DAX (40) 11.12.2018

The account is dated Tuesday 11 December 2018. After watching a television film, a witness listened to music while looking at stars in a clear sky. At 01:30 he noticed a light, then 3 UAPs: 2 white ovals and 1 black triangle. They passed rapidly and silently and disappeared behind a neighbouring building. The sighting lasted between 30 seconds and 1 minute. Only 1 account was collected. The case analysis could not establish an explanatory hypothesis at this stage because the account was imprecise (see the investigation report). The drawings do not suggest any particular known phenomenon, leaving considerable apparent strangeness. Cloud conditions on the sighting date could not be confirmed. The witness also contradicted himself about when he took photographs of the surroundings: initially the day after the sighting, later after 18 December 2018. Despite follow-up requests, he left several clarifying questions unanswered: - Which film had he watched? This could resolve the date. The account suggests the night of 10–11 December but might mean 11–12 December, since he referred to Tuesday while describing the preceding evening. His first email said, “I saw three UFOs on Tuesday evening, it was 1:30.” According to Toutelatele’s schedule, W9 broadcast a UFO-themed evening of “Au cœur de l’étrange” on 11 December. GEIPAN notes that this might have influenced him. - He said that the “Shepherd’s Star” was very bright and “reflected on the black triangle; otherwise I would not have seen it.” GEIPAN considers the phrase ambiguous. The object he called the Shepherd’s Star, more likely Sirius in this case, could not directly reflect on the black triangle in the manner described, being a distant celestial body, though it might aid visibility. Asked to clarify, he did not reply. The objects following one another could suggest a group of sky lanterns, but their shapes and trajectory relative to the wind are wholly inconsistent with that explanation. A reflection from electrical equipment is another possibility because the witness was at a window. However, his opening the window during the sighting is strongly inconsistent with a reflection. On 12 February 2019, he contacted GEIPAN again about a sighting by Irish pilots that he considered identical. This concerned several airline pilots’ early-morning observation over Ireland on 9 November 2018, reported by La Dépêche among others. GEIPAN considers that event strongly suggestive of a fireball because of its speed and description, and unlike the Dax case. The two cannot therefore be established as similar. The case is quite unusual but has weak evidential strength: 1 witness, no photograph of the UAP and an imprecise account. It cannot be identified for lack of reliable data. Despite the witness’s apparent sincerity, unanswered questions after several follow-ups and uncertain dates prevent more detailed assessment or preference for any explanation. The case is classified C: insufficient reliable data to explain it.