Sighting in Beauvezer, September 25, 1983

At about 9:30 p.m., four witnesses on a balcony saw very bright white and red lights above the mountain known as "la Femme Couchée". They described the lights as being like flashes. The object first seemed motionless, then moved in zigzags. It quickly crossed a deep valley and vanished in the direction of the Chalufy summit. The sighting was too brief for the witnesses to describe its shape precisely. A noise was also heard.

The investigation looked at two explanations. An atmospheric re-entry of a man-made object was judged unlikely: no other witnesses were reported in the populated areas it would have passed over, the catalogues list no re-entry for September 1983, and no luminous trail was seen. A civil or military aircraft flying fairly low fitted better, matching the flashing lights, the noise, and the estimated heights, speeds and durations. The aircraft probably flew faster and lower than usual in the area, which would explain why it looked strange to the witnesses. Today, air corridors, a SID point and military zones lie close to the witnesses and in the direction observed. They were probably already in place in 1983, though this could not be confirmed. It was not possible to choose between a civil and a military aircraft. The gendarmerie investigation was fairly thorough, but angular measurements taken on site would have helped. GEIPAN classified the case B: probably a civil or military aircraft.