A dark figure in Bouches-du-Rhône, France

On July 3, 2015 at around 10 p.m. during a family gathering, a witness and his son go to the back of the family garden. A deep, low, heavy sound is then heard, and the witness observes above the trees of the neighboring house a mass in motion. Numerous lights (about a hundred), non-blinking, are seen below the mass. The witness wants to alert the others, but the loud noise prevents him from doing so. No one in the group saw the phenomenon, but everyone heard the dull sound. Only one testimony will be collected. This observation of multiple multicolored lights under a dark mass is completely atypical. The engine noise noted by the witness points toward an aeronautical hypothesis. A map check (see the attached map) indicates that the witness is in line with the runways of Salon-de-Provence, from which the Patrouille de France takes off, particularly active at this time of year, preparing for the end-of-promotion and July 14 demonstrations. A check with the Patrouille de France indicates a takeoff at 9:49 p.m. for a flight of about one hour. (see the video Night training of the Patrouille de France.) A southeast wind is noted at that moment at Marignane on Météociel. The Patrouille therefore must have taken off toward the southeast, facing the wind, flying almost directly over our witness. It is therefore highly likely that it was the Patrouille that the witness observed, either just after takeoff, which occurs 4 by 4 (as seen in the video), or after regrouping: focused on the set of navigation lights (at least 4 per aircraft, that is, at least 32 light points), the witness had the illusion of a single dark object carrying all the lights (a classic illusion called "shape" or "contour" illusion). It is noted, however, that the times do not correspond exactly (10 p.m. reported by the witness, for a takeoff at 9:49 p.m.): is this a second pass after regrouping, or an uncertainty in the time reported by the witness? The witness reports about a hundred lights, versus 32 on the 8 aircraft: this difference is notable. GEIPAN classifies this case "B": observation of the Patrouille de France shortly after its takeoff. The precise scenario of the observation could not be established due to the lack of the precise minute-by-minute trajectory of the aircraft. Only a very strong coincidence between the events will be retained.