Sighting in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, August 2004

The witness was riding as a front-seat passenger in a vehicle on the motorway, near the exit for Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. Through the windscreen, they saw nine white lights pass by, seeming to outline a large dark mass. The whole thing followed a straight path. The witness reported the sighting to GEIPAN in March 2015, and the exact date of the events remained uncertain: the witness placed it between 20 and 25 August 2004. Only one account was collected.

The investigation relied on the Moon as the witness described it: full, high in the sky and to the right of the motorway. Sky charts point to an observation on 26, 27, 28 or 29 August. GEIPAN noted that the appearance and behaviour of the phenomenon suggest an aircraft flying low with all its lights on, preparing to land. The spot lies very close to the aeronautical reference point OGREN, used as a marker for approaches to Marignane aerodrome, 50 km away, and aircraft at medium or low altitude pass there very often. Focused on the powerful landing lights, the witness may have overlooked the weaker flashing lights. Such a mistake is surprising from a witness who had worked in aviation, but people do not have the same reference points and reflexes outside their professional setting.

This aircraft hypothesis could not be verified, given the uncertainty about the date and the delay of more than ten years between the events and the report. GEIPAN classified the case C, for lack of sufficient information.