HALLES (LES) (69) 22.08.2014

On 22 August 2014 at 13:30, 2 witnesses saw several bright white points moving in the sky at an estimated distance of several kilometers. Only 1 account was collected. The attached Météo-France map shows little cloud and very light, variable wind. Southwest of Lyon, atmospheric conditions permitted aircraft contrails only between flight levels 357 and 416, or 35,700–41,600 ft. The many aircraft shown by Flightradar24 were lower, for example at 24,725 ft, and therefore produced no contrails. At least 5 high-altitude aircraft were present, without trails and probably reflecting sunlight intermittently depending on their positions. This unusual combination created the moving display of lights that surprised the witness. GEIPAN classifies the case A: sunlight reflections from airliners without contrails.