Sighting in Charleville-Mézières, May 26, 1980
Ardennes, Grand Est, France
Sighting on May 26, 1980 in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was pyrotechnics (fireworks, flares…) (class A).
What happened
At about 10:45 pm, several witnesses, including gendarmes, noticed a luminous phenomenon in the sky. They saw two red, round objects sinking slowly toward the ground at a steady speed. After that, red glows rose into the air and then vanished. Some witnesses also saw reddish smoke.
The GEIPAN investigation established that, that evening, some people had fired boat distress flares, with no ill intent. The flares no longer met the required standards and could not be used at sea any more. The case was classified A: the sighting was of distress flares.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- May 26, 1980
- Location
- Charleville-Mézières · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Fireworks and flares
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1980-06-00776
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.