Sighting in Pont-Sainte-Maxence, April 5, 1976
Oise, Hauts-de-France, France
Sighting on April 5, 1976 in Pont-Sainte-Maxence (Oise, France). GEIPAN identified the phenomenon with certainty: it was a hoax (class A).
What happened
Three days after the events, the press alerted the gendarmerie that a witness claimed to have seen a UFO around 9 p.m. near a sports field. At the spot indicated, the gendarmes found several patches of burnt grass and the charred stump of a tree.
In their statement, the witness described a light that alternated between white and red after a puff of smoke. They also gave the dimensions of an aluminium-coloured object hovering above the stream, and said they heard a faint whistling sound. The observation lasted five minutes.
The gendarmerie investigation established that the marks had been caused by firecrackers set off by several people. The witness eventually admitted never having seen any craft, and said the journalists had given them the dimensions of the object. GEIPAN classified the case as A: a hoax.
Account rewritten by SkyUnknown from the investigation report published by GEIPAN (CNES). The original text and case documents are on the official record.
- Date
- April 5, 1976
- Location
- Pont-Sainte-Maxence · town centre
- Type of sighting
- From the ground
- Source classification
- A
- Explanation
- Hoaxes
Sources
- See the original document
GEIPAN (CNES)
n° 1976-04-00297
Summary written by SkyUnknown from the facts published by the source.