GAILLAC (81) 05.12.2015

At 17:55 on 5 December 2015, a motorist and his son in Gaillac (81) saw a stationary yellow-orange light as bright as Venus for 1 minute. They heard no unusual sound. The witness looked away, and the phenomenon was gone when he looked back. GEIPAN considered several possible origins for a large point of light lasting a minute. A CalSky check found no candidate for a sunlight reflection from an Iridium or other satellite. For a reflection from an aircraft's fuselage or wings, GEIPAN stated that with the Sun less than 7° below the horizon at that time, an aircraft would need to be above 15,000 m to remain sunlit. An aircraft seen head-on with forward lights on was the remaining explanation. Flightradar showed a flight departing Carcassonne directly in the viewing direction at the precise time. It probably took off with its lights on, then either the pilot switched them off after reaching sufficient altitude or the witnesses moved out of the light beam. GEIPAN explains that the head-on geometry, with the witnesses also moving in their vehicle, made the light appear stationary for 1 minute. Afterwards its weaker navigation lights against a still somewhat bright sky could escape their notice as they searched for a strong light. GEIPAN classified the case A: observation of the forward lights of flight RYR 1761.