Sighting in Metz, August 21, 2013

The witness, a pilot flying a Cessna 150 from Colmar to Liège, was southwest of Metz in daylight when they saw a small, oval, yellow object. It was moving at high speed in the northwest, travelling from north to south. According to the witness, it was at the same altitude as their aircraft. The length of the observation was not given.

The investigation pointed out that the distance of an unknown object cannot be estimated, so the altitude the witness gave remains uncertain. The object could have been very bright and very far away, at a higher altitude, in which case it would have been a meteoroid or a piece of space debris re-entering the atmosphere. The space debris re-entry catalogues (Space-Track) list no re-entry on that day. Since the sighting took place in broad daylight, a reflection of the sun on another aircraft was also considered.

Without enough information to support any one of these hypotheses, GEIPAN was unable to settle the case.