Sighting in La Foa, March 5, 1984

Two witnesses were driving between about 4:30 and 6:30 a.m. when they noticed a very bright phenomenon in the sky. One of them said they watched it for almost two hours. It looked like a bright white ball, with streaks beneath it and a trapezoidal shape that went out at one point, leaving only the glow of the ball. One witness flashed the car's headlights, after which the other said the beam of light had disappeared. The vehicle then stopped, the ball steadied and moved away toward a mountain. The sky was clear and starry. The phenomenon vanished about half an hour after sunrise. The gendarmerie took down this account after learning that several residents of the neighbourhood had seen lights in the sky.

The investigation concluded that the witnesses had mistaken the planet Venus for something else. The appearance described, the very long duration and the disappearance after daybreak all fit this kind of misidentification. Venus was in the direction the witnesses indicated, and they mentioned no bright star near the phenomenon. The apparent movement is explained by the hilly, winding track the car followed, and later by a change in atmospheric haze that dimmed Venus, which was read as the object moving away toward the mountain. The disappearance of the beam is also put down to the haze, and the link with the headlight flash probably comes from the strangeness the witnesses felt. The case is classified A. Observations by other residents on other dates were examined separately and classified C.