Pilot Giancarlo Cecconi was returning to Treviso AFB Italy in his G-91R fighter with his G-91R group 14 of the 2nd Fighter Wing of the Air Force, after completing a reconnaissance mission on June 18, 1979 at 11:30 am.
The Istrana Radar Center (TV) registered the presence of the intruder on its radar screens and instructed Cecconi to approach an unidentified aircraft that had entered the restricted area.
With the unused film in his aircraft’s cameras, the pilot activated the cameras and approached the UFO at a distance of 70-80 meters and at an estimated speed of 300 knots (450-500 km).
The airport’s ground crew watched the event through binoculars. Cecconi was called by Treviso’s control tower to warn him that the object was emitting a strange blue trail.
He chased the object at an altitude of 7,000 feet but did not notice its trail. As the pilot approached the object he climbed and descended at an altitude of 1,000 feet at a time climbing to 13,000 feet.
Cecconi flew seven to eight flights near the object and each time photographed the UFO with a camera resulting in 82 frames in which the intruder was captured.
The visible UFO was stationary relative to G-91 but the radar center confirmed to Sesconi that it was moving and its course and speed were determined.
The pilot saw a matte black cylindrical object and the presence of a small white or transparent “dome” located on the upper part of a slightly flattened object.
The dome was similar in shape to those found on sports cars. As Cecconi made another call to return another series of photos the Istrana radar came on and reported that the object had suddenly disappeared from its and other radars.
Seconds later the Treviso control tower confirmed that the UFO had visually disappeared. A few minutes after the plane landed the films were removed and quickly developed.
The object was a cylindrical object no less than eight meters (26 feet) long and no more than three in diameter flying thirteen thousand feet in the sky.
The incident is significant thanks to camera footage, radar and visual evidence from multiple witnesses including a highly respected fighter pilot.
