Sighting in Vélizy-Villacoublay, September 15, 1986

The witness was walking to work at about 7:30 a.m. when they saw about ten identical green lights in the sky. The lights moved horizontally from east to west, all together and without making any sound. The witness was surprised by the sight. Only one account was collected, sent to GEIPAN by email in February 2008, more than twenty years after the event.

These features (green colour, horizontal path, silence, several synchronised lights) suggested either an atmospheric re-entry or a fragmented bolide. Searches of existing databases and the Internet for the date given by the witness turned up nothing. When GEIPAN widened the time frame, it found closely matching observations made in Germany, France and the Benelux countries at around 7:30 a.m., but on 23 September 1986. The Paris-area press reported them the next day, and Libération mentioned about fifteen points of light. Specialists in atmospheric re-entries and astronomers concluded that the phenomenon was a fragmented bolide.

GEIPAN considers that the witness got the date wrong while remembering the time correctly. The account also refers to a press release issued after the 23 September sighting. The case was classified A: the witness saw a fragmented bolide entering the atmosphere.