Sighting in Montdardier, December 18, 1988

In the night of 17 to 18 December, at around 2:45 a.m., four witnesses were driving along the D113 in two vehicles. They saw a luminous object made of two adjoining rectangles split by a black line, which seemed to block the road. It appeared to hover seven or eight metres above the ground, in line with the road, and moved backward as the cars moved forward. It made no sound.

The case was first classified D in 1988 by the SEPRA, under the name Le Vigan, and was later re-examined by the GEIPAN. The file was considered consistent, with three witnesses and a precise description. The witnesses' sincerity and credibility were never questioned.

The investigation found that the phenomenon described (shape, size, colour) closely resembled the setting Moon. The Moon was indeed present in the part of the sky they were watching, yet the witnesses did not mention it. Their visual perception was not at fault; rather, the way they interpreted what they saw was shaped by surprise, tiredness, fear and driving at night. The case, of medium strangeness, is now classified A: a misidentification of the Moon.