VILLEMOMBLE (93) 11.02.2013

In the Villemomble (93) case catalogued as 11 February 2013, a witness repeatedly saw yellow lights to the southeast appear, move slightly and disappear. GEIPAN explains that this direction corresponds to where aircraft arriving from the south line up with Orly's runway in westerly or northwesterly wind; see the map. Highly directional landing lights are visible only when aircraft face the witness. At 20 km, red and green position lights and even flashing lights cannot be distinguished. He saw the phenomenon repeatedly in January and early February with west or northwest winds, but not on 12 and 13 February, when northeast or south winds meant approaches from the west. The source directs him to an air-traffic website to identify aircraft in real time. The case is classified B: probable airliners approaching to land.