An account in Guyane, France

GEIPAN continues to publish all of its archives on its public website www.geipan.fr. Among its publications are old cases classified at the time (A, B, C, or D) that are now being re-examined, with the sole aim of being more relevant in the conclusions. Thanks to new technical means (software) and the investigation experience acquired over all these recent years, this re-examination sometimes leads to new remarks or even a change in classification. This observation case, previously classified D and named [AERO AOM] LAT 27.58, LON -33.35 (INT) 26.08.1998, is part of a set of cases recently re-examined. On 26 August 1998 at 00:32, the crew of a DC10 observed, for about 10 seconds, the very rapid passage of six luminous points with very intense visible radiation leaving behind a long luminous trail. The trajectory is horizontal and straight. The captain, the only one to testify, wrote a report on 28.08.1998, subsequently transmitted to SEPRA. However, a sketch representing the UAPs was made by four of the five witnesses, all attached to the report. We can state that the observation probably concerns the atmospheric re-entry of a bolide, fragmented into a meteoritic procession (see the investigation report). The horizontal trajectory noted by the witnesses tends to show that it could be a grazing bolide type. However, for lack of more data allowing more precise calculations, we cannot determine with certainty whether this bolide actually crossed the Earth's atmosphere or whether it bounced off it, as the 1972 meteor in the USA did. The observation duration, the magnitude, and the portion of the sky crossed bring this case close to a similar grazing bolide phenomenon that occurred in October 1990. More generally, the witnesses' description fits the hypothesis very well: white color, straight trajectory, very rapid movement, presence of very luminous trails. One might be surprised that this truly extremely rare and exceptional phenomenon did not get more attention at the time. However, this fleeting observation (10 seconds) took place in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, far from any ground detection station and visual observers, so it was probably not observed by anyone else. The consistency is good, with a well-detailed testimony, particularly regarding the initial and final position of the UAPs and their physical description (appearance, magnitude). It is however a shame not to have the testimonies of the other crew members. Furthermore, no photo or video recording of the phenomenon was made (which is common with such a short duration). Consequently, GEIPAN classifies the case as B: observation of meteoroids.