Sighting in Lavalette, March 6, 2015

The witness was driving to work along a departmental road at around 8:30 a.m., under a completely clear sky. Ahead of them, they noticed a black, egg-shaped object that reflected the sunlight and seemed to be moving slowly. It appeared to be roughly above the road. A small white trail extended horizontally from its base, and one edge had a slight orange tint. The object was seen through the windscreen.

After about two minutes, the witness briefly looked away to grab their mobile phone from the passenger seat. When they looked back, the object had vanished. They slowed down and scanned the surrounding sky but could not find it again. They mentioned other motorists who had noticed nothing. Only one account was collected, and the witness took a photograph reconstructing the scene.

The GEIPAN classified the case as B: probable sighting of a captive solar balloon. The object's appearance and movement matched such a balloon, which could have been launched from a field to the witness's right. The photograph confirmed this resemblance, as well as the possibility of operating a balloon from that field and of the witness not seeing the operator while driving and searching the sky. What remained to be explained was the rapid disappearance, over one to a few seconds, down to the treetops that then hid it. This could be explained either by the balloon breaking apart or by wind pushing it to the ground (a spinnaker effect). The strangeness of the case came mainly from this disappearance while the witness was reaching for their phone.