ANGERS (49) 12.06.2014

On 12 June 2014 at 22:15, a witness in Angers (49) saw and photographed 2 orange luminous phenomena. GEIPAN finds the images strongly suggest aircraft contrails brightly lit by the setting Sun. The Sun had set at 21:57, less than 20 minutes earlier, and was almost 3° below the ground observer's horizon. At 10,000 m, described in the source as the minimum cruising altitude of medium- and long-haul flights, it remained visible. The aircraft were receding northwest toward the sunset. A trail parallel to Earth's surface can appear vertical when viewed from below at a shallow angle; the source refers to “Des traînées d'avion étranges.” Because the 2 parallel trails turned together, GEIPAN favored 2 military aircraft over airliners, but could not obtain the necessary records in time to settle that distinction. It classifies the case B: observation of aircraft condensation trails.