Sighting in Maule, July 14, 2024

At around 4 a.m., the witness was on the terrace of their home when they noticed two "balls the size of a star" traveling side by side from the northeast. They looked less white than the surrounding stars, with a slightly reddish tint. After a few moments, their movements became erratic: they moved apart and came together quickly, merged into a single object, split into four, then became two again. The two objects then circled each other and made right-angle turns. They also stopped for about 2 minutes. The observation lasted more than 8 minutes, until both objects were lost from sight. The witness was alone and could not photograph them.

GEIPAN rated the consistency of the case as low, given the lack of a second witness and of any photo. The hypothesis of several drones was examined closely: the movements, the moments of very fast speed and the prolonged stillness all fit it, and open areas near the witness could have served for takeoff and landing. However, it would have taken several highly experienced pilots to carry out such risky maneuvers, using four drones at once is unusual, and the flights would have broken the bans on night flying and on flying over built-up areas. The color of the lights also differs from the usual red, green or blue ones. The neighboring town of Achères had held a drone show the evening before, but the drone companies contacted did not reply. With no data on size, distance or speed, GEIPAN classified the case as C: unidentified phenomenon due to insufficient information.