Sighting in Grasse, March 26, 2016

On a Saturday morning, between 9:50 and 9:55, the witness was in a car park near the hospital and followed a bright, spherical object as it passed over the town. This sphere joined two other "balls", and the three flew together in a squadron. A fourth "ball" then joined the group. They all vanished at the same moment, hidden by the surrounding buildings. The witness put the observation at about 15 seconds. Only one account was collected. The free-text description gave September as the month by mistake.

The description immediately suggested helicopters. About 12 km south of the town, in the direction the witness indicated, a helicopter flight-training school operates next to the runways of Cannes-Mandelieu aerodrome. Its manager confirmed by phone that at least three aircraft with instructors were flying that morning at the time of the sighting. The school's fleet includes R 22 and Cabri G2 helicopters, which look like spheres from the front, and probably from the side too given how slender their tails are. They are dark, and sunlight could make them look shiny. They fly at 180 km/h, which can seem fast. The lack of noise is explained by traffic noise, the distance, the wind direction and the fact that these helicopters are not especially loud. No one else, including the instructors in flight, reported anything else in the sky.

The GEIPAN classified the case as A: a certain misidentification of a flight of helicopters moving away towards Mandelieu-la-Napoule.