SAINT-LAURS (79) 12.06.2013

On 12 June 2013 at 08:40, a witness and his son on their terrace in Saint-Laurs (79) heard repeated detonations and saw a dark oval object whose rear brightened with each bang. It crossed the village in a straight line and disappeared behind an agricultural building. Only 1 account was collected. Weather data showed overcast conditions, generally low cloud, a light wind broadly from the south and moderate visibility; see the investigation report. GEIPAN judges the evidential strength low: the account lacks precision, detail and information essential for further study. Only 1 eyewitness submitted an account, with no photographs or video. The sighting might be unusual, but its gaps prevent a reliable assessment of its unusualness. The gendarmes proposed a helicopter. After examining that hypothesis through the remote investigation, GEIPAN could not clearly confirm any explanation, particularly without angular-size information. It acknowledges that it did not process the case quickly enough to check the air traffic in time. The case is classified as C: the substantial lack of information and corroboration prevents a sound conclusion.