Venus and aircraft lights mistaken for UFOs in Pantin, 1993

Summary

On 30 May 1993 a witness in Pantin watched from his balcony as a rectangular orange shape hovered for about 15 minutes before slowly moving away and vanishing. Later, at 4:30 a.m., he saw a white circular shape that remained in the sky until 6:00 a.m.

After review, GEIPAN attributed the first observation to the landing lights of an aircraft on night approach, whose intermittent red light and lack of noise matched the description. The second was identified as Venus, whose brightness and slow drift are common in partly cloudy skies. The witness, with no astronomical experience, maintained prolonged attention after the first sighting. Originally classified D, the case was reclassified as A.