Pulsating Disc: Superintendent Viljoen's helicopter chase over Gauteng

What was reported

Tinus de Beer's investigation of the August 1996 Gauteng police light. Woken at 05:00 on 28 August, Supt Viljoen lifted off from the Johan Coetzee heliport in Pretoria West at 05:25 with four others, saw a bright light north-east of Mamelodi, and had a patrol car near Bronkhorstspruit flash its blue lights to confirm the object hovering 40-50 ft above it. Waterkloof had nothing on radar. He flew straight at it on magnetic heading 060, climbing to 10,000 ft; it never changed size, implying it moved at his speed. At 06:30 it went up, down, left and right; he turned back at 06:36 for fuel. Wind from the ESE ruled out a balloon. Col Dreyer of the Air Force said Jan Smuts had a radar return, then denied it. MUFON's Jeff Sainio read one videotape as Venus.

What Hind made of it

Hind found Viljoen an extremely credible witness but allows he may have been mistaken; autokinesis could explain the apparent movement; Venus appears the obvious answer, yet the reported elevation of 70-80 degrees against Venus at 45 degrees troubles her.

Explanation offered
Venus (Miessner's two-night tape, Jeff Sainio's analysis, Claire Flanagan's planetarium data); Mars; balloon (rejected by wind direction); autokinesis; Denel/Armscor remotely piloted vehicle with almost no radar cross-section; media misrepresentation or government cover-up

In their words

• I found Superintendent Viljoen an extremely credible witness. Nevertheless, he could have been mistaken.

• the object moved too rapidly for it to have been a planet

• Are they indeed a law unto themselves?

Cross references

• Case No 126 (earlier UFO AFRINEWS report)
• Hot off the Press, spread 17

Connected

• Pretoria police video: not Venus (Front Row follow-up)Case fileHind follow-up

  Tinus de Beer's full investigation: Waterkloof had nothing on radar, Col Dreyer's Jan Smuts return claimed then denied, Sainio and Flanagan point to Venus. Hind drifts back to 'Venus appears the obvious answer' with autokinesis.

• Pulsating Disc over South AfricaCase fileNamed person

  Sgt Nico Stander, Supt Fred Viljoen and Tinus de Beer appear in both; Stander's surname is already confused (Bekker) in the first report.

• Visited by Air Force OfficersCase fileSame behaviour

  Air Force involvement claimed by the witness: two SAAF officers visit Julie R. in 1957 and warn her to keep quiet; in 1996 Col Dreyer says Jan Smuts had a radar return then denies it. The 1989 van Greunen hoax (04-15-1) also trades on a SAAF Intelligence signature.

Source

Cynthia Hind, UFO Afrinews No 18 (July 1998), spread 15-17

In the archive

This case became a story on this site.

1996 · South Africa

The morning the police chased a light to Bronkhorstspruit

A pulsing light over Pretoria at four in the morning drew out seven patrol cars and a helicopter. At sunrise it became a white spot. The bill was R4000.

LOLow observability

Press report

Nearby

Stories within 60 km

• Two constables on the Bronkhorstspruit road 1965 · 27 km
• The hospital that closed on Boxing Day 1996 · 36 km
• The golden ball over the Langham Hotel 1946 · 53 km
• The egg on Tindall Road 1979 · 56 km