Sighting in Caen, October 19, 2021

Two friends were having lunch on a top-floor terrace at about 1:20 pm when a dark object caught their attention. It was crossing the sky in a straight line at low altitude. They described it as flat underneath and domed on top. They heard no particular noise. The object made a slight turn, then climbed into the sky and disappeared from view. The sighting lasted around ten minutes. Nobody took a photo, but each witness later drew a sketch of the object and reconstructed its path. They put forward several hypotheses but remained unsure what they had seen. No other witness account was collected.

The GEIPAN investigation concluded that the witnesses had probably seen a light, rigid piece of debris, possibly made of black expanded PVC, perhaps left over from a building site, carried by a non-swirling gust of wind. Three points supported this: the shape stayed regular, consistent with an object light yet rigid enough not to deform as the gust carried it; black is a plausible colour for this kind of material; and its overall movement, straight and steady, followed the prevailing wind towards the north. Weather data showed a moderate average wind with strong gusts blowing north, the same direction the object travelled. The case was classified A: identified.