BURNHAUPT-LE-BAS (68) 24.11.2024

In the early evening of 24 November 2024, a witness on the first floor of his home in Burnhaupt-le-Bas (68) saw unusual lights in an almost completely dark sky. He was looking toward the eastern horizon and the Black Forest in Germany. Initially, 4 lights were aligned. One went out while he briefly left to fetch a recording device. On returning, he saw 2 new lights to the north, left of the original view. The account then describes one intense, apparently stationary source and 2 other lights rapidly converging on it before going out simultaneously. He focused on the remaining apparently stationary light behind a grove. Video analysis showed that this white light was moving: slowly northward to the left, then reversing southward to the right. After passing the grove's azimuth, it continued on a steady, almost horizontal path until disappearing. There was only 1 witness, but prompt reporting, usable video and active cooperation enabled precise information collection. The phases before filming were less well documented, though plausible contextual explanations were proposed. Technical analysis unambiguously identified the recorded phenomenon, giving the case very good substantiation. Under GEIPAN's criteria, this means the amount of information considered reliable and objectively established in an account. An aircraft was the favored explanation for the main recorded phenomenon, despite the witness's familiarity with normal traffic at Basel-Mulhouse International Airport, a few tens of kilometers away. Detailed comparison of the video and Flightradar24 tracks showed a perfect match. An approaching aircraft followed a path that reproduced the strong white light's apparent movements from the witness's location. The match was both spatial and temporal; the phone's synchronized clock allowed precise comparison with flight records. Two other aircraft in the area also explained the 2 moving lights that abruptly went out in phase 2. The 4 aligned horizon lights in phase 1 probably came from snow groomers at Windeck-Hinterzarten ski area. Near Feldberg, the Black Forest's highest point at 1,493 m, this resort had opened its 2024–2025 season on Friday, 22 November 2024, 2 days before the event. Phase 3 was used to classify the case. GEIPAN assigned Category A: an aircraft approaching Basel-Mulhouse Airport.