GAUCHY (02) 20.07.2013

At midnight on 20 July 2013, a witness and his wife in Gauchy (02) noticed that a streetlamp was out. They then saw a craft pass silently, with 5 red, orange and white lights underneath rotating clockwise. It traveled southwest to northeast at low altitude and a steady, slow speed. The lamp came back on as it moved away. The observation lasted 10 minutes. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN considered an aircraft approaching to land, which can be relatively quiet and has various lights: flashing red anti-collision lights, white strobes, and steady white, green and red lights. However, no major airfield is nearby, and the report was processed too late to obtain radar tracks. This hypothesis could not be checked. The north to northeast wind recorded by Météociel opposed the observed path, ruling out a windborne object in GEIPAN's analysis. The apparent association with streetlights going out is intriguing but unproven. Without precise supporting evidence beyond the account, GEIPAN classifies the case C: insufficient information.