Sighting in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, March 12, 2019

Shortly before seven in the morning, a witness was standing outside their home when a glowing light in the sky caught their attention. It moved in a straight line and made no sound. The object looked spherical and white, and was as bright as Venus. During the observation, the witness also saw an aircraft go by, leaving a trail and making noise. They went inside to fetch their camera and took 8 photos. The object then moved away and disappeared after one and a half minutes of observation. No other witness came forward.

GEIPAN rated the case as having low strangeness and good consistency: a single witness, but a fairly precise account backed by photos. The investigation concluded that the witness had definitely mistaken the International Space Station for something else. The description and photos fit this kind of misidentification closely: a bright white object, brightness comparable to Venus, and a duration consistent with an ISS pass. The ISS was also passing over at the time given by the witness, on a path matching that of the object. The timing is beyond doubt, because the airliner seen at the start of the observation was identified through a reconstruction on a virtual radar, which confirmed the time. The case was classified A.