Sighting in Ongles, August 30, 1980

At about 1:30 p.m., a witness was out on a round, driving their vehicle, when they noticed a brighter patch in the sky. Looking up, they saw above the car what they called a gigantic, rectangular craft, matt gray-gold in color. On its left side they made out two rows of black dots, and at the front a yellow and red triangle; another triangle appeared on the right side. The witness estimated it covered between half a hectare and a hectare, at roughly 100 to 150 meters above the ground, and said it blocked out the sky. The object seemed to follow the car whenever it slowed down, sped up or changed direction, and the driver lost sight of it several times. A 6-year-old child in the back seat gave the same description and drew a picture in which the object extended beyond both sides of the car roof. The witness also said they saw it above a wood beside the road. The child was the last to see it, above the village, as the driver was putting the car in the garage. The object then vanished suddenly, without any particular direction.

No other witness came forward to the gendarmes, even though the sighting took place in daylight, probably lasted quite a while and covered several kilometers. No known meteorological, astronomical or aeronautical phenomenon accounts for the description. GEIPAN nevertheless regretted that the investigation was too limited: no independent sketch, no reconstruction of the route, no angular measurements, and little detail on the disappearances and reappearances or on how the object looked against the sky or clouds. The child's account added nothing decisive and was gathered under unknown conditions, so it did not make the story more reliable. The case was classified C: lack of reliable information.