Sighting in Le Coteau, March 15, 1979
Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Sighting on March 15, 1979 in Le Coteau (Loire, France). GEIPAN considers the phenomenon probably identified (class B).
What happened
At about 7:25 a.m., five people who were working on the repair of a railway line noticed a luminous phenomenon that caught their attention. It was an orange glow with an apparent size comparable to a football. It moved slowly across the sky from east to west, on a descending path.
The sighting lasted about 30 seconds. The witnesses could make out a trail of white smoke behind the glow, and no sound was heard. The object eventually disappeared behind the landscape.
GEIPAN classified the case as B (probably identified). According to the investigation, the witnesses most likely saw an atmospheric re-entry. Given how long the sighting lasted, it may have been a piece of space debris.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- March 15, 1979
- Location
- Le Coteau · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- B
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1979-03-00608
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.