Sighting in Mauvezin, July 15, 1993

Three young campers working as seasonal employees in the area saw colored lights moving across the night sky on three occasions: around 11 p.m. on the first evening, then around 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. During some of the sightings they heard a dull noise. One of them tried to photograph what they were seeing, but the pictures were unusable. No other witness came forward.

All the witnesses were interviewed by the gendarmerie, and the resulting report is fairly complete. However, important data are missing, such as azimuths and elevation angles of the phenomena. No on-site investigation was carried out, and the flights that might have been involved were not traced at the time.

The GEIPAN re-examined the case, previously classified D, and considers confusion with airliners approaching or just departing from Toulouse-Blagnac airport to be the most plausible explanation. The powerful white or yellow lights resemble landing lights. The central red light matches an anti-collision light under the fuselage, although the witnesses did not mention any flashing. The shape described fits the pattern formed by an aircraft's lights, depending on the viewing angle. The path matches air corridor R17, even though its route may have changed since 1993. The noise, heard in two of the three phases, can vary with wind, terrain and distance. Witnesses from elsewhere, unfamiliar with this air corridor, could easily have been mistaken. The case is classified B, probable airliners, with medium consistency.