SCHILTIGHEIM (67) 05.06.2015

On 5 June 2015 at 21:10, a witness on a fourth-floor balcony saw 2 dark, round shapes in a clear sky. The first appeared fairly stationary, while the second seemed to move slowly in an arc around it. He filmed them for a prolonged period, then drove out to get closer but lost sight of them. Only one account was collected. The case page says the videos would be added later because of a temporary technical problem. GEIPAN finds that the recorded shapes strongly resemble 2 hot-air balloons, or possibly gas balloons, whose baskets could not be distinguished clearly from their envelopes at that distance. Radiometric analysis with the specialized IPACO software supports a two-part structure of balloon and basket. Trajectories partly reconstructed from the video and visible ground landmarks were similar, except that one shape lost angular elevation. At one point, these paths could create the witness's impression of one object circling the other. Both suggest objects carried by the wind, drifting steadily to the witness's left. The source considers their descent consistent with a regulatory requirement to land before nightfall (see the investigation report). The individual balloons could not be identified, but most features of the visual account and videos support this explanation. GEIPAN considers a departure from Kehl, or possibly Offenburg, likely: tourist-flight operators in that area were in the viewing direction and at a distance compatible with the balloons' apparent size in the video. GEIPAN therefore rates the strangeness as very low. Despite there being only one witness, the evidential support is fairly strong because the videos corroborate the observation and allow objective analysis. It classifies the case A: observation of hot-air balloons.