Sighting in Gaujan, November 26, 2024

In the early morning, a helicopter pilot and their flight assistant were flying between Lourdes and Toulouse when they noticed two or three points of light in the sky. The points moved erratically, appearing and disappearing with no clear pattern. After five minutes of observation, the assistant checked for aircraft on Flightradar and ADS-B and found none. The air traffic controller at Blagnac also confirmed there was no matching radar signal. As the helicopter neared Toulouse, the crew pointed the phenomenon out to the two medical passengers on board, a doctor and a nurse, who saw it too. A photo and a video were taken.

The GEIPAN rated the case as having low strangeness and good consistency, since several people were present even though only one account was collected. The investigation concluded that the witnesses had seen flashes from Starlink® satellites, also called cluster flares. The description and appearance of the phenomenon matched perfectly. A Stellarium reconstruction showed that it lay in the zone favorable to these flashes: the Sun was 38° below the horizon, and the phenomenon was visible directly above the Sun's position, at about 10° elevation. A reconstruction of satellite passes confirmed that many Starlink® satellites were present in that area. This is the first case of this kind, seen both from the air and from the ground, that the GEIPAN has investigated. It was classified A.