ANGOULEME (16) 15.08.2009

On 15 August 2009 at 13:15, a witness in his garden in Angoulême (16) saw a matt-brown ovoid shape cross the sky straight from east to west towards Cognac. No sound was heard and no other account was received. The witness ruled out an aircraft or helicopter, but air-traffic control could not verify those possibilities because GEIPAN received the gendarmerie report late. Other hypotheses for this unusual case included very nearby objects: a rugby ball, a clay target, a Frisbee or a model aircraft. GEIPAN found them inconsistent with the account because the phenomenon passed clearly above the rooftops. Atmospheric entry of a meteorite was also considered during a period of strong meteor activity around the Perseid peak, but could not be verified without further accounts. With no substantiated explanation, the case is classified D: a strange to very strange phenomenon with moderate to strong evidential substance.