Sighting in Gresswiller, April 19, 2019

In the early afternoon, the driver of a car carrying four other passengers was travelling at 70 to 80 km/h on the D217. A forest lined the road on the right, and a large open meadow lay to the left. For several seconds, the driver saw what they described as a craft hovering in the clear sky, looking like an aircraft seen from behind. It appeared fairly close to the treetops, beyond the meadow, about 7 kilometres away in the direction of Rosenwiller. The driver judged it to be huge, the size of an airliner such as a B777. Vegetation hid it very quickly.

Only one account was collected, with no photo or video, and it was rated as moderately reliable.

GEIPAN's investigation checked Flightradar24. Two aircraft had flown over the area at low altitude at times that could match the sighting. Only one, flight TVS3443, a Boeing 737 on approach to Strasbourg airport, fit the description: it passed a few kilometres to the south-east and stayed low against the landscape. Perceived size depends heavily on the estimated distance, so a B737 remains consistent with the impression of a B777-sized craft. Its apparent stillness is explained by a pivot effect against the landscape, since the witnesses were in a moving car, by the aircraft's reduced speed while landing (about 150 knots, or 278 km/h), and by the short observation of roughly 30 seconds. The case was classified A: observation of an airliner.