Sighting in Sallanches, November 17, 2024

During the night of 16 to 17 November 2024, a witness living in Sallanches noticed a red light at the summit of the Tête du Colonney. They assumed it was people lighting up the peak with flares, as is traditionally done on Saint John's Day. The red light then moved along the ridge on the east side. A white light replaced it and split into three separate points, which kept moving eastward. By the witness's estimate, the whole sighting lasted about five minutes: roughly two minutes of red light, followed by three minutes of white light.

GEIPAN rated the case as moderately strange with good consistency: there was only one witness, but the account was fairly precise, although no photo of the phenomenon was taken. A local paragliding club confirmed that three wingsuit flyers had made a night flight from the Aiguille de Varan to mark the full moon, using red flares and lamps inside their suits, which produced the white lights. The witness's description fit this unusual kind of event perfectly. The case was classified A: the sighting was of three wingsuit flyers who had jumped at night from the Aiguille de Varan.