An account in Ain, France

On October 2, 2007 at around 1 p.m., a witness in his garden noticed a particular phenomenon in the sky: a large diamond-shaped object of several colors flying silently at low altitude. Intrigued, this witness decided to follow the phenomenon by car for 5 to 6 km between Neuville-les-Dames and Vonnas. He took photographs during the "chase" and met 4 other witnesses on the parking lot of a horticultural business in Vonnas who were also intrigued. The witness then resumed his route toward Mézériat but lost sight of the phenomenon. Following a call for witnesses published in the daily newspaper Le Progrès, many people came forward. The reconstruction of the trajectory consistent with the observations indicates a direction of movement from south-southwest to north-northeast, very close to that of the southerly wind recorded in Lyon. The average speed of the object during the observation (20 km/h) is slightly lower than the wind speed (22 km/h). These two findings clearly steer the investigation toward the hypothesis of a lighter-than-air aerostat, therefore carried by the wind (see investigation report). The appearance described by the witnesses suggests a cluster of small festive mylar balloons filled with helium. It could have escaped from its owner, or on the contrary could have been assembled to carry a small load. This cluster of balloons may have traveled a great distance before the observation, so it is very difficult to estimate its origin. This observation case, with multiple witnesses and photos, turns out to be very solid, but ultimately not very strange since the object's movement is consistent with the direction and speed of the wind. Following the investigation, GEIPAN classifies this case as "B": probable observation of festive balloons filled with helium.