Sighting in Morières-lès-Avignon, April 9, 2023

A witness sent an email to a CNES staff member, who passed it on to the GEIPAN, describing an object in the sky that looked to them like it was falling and melting. The witness had not filled in a technical questionnaire, but the GEIPAN exceptionally took the case on because of its unusual nature. It was reviewed at a participatory meeting, where investigators share their ongoing cases, and a simplified report was written. The witness supplied photos.

Analysis of the image suggested sunlight scattered on an aircraft's condensation trail. The observation took place at 07:04, the time of sunrise, which readily explains the orange, molten look. The investigation showed that an aircraft crossed the line of sight at around 07:04:45, exactly matching the witness's first photo. It was British Airways flight BA54 from Johannesburg to London, an Airbus A380-841 flying at more than 12,000 m and over 800 km/h on a heading of 349°.

The GEIPAN concluded that the witness had seen the contrail of a large airliner, and classified the case as A. The perspective effect of a receding flight path gave the impression of a falling object, and the light of the rising sun made it look like it was on fire. With its 80 m wingspan and four engines, the aircraft also left an unusually wide contrail, which added to the strangeness and made identification harder.