HONTANX (40) 25.11.2020

On 25 November 2020 around 08:00, a witness entered her garden with its very open view. In the distance she initially thought she saw an aircraft but was puzzled that it did not leave an ordinary jet trail; instead it resembled an incandescent tail disappearing behind a cloud. She considered a meteorite but thought it too slow. She filmed the horizontally moving UAP. No other accounts were collected. She said she looked east, while the video shows right-to-left movement, interpreted as south-west to north-east. The church landmark and her position at the garden entrance give a bearing of 130° in Google Earth Pro. Video and sunrise analysis instead suggest about 115°, slightly north of the rising Sun at 117° (see the IPACO document). Small movements within the garden could change the bearing by several degrees, so GEIPAN adopts 120° ±10°. The video’s shape and colour suggest an aircraft contrail. Flightradar24 provides a possible candidate, Boeing 747 flight ATG9926, 115–130 km away and travelling south-west to north-east. GEIPAN notes that contrails can look striking under particular weather and astronomical conditions, especially at sunrise with unusual colours, shadows and lighting. Very humid air aloft favours persistent trails that spread irregularly with upper winds (see the contrail reference). The aircraft itself may be invisible because it is unlit or has moved much farther away, leaving a long-lasting trail. GEIPAN classifies the case A: condensation trail.