Bluish oval light spotted in the Landes region

Summary

Just before dawn on May 5, 1983, a driver in the Landes region saw a bluish oval light roughly four to five meters long. It moved at high speed without sound or trail, circling before climbing northward toward Pau. Alarmed, the driver stopped the car and noticed radio interference followed by a loud thunder-like boom. The sky was clear, the air heavy, with a light southerly wind. Another truck driver may have witnessed the event, but only one testimony was recorded.

Originally classified D, GEIPAN later reassessed the case and concluded it was likely a fireball. The thunder-like sound fits such phenomena, and although the reported dimensions seem exaggerated, fireballs up to fifteen meters in diameter have been documented. The final classification was B.