VERTUS (51) 07.09.2012

On 7 September 2012 at 21:00, 4 people saw a point of light approaching slowly and silently through the dark sky. As it changed course, they could make out a dark, rounded shape. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN considered the light's low position above the horizon suggestive of a low-flying aircraft and requested checks from military air traffic control. The attached radar tracks indicate low-altitude traffic between 21:23 and 21:25 in the witness's viewing direction, between Morangis and Brugny, coming from the west in an area with no airfield. The source notes that times on the radar record are in Universal Time. The low altitude and winding route indicate a helicopter. However, the witness reported observing between 21:00 and 21:10, with the object departing westward, whereas the radar tracks show movement from the west. These tracks therefore do not match the sighting, although they demonstrate aviation activity in the area. GEIPAN suggests that a similar flight or circuit might have occurred 20 minutes earlier, too low for radar detection. The available radar tracks begin at 21:00; if the sighting occurred shortly before then, that activity would not have been recorded. GEIPAN notes that silence is unsurprising for a helicopter observed from 10 km away. Given this information and the uncertainties, GEIPAN classifies the case B: probable observation of a helicopter. It considers the event only slightly unusual and therefore not sufficient to justify a field investigation.