Silent cylindrical object reclassified as aircraft in Ollioules in 1981

Summary

On October 14, 1981, two witnesses in Ollioules watched a cylindrical object cross the sky silently for about a minute. They could not see any wings, which puzzled them. Initially classified as D, GEIPAN later reclassified it as B, concluding it was likely an aircraft whose wings were hidden by sunlight reflection given the relative positions of the sun and the observers. The trajectory also matched an air corridor near Marseille airport. A weather balloon hypothesis was considered but ruled out because wind data did not match the observed direction. The case illustrates how perspective, sunlight, and difficulty estimating distances can make a conventional aircraft appear inexplicable.