Richards Bay, South Afr being encounter — March 13, 1963

Fred White reportedly encountered a landed object while fishing at Richards Bay on the evening of March 13, 1963. The source places the experience around 10:30 p.m. He heard a high-pitched sound approaching from the east before a domed object came down on the sand, about fifteen metres from his position. The account describes sand scattering around a small craft with illuminated portholes. Through one opening White said he saw a fair-complexioned, humanlike man wearing a metallic helmet. This visible occupant, rather than an independently described exotic anatomy, is the basis for the encounter classification. The compressed Hatch entry gives the object a diameter of about three metres and associates it with a ground disturbance. The principal source trail leads to Flying Saucer Review in 1963 and Vallée’s Magonia catalogue, entry 568. This is a reported coastal landing, not a recovered vehicle or an authenticated photograph. The illustration includes White, the craft and the helmeted occupant together; its detailed face, fishing equipment and vehicle construction are artistic reconstruction.