PIERREVERT (04) 10.06.2015

On 10 June 2015 at about 00:20, a person heard a low-pitched sound outside. From the terrace, the witness watched a flying object for about 3 minutes, making a sound like a lawnmower engine. It was circular and dark, surrounded by a fluorescent green halo. It traveled straight from west to east and disappeared into low cloud during stormy conditions. Only 1 account was collected. The green glow and lawnmower-like engine suggest a paramotor, a powered paraglider, flying at night with its canopy illuminated by a spotlight behind the pilot (see the example titled “Night flight with a headlight”). A paramotor club in Manosque said that, to its knowledge, night flying was not practiced in the area. The source describes such flights as tightly controlled and allowed by exemption in clear weather on nights near full Moon, referring to free-flight aviation regulations. Those conditions were absent: the sky was cloudy and the Moon at last quarter. Although a paramotor fits the description fairly well, the hypothesis cannot be confirmed and is considered extremely unlikely, though not impossible. GEIPAN classifies the case C: insufficient information and corroboration.