HASNON (59) 05.04.2020

On 5 April 2020 at 12:55, a witness in his garden saw a white object cross the sky rapidly on a straight east-to-west path. He heard no sound and saw no trail. Only one account was collected. GEIPAN assesses the evidential support as moderate: there was one witness, no photograph and a very brief observation, but the information supplied was clear and relevant (see the investigation report). It assesses the strangeness as low, since this type of report is fairly common among the observations it receives. The significant features were the straight path, a round and fairly bright white appearance, the Sun behind the witness, and a moderate elevation of 20°. GEIPAN considers a strongly sunlit aircraft fuselage the probable explanation. Strong illumination combined with low elevation would make the wings difficult to distinguish. The aircraft was probably not high enough for the temperature, pressure and humidity conditions required to form a condensation trail. In this interpretation, the aircraft was probably relatively close, creating an impression of high speed. Even at that shorter distance, the wind would not have carried its sound toward the witness. The very brief observation probably prevented him from examining the details and identifying an aircraft. GEIPAN concludes that the observation probably involved an aircraft seen under conditions of sunlight reflection, no condensation trail, no audible sound and high apparent speed. It classifies the case B: probable observation of an aircraft.