Sighting in Vacqueriette-Erquières, August 11, 1981

At around 1 a.m., a witness driving a tractor in a field noticed red and white balls of light flashing in the sky. At first they were stationary, then they began to move slowly from north to south. Panicking, the witness went home, where they could still see the lights.

The gendarmerie investigated but found no other witnesses and no physical traces that could explain the phenomenon. GEIPAN recently reviewed the file and judged it weak: there was only one witness, the account was brief and taken several days after the event, no field investigation was carried out, and the description of the phenomenon was imprecise. The witness's sincerity and credibility were never questioned.

The phenomenon shares a few features (duration, shape, colour) with the Moon, possibly hidden by clouds. The Moon was in the sky at the time, but the witness did not mention it. However, the account lacks the detail needed to confirm this explanation. Some aspects also resemble light phenomena linked to stormy activity. Fatigue after a long working day and the panic the witness felt may have significantly affected their perception or memories. Because of the lack of reliable data and corroboration, this case of medium strangeness is classified C.