[D16] DE MAGESCQ (40) VERS DAX (40) 22.02.2022

At noon on 22 February 2022, a motorist and his daughter were travelling on the D16 between Magescq and Dax (40). On a long straight stretch they saw something approach from the left that the driver described as an aircraft wing with part of its fuselage. He said it passed quite slowly in front of them. Initially partly hidden by pine trees, it crossed the road abreast of them and disappeared behind the trees again on the right. Because it was so low, he initially thought an aircraft was about to crash. GEIPAN finds low strangeness and a fairly good amount of reliable, objectively supported information: 2 witnesses, 1 fairly complete account and no photograph of the UAP. The investigation identifies a military aircraft; see the report. The description suggests an aircraft partly hidden by trees, observed in difficult conditions: only 5–10 seconds with a restricted field of view. Its large apparent size suggests proximity. A reconstruction of air traffic by CAPCODA confirms a military aircraft flying visually at low altitude, about 300 m, with a trajectory and time matching the UAP exactly. The aircraft was also making a series of turns along the witnesses' viewing direction. GEIPAN considers this a complete explanation of the unusual shape, with a vertical wing above the fuselage. Its angular elevation also matches the account exactly. The case is classified A: observation of a military aircraft. Under GEIPAN's criteria, the evidential assessment concerns the amount of information collected for an account that is considered reliable and objectively supported. CAPCODA is the French Air and Space Force's Air Centre for Planning and Conduct of Operations and Air Defence.