DOMONT (95) 18.03.2013

A witness in Domont observed 5 orange and white lights for over 1 hour above a building opposite his home. Through binoculars, he described a UAP as an orange fruit on fire. He called the gendarmes and showed them the balls appearing and disappearing, and took several photographs. The images he posted online strongly resemble aircraft landing lights seen head-on. GEIPAN tested this using the Google Earth file DOMONT (95) 18.03.2013 triangulation.kmz: - Analysis of IMG_0873.jpg against Google Earth gives 86.28° for the most elevated distant light source, yielding a reciprocal azimuth rounded as 86° + 180° = 266°. - Approach 27R follows azimuth 266° on the aeronautical charts: AIP France CDG, AD2 LFPG IAC 13, page 36 of 1306_AD-2.LFPG Charles de Gaulle.pdf. - In Img_0873_FNA27R.jpg and Google Earth, the line between runway 27R’s landing point and the witness passes exactly midway between the 2 buildings. - Likewise, a line through the 3 lights in IMG0873 meets the horizon exactly between those buildings. GEIPAN therefore identifies the photographed lights as aircraft approaching Roissy. Images IMG_0546, 547 and 549 similarly show a departure from 09R/27L. Images IMG_0688, 689 and 690 show departure from 08L/26R together with a take-off from 09R/27L, the latter described as a light aircraft lifting off well before the runway end. The case is classified A: several airliners approaching or departing Roissy-CDG. The source adds background on Paris CDG runway use to maximise airport capacity. Outer runways 08R/26L and 09L/27R are preferably used for arrivals; inner runways 08L/26R and 09R/27L for departures. Segregated parallel operations use parallel or nearly parallel instrument runways simultaneously, one exclusively for approaches and the other for departures. Two active parallel runways may also be selected for simultaneous landings, simultaneous take-offs, or landing on one while an aircraft departs the other. GEIPAN reiterates class A: aircraft observation.