Sighting in Sallaumines, September 2, 2024

During the night, two witnesses were sitting on the south-facing terrace of their house, hoping to see the northern lights. One of them was taking photos with a phone when they noticed three black, triangular objects flying in a line, quickly and silently, toward the south-south-west. They immediately told the other witness, who first thought of geese. However, the silence, the speed and the orange colour of the objects led them to rule that out. The objects vanished behind a wooded hill at about 30° elevation. The main witness noted the objects' apparent altitude and size, which matched no flight recorded on Flightradar24. They made a visual reconstruction and sent GEIPAN photos taken before and after the sighting, as well as a photo of a fireball crossing the sky later that evening.

GEIPAN rated the strangeness and consistency as medium: there were two witnesses, but only one account, and no direct photo of the objects. Lanterns and fireballs were explored and set aside, since they fitted neither the account nor the facts gathered. The explanation retained was night-flying birds lit by urban street lighting. The triangular shape fits the bodies of birds seen in poor conditions, for only about three seconds, with little contrast against the sky and a small angular size. The orange tint could come from urban lighting reflecting off lighter parts of the birds. The grouped, in-line movement is consistent with birds. The witness's figures suit birds 10 to 20 cm long, flying at 15-20 m altitude at about 30 km/h, for example mallards or common teal, which are numerous there at that time of year. The area is also surrounded by wetlands, and birds could have been moving at night toward their roosts, perhaps disturbed by waterfowl hunting. GEIPAN classed the case B: probable observation of birds.