Sighting in Saint-Menges, March 11, 1980

Around 9 p.m., under a clear sky, a driver was on the road with their young child when the child pointed out a light in the sky "like a star". It seemed to move closer and grew from the size of a coin to that of a plate, which frightened both witnesses. Panicking, the driver turned the car around, and the child said the point had turned red. The engine stalled and the vehicle's lights went out; the car only started again after several attempts. According to the witnesses, the phenomenon then passed over the vehicle and gradually moved away. No particular sound was heard. The witnesses went home, and the driver reported to the gendarmerie at 10:30 p.m. An on-site investigation from 11:40 p.m. found no marks on the ground or on the vegetation. No other witness came forward.

GEIPAN concluded that the witnesses had probably seen an aircraft, possibly a helicopter, heading toward them with its landing light(s) or searchlight on. This powerful light hid any other signalling; only a left navigation light was briefly glimpsed by the child. The absence of noise is not decisive, since it is unknown whether the windows were open, nor is the distance or the wind known. The phenomenon stayed low on the horizon and was probably still far away when the car turned. The stalling and the lights going out were attributed to stress, or possibly to the driver switching the lights off deliberately, a hypothesis with no concrete evidence. The red point seen again ahead of the driver was probably the planet Mars, in conjunction with Jupiter to the south-east, then hidden by a bank of mist. The two episodes therefore appear unrelated. Lacking angular, testimonial and photographic data, the aircraft hypothesis can be neither confirmed nor ruled out, but it is probable enough to be retained. The case is classed B: probable aircraft.