Sighting in Villers-lès-Luxeuil, November 26, 2019

One evening in late November, a couple was driving home from Vesoul in two separate vehicles, one behind the other. Shortly after 5 p.m., the witness in the rear vehicle noticed a white light that seemed to move beneath the clouds. After about 15 seconds it rose vertically and vanished into the cloud layer, at an estimated distance of 10 to 12 km. Less than 10 seconds later it reappeared above the area. The witness tried to alert the other driver by flashing their headlights and phoning, but the other driver saw nothing.

Later, on arriving at the village, both witnesses saw, one after the other, a large black triangular structure almost stationary above the houses. It had a strong white light at the front and a steady red light. The first witness stopped the vehicle, switched off the radio and opened the windows to listen for any sound. The object glided slowly and silently, at an estimated altitude of under 100 m. The sighting lasted about 20 seconds; according to the second witness, the object tilted over on itself and then disappeared toward the north-northwest. No photos or videos exist.

GEIPAN considered the case consistent, though the two accounts are not fully independent. Three explanations were examined. A military drone was ruled out: the restricted zone planned for such flights implied altitudes of 14,935 to 16,764 m, which would not be visible to the naked eye from the ground under a fully overcast sky. A Robin DR400 landing at air base BA116 matched in trajectory, timing and lights, but not in apparent size, which was too small, nor in the dark triangular shape. A Mirage 2000-5F, from an exercise departing that base, fit the shape better, but there was a gap of about 10 minutes, an elevation of 14° instead of over 30°, a different size, and no noise, even though the witnesses were familiar with Mirages passing over. With no explanation found, GEIPAN classified the case as D1: unidentified phenomenon.