Sighting in France, May 5, 1999

Around midnight, nine witnesses in different towns in the Hautes-Pyrénées saw a very bright glow in the night sky, followed by a triangular or cone-shaped cloud. No particular noise was heard. How long each witness watched varied. During that time the phenomenon seemed to rotate on itself; then the glow vanished and the cloud gradually faded. Several witnesses thought it was a rocket launch.

The same phenomenon was reported by a pilot whose aircraft was south of Cognac, and the air traffic controller noted that two other pilots said they had seen it too. The case, first classified D, was re-examined and linked to another file, an observation made from an aircraft over the Charente, which had been classified C because the data could not be used.

GEIPAN found the case highly consistent: three independent groups of witnesses and fairly precise information. No rocket launch matched, but two French missile firings took place on 4 May 1999, a date that matches the observation in UT. The directions given by the witnesses pointed toward the Bay of Biscay and the waters off Brittany. That widely separated groups saw the phenomenon in similar conditions indicates a high altitude: the missile, still lit by the sun, remained visible with its body and exhaust gases against the night sky. The exact firing time was not confirmed, but a new search with the test centres, too burdensome twenty years later, was not considered reasonable. The two files were merged and classified A: a very probable sighting of an M45 or M4 defence missile firing in the Bay of Biscay, seen from off the coast of Brittany.