LIBOURNE (33) 04.03.2012

On 4 March 2012 at about 20:00 in Libourne (33), a woman driver and her passenger stopped at a stop sign saw 4 white lights move right to left several meters above the ground, outlining the corners of a rectangle. The lights disappeared at treetop height. No particular sound was heard. GEIPAN initially considered a windborne luminous object, but the westerly wind did not match the south-to-north movement. A check with military air traffic control found no aircraft explanation. A GEIPAN investigator visited at night, directly observed and recorded a phenomenon that could fully explain the sighting: oncoming car headlights reflecting on the railway overhead wires. The reflections traveled right to left and disappeared as the witnesses had described. GEIPAN considers it highly probable that they saw the same effect. The witness declined to meet the investigator to refine the inquiry. GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of car headlights reflected on railway overhead wires.