Project Blue Book and its scientific consultant, astronomer J. Allen Hynek, investigated, and the case was listed as "unknown", one of the relatively few such cases in Blue Book's files.[1][2] Zamora was widely regarded as a sober and reliable witness.
Explanations
Several explanations have been proposed: - Some suggested Zamora saw a test of a lunar landing vehicle by White Sands Missile Range personnel, though no such test has been documented.[1] - Skeptic Robert Sheaffer suggested a hoax by students at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, a theory supported by its then-president, physicist Stirling Colgate, who described the object as "a candle in a balloon".[1][4] - Skeptic Steuart Campbell proposed a mirage of the star Canopus, and Philip Klass argued the event was a scheme to attract tourists.[1] None of these has been confirmed.
Legacy
In 1966 the local chamber of commerce proposed turning the site into a tourist attraction; walkways and benches were built about a quarter-mile from the original spot. In 2012 the city commissioned a mural about the event. Zamora died in Socorro on 2 November 2009, aged 76.[1][5]
On the UAP Timeline
- Socorro rock analysis (3 May 2003) — Kit Green says rock from the 1964 Socorro landing was analyzed at NASA Goddard.
References
- Lonnie Zamora incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Paul Harden, "The 1964 Socorro UFO Incident", Socorro County Historical Society (2008) · socorro-history.org · archived copy
- Brian Dunning, "Lonnie Zamora and the Socorro UFO", Skeptoid (1 Aug 2017) · skeptoid.com · archived copy
- Robert Sheaffer, "Famous Socorro 'UFO Landing' a Student Prank?", Skeptical Inquirer (2010) · skepticalinquirer.org · archived copy
- Amanda Kooser, "Investigating New Mexico's less-famous UFO landing", CNET (18 Apr 2012) · cnet.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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