Sighting in Bornel, April 24, 2014

A retired couple were watching television in their conservatory one evening when, at 10:26 pm, one of them noticed an orange light source through one of the roof skylights. The witness described an incandescent orange ball ringed with small orange flames and no trail. It was moving across an overcast sky, coming from the east. The witness first thought a burning aircraft was about to crash and asked the other witness to photograph it, in case civil aviation authorities investigated. They were struck by the complete lack of noise and by the odd way the object flew. They made out a triangular shape, and then the phenomenon disappeared behind a screen of trees at the edge of the cloud cover. The other witness had time to take several photographs with a mobile phone.

Only one questionnaire was completed, and no other testimony was gathered. The investigation found no rational explanation. A drone remained the least unsatisfactory hypothesis, but it is weak: any shape or lighting is conceivable without actually existing, especially in 2014, and flying at night over an urban area is dangerous and prohibited. The other hypotheses were even weaker. The first witness observed for a considerable time, with excellent eyesight and a professional background in observation. The second witness's account was less detailed, because attempts to take pictures (flash, window glass, darkness, haste) scattered their attention. Only one image is usable; it does not truly confirm the phenomenon, although the glow cannot be explained by the surroundings. The triangular shape recalls other, controversial testimonies, and a stereotype may exist on that point. An on-site investigation and a cognitive interview, carried out promptly, found nothing against the witnesses' reliability, and both stayed measured in their reactions. GEIPAN classified the case as D1: unexplained phenomenon of medium strangeness.