SAINT-SATUR (18) 30.07.2020

On 30 July 2020 at about 21:15, 3 friends heading to the Loire riverbank saw an intensely bright white cigar-shaped object moving south until it was lost from view. No sound was heard, and they were puzzled. Another villager, outside their group, filmed it. Only 1 account was collected; the main witness included that other person's video in the submitted documents. GEIPAN investigated and confirmed an airliner explanation (see the investigation report). Only 1 object was seen, while Flightradar24 established an aircraft in view. Its shape fitted a fuselage, its white colour was common for an airliner and its brightness could result from reflected sunlight. Its straight path and constant speed also fitted. At the exact sighting time, an Airbus A320 from Roissy Charles de Gaulle to Monastir, Tunisia, occupied the correct azimuth. Its altitude and horizontal ground distance gave a viewing angle very close to the reported one. The aircraft was at 8,200 m. GEIPAN proposed that stable, relatively dry air and a temperature not cold enough for contrail formation, typically −40 to −45°C as stated in the source, could explain the lack of contrails. It addressed other unusual features: - Invisible wings could result from viewing angle, atmospheric scattering, distance, the relative positions of the Sun, aircraft and observer, and greater reflection from the cylindrical fuselage than from the wings. - Apparent sideways or crab-like travel was probably perspective, since it did not appear in the video. - Luminous balls near the end could be brief strong reflections from rows of windows, creating a rapid sweeping effect. However, the proposed mechanism allowed only 1 such movement whereas the witness described at least 2. - The large distance explained the absence of audible sound. GEIPAN classified the case A: the A320 flying from Roissy Charles de Gaulle to Monastir.