GEIPAN Case 2019-11-50872 — VILLERS-LES-LUXEUIL (70) 26.11.2019

Brief

On the evening of 26 November 2019, a married couple driving separately from Vesoul observed first a white light near Saulx-de-Vesoul that rose vertically into cloud cover and reappeared within seconds, then a large dark triangular shape passing silently at low altitude over their village bearing a prominent white light forward and a fixed red light — estimated at 1.5 to 2 times the size of a Mirage 2000. GEIPAN investigators conducted site reconstructions, obtained CNOA radar data, and tested four candidate aircraft; both the Robin DR400/1B and Mirage 2000-5F hypotheses presented significant contradictions including timing discrepancies, the total absence of engine noise despite T1 opening his window, coloration inconsistent with known airframes, and angular size estimates far below witness accounts. Military and civilian drone hypotheses were eliminated on altitude and airspace grounds. The report was finalized five years after the event and carries classification D1.

Metadata

Agency

GEIPAN / CNES

Release

2007-03-22

Type

PDF • .pdf

Length

41 pages

Classification

Non sensible

Programs

GEIPAN

Tags

triangular UAP, silent, low altitude, white light, red light, France, 2019, D1 classification, near military airbase, Haute-Saone

Key points

• T1 observed a white luminous point below the cloud ceiling near Saulx-de-Vesoul that rose vertically into the clouds and reappeared above the village within 10 seconds — a behavior he judged inconsistent with any aircraft he recognized.p.2
• Both witnesses independently described a large dark triangular UAP over Villers-les-Luxeuil with a large white light at the front and a fixed red light, moving silently below an estimated 100 meters altitude at near-zero speed.p.2
• T1 stopped his vehicle, opened the windows, and cut the car radio to confirm the total absence of sound from the object.p.3
• Both witnesses resided near BA116 Luxeuil-les-Bains and were described as highly experienced lay observers of Mirage 2000-5F, Rafale, and large transport overflights — the base lying only 4 km from their home.p.5
• CNOA radar returned four aircraft in the 17:00-17:45 window; two were immediately eliminated; the Robin DR400/1B (F-HRGO) and four Mirage 2000-5Fs from a concurrent exercise remained as candidates.p.9
• The Robin DR400/1B hypothesis was contradicted by the aircraft's white-and-orange coloration, its airframe shape incompatible with the dark triangle described, and T2's perception of the object as stationary for 8-10 seconds.p.10
• The Mirage 2000-5F hypothesis was contradicted by a 10-minute gap between the Mirage's radar-confirmed presence (17:30-17:40) and the estimated sighting window, complete absence of sound, and angular dimensions far below witness estimates.p.12
• The military drone hypothesis (MQ-9 Reaper, RQ-4B Global Hawk under ZRT SUP AIP 299/19) was eliminated because the regulated flight levels FL490-FL550 placed any transit well above the 8/8 cloud ceiling below 3,000 meters.p.12
• Street light timing analysis placed the sighting at approximately 17:09 local time, confirmed by a return visit on the one-year anniversary (26 November 2020) when lights activated at 17:07 to the second.p.13

Verbatim

• Alors que mon épouse et moi-même rentrions de Vesoul après avoir récupéré un de nos véhicules en révision à la concession XXX, arriver à environ 3km de Saulx-de-Vesoul (70), mon regard fut attirer par ce que je pris tout d'abord pour une étoile, mais qui en fait en réfléchissant un peu demeurait impossible car l'objet était sous le plafond nuageux assez bas ce jour la.

  p.2

• La surprise était de taille. Silence total. L'objet semblait glisser dans l'air altitude probable moins de 100m vitesse casi nul.

  p.3

• j'étais comme elle un peu abasourdi par notre observation que je résumerais par un mot « INCROYABLE ! »»

  p.3

• C'était juste au dessus de moi pas très haut. Un triangle allongé à l'avant de la lumière blanche et derrière la blanche au milieu de l'engin une lumière rouge, au milieu il m'a semblée qu'il n'y avait rien et surtout aucun bruit de moteur.

  p.3

• Ma première impression que j'ai partagée avec mon mari et si c'était un nouvel appareil furtif à l'essais. Il allait lentement.

  p.4

• Le point lumineux est juste sous le plafond nuageux. « Comme une petite bille »

  p.5

• ma main (tendue) n'aurait pas suffi à cacher le triangle

  p.10

• Une note (SUP AIP 299/19- cf Annexe 8a) indique la présence d'une zone réglementée temporaire (ZRT) concernant un possible transit de drones militaires dans le créneau de dates suivant : 07/11/2019 au 06/05/2020.

  p.12

Most interesting

• T2 reported that the underside of the triangle appeared transparent in a way she could not explain — the edges were clearly defined but the interior was indistinct, and she could not see through it to the clouds above.
• The investigation spanned more than five years from first witness contact (December 2019) through follow-up chronology interviews (April-May 2022) to the final report (January 2025), a timeline that reflects GEIPAN's standard of methodological patience.
• Investigators returned to the village on the exact one-year anniversary of the sighting to time street light activation under identical solar geometry, confirming the lights came on at 17:07 to the second — an unusually rigorous approach to establishing an unrecorded event time.
• T1 produced a trajectory map hypothesizing the UAP moved linearly from Bouhans-les-Lure through Saulx to his home village, treating both observations as sightings of the same object — a personal interpretation the report flags as such.
• T2 noted the white light was approximately four times larger than the red light yet illuminated nothing — described in the report as a 'lumière fade,' casting no visible light on the surrounding environment despite its apparent size.
• The sighting occurred within 4 km of a major French air force base whose Mirage 2000-5F pilots, despite flying in the area that evening, reported no unusual phenomena to investigators or radar controllers.