BRUAY-LA-BUISSIERE (62) 13.04.2020

On 13 April 2020 at about 16:20 in Bruay-la-Buissière (62), 2 witnesses on their balcony saw a white object like a large jellyfish move slowly and silently across the sky. It sometimes seemed to rotate, travelling straight before rising and disappearing. The witness felt it looked nothing like a powered craft or weather balloon. A photograph was taken, and only 1 account collected. GEIPAN's analysis found all reported parameters compatible with a small, lightweight piece of debris carried by the wind; see the report. Supporting features are an irregular, partly translucent shape, movement with the wind and compatibility with a modest-sized object even at 500 m distance. The photograph suggests a plain supermarket bag, such as a produce bag, or lightweight insulating material, such as bubble wrap or packing foam. GEIPAN classifies the case A: windborne lightweight debris.