Ney Cerqueira

Major Ney Antunes Cerqueira was a Brazilian Air Force officer who served as Chief of the Air Defense Operations Center (CODA) in Brasília. On May 19, 1986, during the famous 'Official Brazilian UFO Night,' Cerqueira coordinated the military response to multiple unidentified aerial objects detected on radar across Brazil. He authorized the scrambling of five fighter aircraft from three air bases to investigate the phenomena. Cerqueira became a notable figure in UFO research for his candid public statements acknowledging that the Brazilian Air Force could not explain the radar detections or the objects' sudden appearances and disappearances.

• Major Aviator Ney Antunes Cerqueira held the rank of Major in the Brazilian Air Force and later became Colonel in the Air Force Reserve[1]
• On May 19, 1986, he was Chief of CODA (Centro de Operações de Defesa Aérea) in Brasília during the 'Official Brazilian UFO Night'[1]
• He coordinated the scrambling of five fighter aircraft from Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, and Anápolis air bases to investigate unknown objects[1]
• Cerqueira publicly stated that the Brazilian Air Force lacked 'technical operational conditions to explain' the appearance and disappearance of objects on radar screens[1]
• He acknowledged that 'something was flying over Brazil that night' but could not definitively identify what it was[1]

Cerqueira's testimony is significant in UFO research as a high-ranking military official who publicly acknowledged the Brazilian Air Force's inability to explain the May 1986 incidents, lending credibility to the event and demonstrating official government acknowledgment of unexplained aerial phenomena.