PETIT-QUEVILLY (LE) (76) 16.04.2014

On 16 April 2014 at about 21:30, a witness at home in Le Petit-Quevilly (76) saw 3 luminous objects moving in formation between the constellations Boötes and Virgo before disappearing. A few seconds later, he saw another UAP resembling an atmospheric entry. He estimated the total sighting at 30–50 seconds. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN judges the unusualness and evidential strength moderate, with a single witness but a precise report. The complex sighting is identified as misidentification of a particular group of Chinese military satellites, the Yaogan 17 trio; see the Investigation Notes. Their brightness, appearance, brief visibility due to a glint, trajectory and timing all match. The final, less unusual part could be either a meteor or the Iridium 40 flare that occurred over Le Petit-Quevilly that evening. GEIPAN considers the witness's interpretation of an unfamiliar satellite group and 2 closely occurring phenomena, rather than his visual perception itself, responsible for the unusual impression. The case is classified as A: misidentification of Yaogan 17 A, B and C.