NIMES (30) 14.10.2015

On 14 October 2015 at about 01:25, a witness awoke to a deafening outdoor noise. Through his bathroom window he saw a white sphere of light make 2 large circles while gradually receding. No other account was collected. GEIPAN requested a traffic check from military air-traffic control. The attached radar track shows an aircraft circling north of Nîmes. The supplied information identifies a military aircraft on a concentric track between 23:14 and 23:22 at flight level 105, approximately 3,000 m, performing an operationally required manoeuvre before continuing its flight. GEIPAN explains that the aircraft’s bright lights dazzled the witness, leaving only a luminous ball visible rather than its generally dark military fuselage and wings. The case is classified A: fully identified military aircraft.