ANNECY (74) 26.07.2018

On 26 July 2018 around 04:00, two people beside Lake Annecy noticed white lights above Mont Veyrier. Six or seven points lit one after another in a line; the card summary specifies seven closely spaced points. After a few seconds they rose and disappeared. Only one account was collected. The investigation favors a group of aircraft flying in formation briefly toward the witness, with powerful landing lights the only features visible from a long distance. The Patrouille de France conducting night training was considered a possibility (see investigation report). Supporting details were: - Formation flight. - At least six UAPs. The source notes that the Patrouille de France can have up to eight or nine aircraft, sometimes fewer. - White lights, matching white or yellowish-white landing lights on the nose and landing gear of Alpha Jets, in service since 1981. - Silence, unsurprising if they were tens of kilometers away. - About 10 seconds of visibility, with sudden appearance and disappearance. Under the hypothesis, a turn brought the landing-light beams toward the observer for that interval, then another turn directed them away. The beams are visible only within a limited cone, and distance would hide both aircraft structures and other lights. The Patrouille de France's presence in that area at the time could not be established. GEIPAN classifies the case B: possible misidentification of military aircraft in formation.