PAIMPONT (35) 31.05.2022

On 31 May 2022 at about 23:57, a resident of Paimpont (35) heard a deafening noise gradually approach his home. He first thought of a truck, then an aircraft, but the noise was unusually loud, like jet engines, and kept increasing. Intrigued, he went to the window and saw an object with 3 lights fly low over his house toward the southeast. The 3 white lights did not flash, and their spacing resembled that of a large cargo aircraft. Only 1 account was collected. What puzzled him was the lights' arrangement: an inverted triangle relative to the direction of travel, with the central light behind the 2 side lights. All 3 moved in a straight line as though attached to a single object. After losing sight of it, he continued to hear the low rumbling sound for at least about 10 seconds. The evidence is good: there was only 1 witness, but a video was available. The investigation identified a low-flying A400M military aircraft (see the investigation report). The French Air and Space Force's National Air Operations Center (CNOA) confirmed that the aircraft passed at the time, place and along the trajectory described. This explanation fully accounts for the unusually loud sound and the lights' arrangement, with 2 ahead and 1 behind. The A400M has 4 propellers and was flying low, producing a loud drone. Its landing lights also have the configuration the witness described. The case is classified A: A400M military aircraft.