An account in Loire-Atlantique, France

On December 27, 2010 at 6:45 p.m., a motorist is intrigued by a phenomenon on the left side of the D937 near the place called La Boule d'Or in Geneston (44). He sees a black mass with two yellow lights underneath it. The witness describes these lights in a rotating motion, bringing into view about ten other yellow lights. The observation lasts between 5 and 6 seconds. The motorist pulls over to the side of the road but does not find the phenomenon again. Continuing on his way, he sees the UAP again passing over him, but the darkness and fog prevent him from clearly distinguishing the object's outlines. The UAP makes a fairly muffled and deep engine noise; a beam at the front and a red flashing light are seen. The motorist will see the UAP one last time at altitude a little further down the road. Only one testimony will be collected. There is every reason to think that the witness saw an aircraft (and probably a helicopter). The witness himself formulates this hypothesis toward the end of his observation: "I remember thinking this time it was a plane because Nantes airport is in that direction." Above all, the witness does not introduce any strangeness that he would explicitly oppose to this aircraft hypothesis, and the descriptive elements ("succession of yellow lights like portholes," "oval shape," "engine noise, fairly muffled and deep like that of a wind tunnel," "headlight at the front whose beam was mobile, agitated by very rapid oblique movements but without great range, because it only lit up the clouds a few meters ahead of the aircraft," "very powerful red flashing light and on the other side an identical flashing light but blue, the same shade as that of emergency vehicles") are compatible with an aircraft, and more probably a helicopter given the particular lighting of these (including rotating spotlights), the proximity of hospitals, and the rather slow movement. The witness mentions the presence of heavy road traffic and the absence of reaction, which supports the fact that this was perceived as an aircraft without notable strangeness. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of a helicopter.