Hovering in Gironde, France

This observation case is one of the cases previously published in category "D" under the name GUITRES (33) 27.01.1978. Following a remark from a correspondent, GEIPAN consulted its archives and found on this case a GEPAN investigation report concluding with a classification in "A". On January 27, 1978, around 5:45 p.m., a couple (T1 and T2) living in SAINT-CIERS-D'ABZAC (33) observed through the windows of their house a strange object in the sky. The UAP, flat and oval in shape and pale red in color, seemed to be hovering in the direction of the town of GUITRES (33). After 4 or 5 minutes of observation, the UAP accelerated then disappeared into the sky. The gendarmerie conducted an investigation on site as well as in neighboring towns between January 29 and February 3, 1978. GEPAN then commissioned two CNES investigators who came on site on April 12 and initially concluded with a classification of "D" (unexplained), a classification that unfortunately remained in the GEIPAN database until the present document. The GEPAN director of that time then completed the report with his own conclusion in category "A"; this supplementary report stands as a lesson in scientific ufology! This case is very solid (three witnesses, including one independent of the other two), the description of the observed UAP is fairly precise. The sincerity and credibility of the witnesses have never been questioned. The described phenomenon presents many common characteristics (observation duration, shape, color) with the planet Mars, very close to the indicated axis. In GEIPAN's current classification, this case of average strangeness is classified as PAN A, an observation linked to a misidentification with the planet Mars.