Sighting in Cauffry, September 29, 2016

At about 10:56 pm, a witness was looking at the cloudy sky when they noticed a luminous phenomenon above the park. It looked like an enormous helicopter blade and seemed to spin on itself without any noise, staying in the same spot. The observation lasted between 50 and 55 minutes, after which the phenomenon suddenly vanished. Only one witness account was collected.

The sighting closely resembles one made at the same time 2 or 3 km away, in a separate case from Rantigny that evening, so the investigation reached the same conclusions. The cause was most likely laser beams from a nightclub or a festive or special event, reflected off the cloud layer or the screen of fine rain, both of which were present that night. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the range of a laser varies greatly and can reach tens of kilometres, which can make the effect fleeting, even exceptional, far from where it is emitted.

GEIPAN did not identify the source of the beam, but it has several similar cases that were identified. It classified the case as B: probable laser animation (sky rose or light spots).