LAVALETTE (31) 06.03.2015

On 6 March 2015, a witness was driving to work along the D112 near Lavalette (31). Around 08:30, near Le Grousset, he noticed a black ovoid object ahead in a completely clear sky, reflecting sunlight and apparently moving slowly. It seemed “roughly above the road,” with a small white trail extending horizontally from its base and a slight orange tint on one edge. After about 2 minutes he briefly looked away to reach for his mobile phone on the passenger seat. When he looked back, the UAP had disappeared. He had observed through the windshield. He slowed down and searched the surrounding sky without finding it. Only 1 account was collected. The UAP's appearance and movement fit a tethered solar balloon launched from a field to the witness's right (see investigation report). The main strangeness was its disappearance while he sought his phone to take a picture. GEIPAN suggests that had it remained visible, he would have recognized it and not reported it, and might have looked for and seen its operator on the ground. He probably missed the operator because he was searching the sky while driving. In this explanation, motorists following or coming the other way either missed the balloon or saw it descend and/or land, so found nothing strange. The witness reported other road users who noticed nothing. The account is well substantiated, with enough usable information. A photograph the witness took to reconstruct the scene could also be analyzed. It confirmed the fit with this balloon type, the possibility of operating one from the field and of the operator escaping notice, especially when a surprised witness searched the sky instead of the ground. The principal issue is whether the balloon could descend in 1 to a few seconds. It only needed to descend to the treetops to be hidden, and might not initially have been far above them. Such a descent could result from the balloon breaking apart or being forced down by a wind-driven, sail-like effect, termed an “effet spi” in the source. Given the close match in appearance and a possible explanation for rapid descent, GEIPAN classifies the case B: probable observation of a tethered solar balloon.