Sighting in Roques, February 21, 2016

Around midday, a driver was travelling on the Toulouse ring road, first on two lanes and then on three, in heavy traffic. Looking toward Toulouse, just above the roofs of a large store, they saw a saucer-shaped object that looked brown. They thought of an advertising balloon but could make out no markings on it. The object seemed to stay motionless for a very long time, then disappeared at high speed. The observation began at 11:55 a.m. Only one witness account was collected.

The easterly wind suggested an aircraft taking off from Blagnac into the wind and looping round to the south. GEIPAN examined the track of a Toulouse–Orly flight made in identical wind conditions, and it matched the three key moments of the sighting. First, the aircraft approached head-on at about 14° elevation and appeared stationary. Less than a minute later it crossed the A64 at about 30° elevation. About a minute and a half after that, it turned onto a north-westerly heading at 15° elevation. Seen head-on, an aircraft can look motionless, and its apparent speed increases once it moves across the witness's line of sight. The witness did not see wings, but an aircraft of the Beluga type seen from the front can resemble a saucer, and since the observation was not continuous, wings may simply not have been visible from the side.

In broad daylight, among many motorists, this witness was the only one to come forward, which weakens the strangeness of the case. The account is nonetheless consistent: the witness supplied a photo of the surroundings, taken afterwards, and made a statement to the gendarmerie. GEIPAN classified the case as B: probably an aircraft taking off, mistaken for an unknown object.