MONES (31) 02.10.2023

On 2 October 2023 at 05:17, a resident of Monès (31) opened his terrace door and, with his wife, observed a particularly bright elongated shape travelling silently in a straight line towards Lombez (32). GEIPAN assesses the amount of reliable information in this case as moderate: although there were 2 witnesses, only 1 completed the witness questionnaire (QT), and no photographs or videos were supplied. Under GEIPAN's criteria, this assessment concerns the quantity of information considered reliable that has been collected for an account. Analysis of charts supplied by the French Air and Space Force centre identified in the source as the National Space Operations Centre (CNOA), together with FlightRadar24 data, enabled GEIPAN to demonstrate that the witnesses had observed an airliner: an Air Austral Boeing 77W, flight REU975 from Saint-Denis (974) to Tarbes (65). See the investigation report. The aircraft's east-to-west track closely matches the UAP's east-southeast-to-west-northwest direction. Its passage over the witnesses coincides with the observation time. The elongated shape is consistent with an aircraft seen moving across the observer's line of sight, especially as the Boeing 777-300 is the largest model in the B777 series. GEIPAN explains the reported absence of sound by the aircraft being in descent, at reduced speed, and by the east-southeasterly wind not carrying its sound towards the witnesses. The strong brightness was probably due to the landing lights being switched on a little before the regulations required them. T2's depiction of lights around the outline very probably represents brightness spread across the shape, rather than individual lights in a strict sense. GEIPAN adds that, if the UAP had not been this aircraft, it would be surprising for the witnesses not to have mentioned the aircraft in their accounts, since the analysis showed that it was very conspicuous. The case is classified A: a very probable observation of an airliner.