Sighting in Dieppe, May 24, 2012

Shortly before midnight, two witnesses were in the port area when they noticed a luminous object flying at low altitude in a clear, starry sky. It was elongated and white. It went past the château, then crossed over the beach before drifting slowly out toward the sea and the open water, on a straight path. The sighting lasted half an hour in total, and no particular noise was noticed.

Only one account was collected: the second witness did not provide a statement and did not respond to the request for an interview. The investigation noted a slow, very low flight over the town, with little or no wind, blowing against the direction the object was travelling. A few factual elements suggested a possible drone, and a helicopter was also considered, though neither could be confirmed.

The GEIPAN rated the testimony as moderately consistent: precise but not very detailed, with no photo, and coming from a single witness. The object had characteristics that did not fully match known aircraft, yet showed no extraordinary flight behaviour. Since nothing was available to favour one hypothesis over another, the case was classified C, for lack of information.