Sighting in Nieuil-l'Espoir, October 3, 2009

At around 9:30 p.m., a family saw several groups of bright, shining objects crossing the sky. The objects were round and moved quickly in a horizontal direction. No sound was heard during the sighting, which lasted between 6 and 7 minutes. Their glow then gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

The gendarmerie investigation determined that the objects were Chinese lanterns released during a birthday celebration. The person who launched them, a third witness, handed over a few photographs taken on that occasion. The family's description matches what Thai lanterns would look like. However, this third witness told the gendarmerie that the release took place at about 11:00 p.m., which does not match the time of the sighting. The data stored in the photographs nevertheless confirm a launch at around 11:00 p.m.

GEIPAN classified the case as B: the objects were probably flying lanterns.