VILLENAVE-D'ORNON (33) 02.01.2020

On 2 January 2020 at 07:50, a witness looked through his open window and saw a stationary light north-northwest, around 40° elevation and described as about 20 cm from a nearby stone pine in his view. The reference distance for this centimeter estimate is not specified. It twinkled brightly, changed toward red and appeared slightly larger than a planet. The observation is described as lasting about 5 minutes; around 08:00 he then saw it move east in a straight line at an airplane-like speed. The case has good evidential strength under GEIPAN's criteria, meaning the quantity of information considered reliable and collected for an account, despite only one witness and no photographs or video. Three possibilities were analyzed: Capella, an airplane and a helicopter. Capella was excluded because the light was described as brighter than Venus and 27° lower than Capella. A final eastward movement of about 50° over a short time also conflicts with a star. An aircraft fits the account. The investigation favors a helicopter because of the red light. In the geometry considered, an eastbound airplane should instead have shown a green right-wing position light. The details fit a helicopter following the N-EA air route and turning east. GEIPAN classifies the case B: probable observation of a helicopter.