METZ (57) 17.07.2015

On 17 July 2015 at 22:30, 5 people in Metz (57) saw a round orange object near a storm cloud. It left after 10 minutes, returned and disappeared again. Fighter aircraft were seen at the time. Mobile-phone photographs were unusable. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN considers the strangeness chiefly due to the witness unconsciously linking the UAP observations with 2 known phenomena, the storm and fighter aircraft. It finds no evidence of a link beyond occurring at the same time and place; see the investigation report. The account has little evidential substance, with few recorded, usable details and poor nighttime viewing conditions. Some features suggest 2 sky lanterns, but concrete information is insufficient to conclude. The case is classified C.