Sighting in Sallanches, May 1, 2010

Around 5 p.m., several people inside an apartment noticed a black dot in the sky. It was stationary at first, then began to move without any sound being heard. One of the witnesses filmed it. The dot appeared in the west and disappeared toward the south.

GEIPAN noted that the account strongly suggested a lighter-than-air object drifting more or less with the local wind. The wind pattern that day seemed disturbed and complex: a north wind in Lyon, no wind in Grenoble, and a west wind in Geneva. The exact wind direction at Sallanches could not be established. A local association that runs hot-air balloon flights was consulted and had no flight under way at that time. The investigation considered a helium balloon released or lost by a private individual, or possibly an experimental airship. In the video, GEIPAN saw no green reflections on the object.

The case, ultimately judged not very strange, was classified B: a probable balloon sighting, although GEIPAN could not identify the balloon itself.