Hérault, France · 2015-08-17 · from the GEIPAN archive
On August 17, 2015 at 7:04 AM, a witness observed for one minute a very bright white object, resembling an airship, moving at constant speed at high altitude. It gradually disappeared heading south. The observation lasted one minute. The witness filmed the phenomenon with his mobile phone and remained intrigued. The video (see the investigation note) clearly shows an airliner moving at cruising altitude, in a stable atmosphere conducive, on the one hand, to the non-formation of a condensation trail, and on the other hand, to the effects of atmospheric scattering causing the apparent disappearance (and confusion with the blue of the surrounding sky) of the areas in the shadow of the aircraft or less well lit by the sun than the fuselage. Here the wings disappear, and this gives that "airship" appearance. It was not possible (analysis too late) to access flight records to confirm the presence of the aircraft and its identity. Consequently, GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable misidentification with an aircraft.
What stood out: moving in formation
On August 16, 2015 between 12:40 a.m. and 12:45 a.m., a witness, accompanied by friends, observes in the sky three equidistant white lights forming a perfect triangle. The object moves slowl…
both described moving in formation · in the same place
On March 13, 2012 at around 8:30 PM, a witness observes, from their terrace, the silent passage of a triangular formation made up of several green-orange colored lights passing at high speed…
both described moving in formation · in the same place
On May 17, 2015 at around 11:16 PM, a witness observing the night sky is intrigued by the appearance of a succession of bright points (the witness counted up to 8) which gradually form a lar…
both described moving in formation · 179 km away
On December 12, 2012 at 7:20 PM (UTC) a pilot and a controller are intrigued by the presence in the sky of a yellow-orange light of strong magnitude. A photograph was able to be taken from t…
both described moving in formation · 133 km away
On February 25, 2009, around 7 p.m., several people observed from their homes a luminous phenomenon in the sky that intrigued them. One of the witnesses filmed the phenomenon, which appeared…
both described moving in formation · 137 km away
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 of classif…
both described moving in formation · 137 km away
On Friday, January 13, 2017 at 5:45 PM, a motorist's attention was drawn by an intense white light in the sky in clear weather. The glow disappeared for 15 to 20 seconds, then reappeared mor…
the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
On June 29, 2014, from 9:30 PM, a witness is intrigued by the straight-line passage in the sky of a white aircraft he does not recognize: the witness sees no condensation trail, no wings, no…
the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
On August 4, 2017 between 1:55 PM and 2:10 PM, a witness is intrigued by an object at the cruising altitude of airliners. With binoculars, the witness makes out, fixed in the sky, a vertical…
the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
There are thousands more like this in the record. Open one at random, or read the ones the most people recognise.
Read anotherMost recognisedOr if something like this happened to you, write it down and we will look for the others who saw it too.
If this reminds you of something a friend or a relative told you once and never mentioned again, send them this page. Reading that a stranger described the same thing is usually the part that helps.
Nothing is tracked back to you and nothing is sent on your behalf. The link is just the page you are reading.
This is an official case file of GEIPAN, the French space agency's unidentified aerospace phenomena office, machine translated from French. The original text and the full investigation file are at geipan.fr. We reproduce it with thanks and remove anything on request.
Anomaly