Sighting in Gruissan, April 23, 1998
Aude, Occitanie, France
Sighting from an aircraft on April 23, 1998 in Gruissan (Aude, France). According to GEIPAN, it was most probably the atmospheric re-entry of a space object (rocket stage, debris) (class B).
What happened
Shortly before four in the morning, the pilot of a Boeing 727 on its way to Barcelona saw lights in the distance, blue and green, moving very fast. They vanished in an explosion. The source gives no further details about their path or how long the sighting lasted.
The GEIPAN investigation concluded that this was probably the re-entry of a piece of space debris into the atmosphere. The case was therefore classified B, meaning probably identified.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- April 23, 1998
- Location
- Gruissan · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From an aircraft
- Source classification
- B
- Explanation
- Re-entries
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1998-04-01501
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.