PERTUIS (84) 13.10.2014

On 13 October 2014 at 20:50, a witness looking northwest watched an orange light for 10 seconds. It came from his right (see his sketch), turned 90° towards the east, became stationary, then rose vertically and disappeared. He noticed no sound or trail. He reported a south-southwesterly wind of 10–20 km/h. Weather records from Marignane instead show a light southerly to southeasterly wind. Flightradar lists no airliner passing north of Pertuis that matches the start of the observation. GEIPAN considered a sky lantern near the end of its burn, since the orange light might have moved with a southwesterly wind. Its first change of direction might reflect a weakening burner causing descent; the later impression of recession might actually have been the flame going out, interpreted as an apparently constant light source moving away. However, GEIPAN considers this hypothesis too weak to retain: the wind direction is uncertain, with variable winds, disagreement between the witness and Marignane records, and the nearby Luberon mountains; the sighting occurred on a Monday, unusual for lantern releases; and the final path was complex. Without photographs, video or another account, GEIPAN lacks information to continue the investigation and classifies the case C for insufficient information.