OUTREAU (62) 31.10.2016

On Monday 31 October 2016 at about 16:30, several people in a veranda in Outreau (62) watched 2 cream or white ovoid objects cross a clear sky. They gradually receded and were eventually hidden from view. Only 1 account was collected. The French summary describes straight-line movement and reflected sunlight. GEIPAN considers that the witness probably saw aircraft in an air corridor entering France west to east over Gravelines, 50 km away. Their motion would give the reported impression of passing above Boulogne and Saint-Léonard. At 16:30 the Sun was behind the witness, and some aircraft's orientation and heading allowed almost perpendicular, mirror-like reflection from their fuselages. Seen in this geometry, an aircraft can look ovoid and wingless because the wing visually merges with the fuselage. Aircraft at 10 km altitude and 50 km distance would appear around 10° above the horizon, apparently matching the UAP's position marked on the witness's photograph. Different speeds and distances could produce the impression of 2 parallel horizontal tracks traversed at different speeds. With aircraft lengths of 20–80 m, GEIPAN estimates angular sizes around 1/20 to 1/5 of the full Moon's, still sufficient to distinguish an ovoid shape. The witness did not live there and may have been surprised by a view of aircraft familiar to residents and neighbors, even if the particular sunlight reflections were fleeting. GEIPAN classifies the case as B: probable observation of aircraft.