Sighting in Mulhouse, August 15, 2024

Two witnesses were standing in the street in front of their home to watch a fireworks display when, at around 10:45 pm, they noticed a luminous object in the sky. It consisted of two steady red lights on either side of a flashing green light. At first it hovered motionless above the roof of a neighbouring house. Then it suddenly picked up speed and quickly vanished, hidden by that roof. The whole sighting lasted about five minutes. One of the witnesses took six photographs during the motionless phase, before the object disappeared.

GEIPAN rated the case as of medium strangeness and good consistency: there were two witnesses, but only a single testimony, and photographs existed. The description and the object's appearance in the pictures resemble a drone. Its colours are typical of those used in aviation and on drones, and the stationary phase followed by a rapid movement fits a drone's flight capabilities. The sighting took place just before the fireworks that closed the town's fun fair, a very good occasion to fly a drone. The town hall could not confirm this explanation, since no request to use a drone had been made, but it did not rule out that a private individual had flown one. The case is classified B: probable sighting of a drone.