Sighting in Wintzenheim, August 21, 2021

At 15:12 one afternoon, a witness driving a car noticed something odd in the sky to the east-northeast: a very elongated white bar, like a long stick, that seemed motionless. The witness first thought of a glider or an airplane, but could make out neither wings nor a tail fin. They managed to take two photos within two seconds before the object vanished behind buildings. The witness turned the car around to look for it but did not find it.

The GEIPAN rated the testimony as having good consistency: a single witness, but a very precise one, with photos to support the account. The hypotheses considered were a hovering airship, a drone above a nearby stadium or car park, or an aircraft flying very low, such as a small touring plane or a helicopter. The CNOA map showed air traffic in the area at that time, including a helicopter belonging to an aerial work company, flying at low altitude at between 77 and 99 knots.

The strangeness came only from the missing wings and tail fin. The Sun, about 48° high toward the southwest, was to the witness's right and slightly behind them, which could have caused intense reflection on the cockpit, the rear of the aircraft or metallic surfaces. The CNOA confirmed it was a small helicopter. The GEIPAN classified the case as A: a helicopter strongly lit by the Sun.