Declassified United States government files reveal an investigation into a report of a mysterious metal sphere crashing in Brazil, which allegedly contained a "dead spaceman." The incident, reportedly occurring on November 8, 1963, in Conde, a municipality in the Brazilian state of Bahia, prompted inquiries from American officials across the State Department, Department of Defense, and NASA.
The initial report, broadcast by Radio Tupi in Rio de Janeiro on November 8, 1963, claimed a "large metal sphere" had fallen, creating a hole approximately 13 feet deep. The broadcast further stated that the sphere had glass-covered windows and contained a human body dressed in heavy, undecipherable clothing. Residents were reportedly intrigued, and local authorities were informed, though no photographs or physical evidence were immediately provided.
On November 14, 1963, the U.S. Embassy in Rio de Janeiro sent a telegram to the State Department and the American Consulate in Salvador seeking clarification. The embassy's message described the object as a "large metal manned balloon" and the alleged occupant as a "dead crewman" in a "uniform or spacesuit with strange markings." Conflicting reports suggested the object might have been a weather balloon, but no such craft had been recovered.
The request was subsequently passed to the Department of Defense and NASA. Six days later, on November 20, a final diplomatic cable reported the findings of inquiries conducted in Bahia. According to the cable, the American consul in Salvador, Harold Midkiff, stated that the account had "apparently [been] fabricated in Rio." Midkiff reported that investigators could not find any witnesses in Conde who had seen a strange object descend. While local authorities speculated it could have been a weather balloon, even that sighting could not be verified.
Newspaper reports from Bahia cited by Midkiff supported these findings. One report indicated that Brazil's Ministry of Aeronautics had "categorically" denied any strange object appearing in Conde, while another carried the headline "The Airship that wasn't there." The final cable noted that the only notable outcome of the episode was a reporter transmitting a dispatch from Conde using an old Morse code machine.
The origin of the sensational claim and how it reached Radio Tupi remains undisclosed in the documents. An apparent error in the final record lists the incident as occurring in November 1964, despite the cable being written in November 1963. The declassified files detail the U.S. government's examination of the allegation, which ultimately found no corroborating witnesses or physical evidence of the alleged crash.
