Sighting in Crolles, September 9, 2015

At about 9:30 p.m., a witness watched a rectangular shape cross the sky above the Belledonne massif for roughly three seconds. The witness described it as pale yellow with a dark band across the middle. The conclusion summary instead describes it as black with an orange band, as the testimony showed some discrepancies between the questionnaire and the information gathered on site. The shape followed a straight, descending path, with no change of heading and no sound. There was only one witness.

The investigation noted that the observation point lies just 3 km from a very busy free-flight site. The description matches a paraglider flying at night. Night flights are regulated: the craft must carry two lights, one green and one red, the flight must be declared to the prefecture, and it is allowed only within three days of a full moon, which was not the case here. The flight would therefore have been illegal, which would explain the lack of the required lighting. The 7th Régiment de Chasseurs Alpins stated that no military exercises took place that night.

GEIPAN classified the case as B: the witness probably mistook an unauthorized civilian paraglider night flight for something else. The testimony, from a single witness, was of average consistency but sufficient given the strangeness of the sighting.