Sighting in Gigny, September 14, 2019

Five people watched a black dot in the sky for an hour and a half. It hardly moved and seemed very far away and very high up. Towards the end of the observation, as night was falling, lights appeared. Only one of the five witnesses contacted the GEIPAN. The case was considered solid: five people saw the phenomenon, it was described very well, and a photograph made it possible to calculate its azimuth and angular height.

The investigation established that it was a gas balloon, the USA-1 balloon of the 2019 Gordon Bennett Cup, whose known characteristics matched the testimony in every respect. The witnesses had first thought of a hot-air balloon, but its apparent lack of movement and the appearance of the lights puzzled them. The stillness is explained by the very great distance and the low wind speed. The lights are explained by the competition rules, which require balloons to carry night marking, an aeronautical strobe and a landing floodlight, all switched on as soon as night falls. The case was classified A.