Sighting in Biarritz, August 1951

Around midnight in August 1951, a witness was standing at the edge of a cliff when a flying mass passed along the coast. It looked like two soup plates joined together. Around its edge were areas resembling portholes, from which a greenish fluorescent glow came. According to the witness, it first moved from north to south, then from east to west. No sound was heard.

Frightened, the witness threw themselves to the ground and pulled their wife down too; she also saw the mass moving. The sighting lasted 10 to 15 seconds. When they got back up, the object was gone.

The account was not collected until 20 March 1975, long after the event. The witness could not remember the exact date, so the case was arbitrarily dated 1 August 1951. The wife was not interviewed, so only one testimony exists.

The duration, the impression of closeness and the greenish fluorescence suggest a fireball, but the flying mass and the change of direction do not fit that explanation. The uncertain date, the single testimony and the long delay before the account was given make it weak. GEIPAN classified the case as C, for lack of essential information and corroboration.