Sighting in Les Sables-d'Olonne, June 28, 1989

At about 12:40 a.m., a witness at home noticed a bright point of light crossing the horizon quickly, faster than an aircraft. It followed a straight line from southwest to northeast and made no sound. The light eventually vanished, leaving a halo and a trail of smoke that stayed visible for several minutes.

Another witness, about fifteen kilometres further south, described the same thing: an orange-coloured point that disappeared and left a small lingering cloud.

Investigators linked these sightings to a notice sent to mariners by the Brest oceanographic service. It warned of possible fallout, during the night of 27 to 28 June, from missiles fired from the Centre d'Essais des Landes. The most likely explanation is therefore that the witnesses saw one of these launches, hence the B classification (probably identified).