Sighting in Saint-Haon-le-Châtel, May 21, 2004

Two witnesses were coming home from an evening out, at around 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning, when one of them noticed a light in the sky that was blinking while it moved forward. Both then watched it follow varied paths, climbing and descending. As it came closer, they could make out several lights of different colors arranged around a dark, triangular mass. They heard a dull engine noise. The phenomenon passed low overhead and then moved away toward the mountains.

The witnesses first told their story to a UFO association and to the press, and were later summoned by the gendarmerie. GEIPAN re-examined the case, originally classified D. Some data are missing: angles, height above the horizon, the size of the phenomenon, and the exact position of the colored lights. Some details also seem contradictory. Even so, several key parameters point to a mistaken identification of a small touring aircraft flying at night under visual flight rules: Roanne airport, approved for night VFR flights, lies close to the line of sight; the phenomenon headed toward other airports on the far side of the mountains; the engine noise resembled that of an airplane or helicopter; and the three colors (red, green, yellow) match aviation regulations.

The points against this explanation, such as a blue light, changing lights or irregular movement, are not enough to rule it out. They may be explained by the small involuntary eye movements that occur when staring at a point of light at night, or by unreliability linked to the witnesses' emotional state and the circumstances of their testimony. The testimony has low consistency. The case was classified B (probably an aircraft), bordering on C.