Sighting in Fontcouverte, August 28, 2018

Between 21:03 and 21:10 one evening, a witness was on a road overlooking the town, watching a storm start to build. Their attention was caught by a white point of light moving silently. The light then stopped, and the witness noticed it carried flashing lights of different colors.

The witness went home to fetch binoculars and a compass to take an azimuth reading. On returning, they could not make out the object's shape any better than before. The object set off again in exactly the direction it had come from and vanished at the horizon. Only one witness account was collected.

The GEIPAN investigation concluded that the witness had probably seen a recreational drone fitted with lighting. Two main points support this: the straight path followed by a stop is typical of drones, and the colors seen (white, red and green) are those commonly used on drones and in air navigation. The lack of noise is explained by the probably large distance and the moderate engine noise of this type of craft; the distance and the small size also explain why no shape could be seen. Night flying was prohibited and the lighting complied with regulations, but the altitude likely exceeded the authorized 150 m limit, and the weather was unfavorable. The case is classified B: probable observation of a recreational drone.