Sighting in Solliès-Pont, June 11, 2020

In the evening, two children playing on a trampoline were startled by a loud, jerky noise. They then saw a large, round, black object with flashing red lights and white lights pointing toward the ground. The children described and drew a great many red lights, seven on the drawing. The object paused for about two seconds above them, then quickly disappeared. The mother of one of the girls heard the same noise but did not see the object. The next day, one of the children and the mother gave statements to the gendarmerie; the other child chose not to make one.

GEIPAN rated the case's strangeness and consistency as medium: several witnesses, but only one visual witness interviewed, an imprecise description, and no photo or video. It concluded that the object was probably a military helicopter that had been misidentified. The noise resembled that of a helicopter, and the gendarmerie confirmed that several helicopters were flying in the area at the time, although their flight plans could not be consulted. At dusk, a helicopter's shape cannot be made out, and military aircraft are often dark in colour. The red lights could match navigation or anti-collision lights, but their number seemed excessive for that. The two white lights are consistent with searchlights, even though such aircraft usually carry only one. Observation conditions were poor (obstacles, darkness, only a few seconds), and a low-altitude helicopter flyover is uncommon. The case was classified B.