On 20 July 1976, Viking 1 touches down on Mars. First soil sample collected on 28 July 1976.

 

 

 

 

 

On 13 November 1976, there was an alleged sighting of a craft with several men onboard, near Winchester, England whilst Mrs Joyce Bowleswas driving with her neighbour Ted Pratt.

 

 

 

A jet chase occurred near Tehran, Iran at about 12.30am on 19 September 1976.

This incident is Case 47 in Isaac Koi's "Top 100" article,  since it was referred to in 55 of the books covered by that article.

This incident featured as the second best incident in a documentary produced by Paul Kimball entitled “Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Cases”, purportedly based on the results of a survey conducted by Paul Kimball in 2005/2006 of “a select group of the world’s leading UFO researchers”.

This incident came sixth in an online poll conducted in March/April 2006 by Paul Kimball of “the UFO case with the ‘best evidence’ ever”.

This incident featured in a document (“the Rockefeller Briefing Document”) endorsed by Dr Mark Rodeghier (President of CUFOS), Richard Hall (Chairman of FUFOR) and Walter Andrus (President of MUFON) as containing “the best available evidence for the existence of UFOs”.

The National Enquirer reported that it had decided to award $5,000 to six Iranians in relation to this incident, following the recommendations of the members of its “blue ribbon” panel of UFO experts. Unfortunately for the relevant Iranian individuals, they were not permitted to accept the cash award which was instead awarded to an Iranian charity similar to the Red Cross.

This incident has also featured in lists by various UFO researchers of the top UFO cases, including the following:

• a list of the ten “best” case published by Ronald Story in his book “UFOs and the Limits of Science” (1981).
• a list of twenty UFO cases produced by Bruce Maccabee in 1999 in response to a challenge to produce “the best evidence for an extraterrestrial origin for the UFO phenomenon”.
• a list by James Carrion, the International Director of the Mutual UFO Network, of the “top 10 cases” in an interview in 2006.
• a list of cases produced by Stanton Friedman for the Fortean Times in 2007 as part of a survey of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most.
• a list of cases produced by British ufologist Nick Pope for the Fortean Times in 2007 as part of a survey of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most.
• a list of cases produced by British ufologist Jenny Randles for the Fortean Times in 2007 as part of a survey of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most.

a list of cases produced by British ufologist Gary Heseltine for the Fortean Times in 2007 as part of a survey of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most.

 

During 1977, Karen and Richard Carpenter (“The Carpenters”) released “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary craft”.