The Kumburgaz footage, Turkey
The incident over Turkey shown here is the best known one: the Kumburgaz case. A night watchman at a seaside housing complex near Istanbul, Yalçın Yalman, filmed a bright object over the Sea of Marmara on many nights between 2007 and 2009. Zoomed frames appear to show a structured craft with a domed top, and some researchers say figures can be seen inside. Turkey's Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Center studied the footage and declared it was neither a hoax nor a model.
Evidence, in date order (2)
- Aug 2007Yalçın Yalman's camerasensor datamany nights of footage over the Sea of Marmara Kumburgaz, Turkey: all footage stabilized
- Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Centerdocumentanalysis declaring the footage neither a hoax nor a model Turkey UFO Incident case archive
How plausible · Moderate
A named watchman filmed the object repeatedly over two years, and a research centre judged the footage neither hoax nor model; no official record.
- ●●Access He filmed it himself.
- ●●Physical traces or official reaction Hours of video.
- ●○Cost of speaking Named.
- ●○No gain sought Nothing sold by him.
- ●○Consistent over time Repeated over two years.
- ●○Checkable details check out The footage can be examined.
- −Lone source, no corroboration One cameraman.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- The original footage and the Sirius center's analysis were presented to the press.