Sighting in Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, July 18, 2024

In the evening, three members of the same family noticed a white, egg-shaped object in the sky, hanging motionless above the Arguenon bay. They were at the motorhome parking area near the pointe du Bay. One of the witnesses reported the sighting to GEIPAN with a detailed questionnaire and two original photographs of the object.

The case showed low strangeness and good consistency: several witnesses, one precise account and two photos. The photos made it possible to place the object relative to the witnesses, using its azimuth and angular height. A radar analysis from the CNOA (Centre National des Opérations Aériennes) and a reconstruction on Flightradar24 showed that a light aircraft, a Jodel D-20, was at that position when the pictures were taken, with a time difference of about 2 minutes. That gap could come from a discrepancy in the internal clock of the phone used for the photos.

The white color matches the look of such an aircraft. The object was between 19 and 39 km from the witnesses, which explains why its shape could not be recognized: at that distance the wings were not visible. GEIPAN classified the case A: sighting of a light aircraft.