[D217] DE GRESSWILLER (67) VERS MOLLKIRCH (67) 19.04.2019

In the early afternoon of 19 April 2019, a driver carrying 4 passengers was traveling at about 70–80 km/h on the D217 toward Mollkirch (67). There was forest to the right of the road and a large open meadow to the left. While driving, he saw what he described as an “aircraft hovering” in the clear sky for several seconds. It looked “like an airplane seen from behind,” fairly close to the treetops beyond the meadow to the left, at an estimated distance of 7 km in the direction of Rosenwiller (67). Vegetation very quickly obscured the UAP. Only 1 account was collected. The evidence is of moderate quality: there were several witnesses, but only 1 account and no photographs or video. The investigation found that this was probably an airliner sighting (see the investigation report). A Flightradar24 check showed 2 aircraft passing over the observation area at low altitude at times that could match the sighting. However, only flight TVS3443, a Boeing 737 landing at Strasbourg airport, matched the UAP's characteristics: it passed a few kilometers to the southeast, at a low angular elevation relative to the landscape. The perceived strangeness concerned its size (“the aircraft was enormous, the size of a B777 airliner”) and its apparent lack of movement. A Boeing 737 is shorter than the B777 the witness used as a reference, but size estimates depend heavily on estimated distance. GEIPAN therefore considers a B737 compatible with the witness's description of an “enormous B777-type aircraft.” The apparent immobility can be explained by a pivot effect relative to the landscape used as a reference, since the witnesses were traveling in a car. The aircraft was also moving slowly because it was landing: about 150 knots, or approximately 278 km/h. The observation was fairly brief, at 30 seconds. The case is classified A: airliner sighting.