Sighting in Le Bouscat, September 17, 2011

At around 11 p.m. on a Saturday evening, a witness standing on their balcony noticed a luminous object passing across the sky. They first took it for a plane on fire heading toward Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, moving from south to north at an elevation of about 40°. The sighting lasted roughly one minute and fifteen seconds. The lights were red, orange and yellow, and the object moved silently. The witness also described a momentary stop, a change of direction and a change in appearance.

GEIPAN's investigation looked at several explanations. The atmospheric re-entry of a satellite or space debris does not fit the stop and the change of path. Astronomical and atmospheric explanations do not fit either. The colours suggest flames, and the day and time could match a festive event, but a Thai lantern is a poor match given the shape, the change of direction and the change of appearance. A lit, motorised balloon or airship used for a festive or commercial purpose would remain compatible and cannot be ruled out, although no trace of such an event was found.

The case rests on a single witness, with no independent testimony or cross-checking, and is considered moderately strange. It is therefore classified C, for insufficient data.