Sighting in Veyre-Monton, December 25, 1978

At about 4:30 pm, three people watched an object fall from the sky. It was round or oval, smooth and luminous, more than a metre across, and showed several colours. It caught fire as it hit the ground.

The gendarmerie investigated at the site. They found patches of scorched earth and several pieces of debris: a spring, an aluminium plate, and a rolled-up, burnt piece of insulating tape ("chatterton"). On the strength of these remains, GEIPAN concluded without any doubt that the object was man-made. Its exact nature could not be established, whether a gondola, a balloon or a kite. It was most likely an amateur experiment. The case was classified A: the observation of a falling human-made object.