Cigar-shaped lights in the Cher department

Summary

In August 1987, three witnesses in the Cher department reported a luminous phenomenon in the night sky. Two described an intense white cigar-shaped light, while the third saw two bright lights accompanied by a flashing red one. Although they agreed on the direction, their descriptions differed substantially. The lack of angular measurements and possible mutual influence between the witnesses complicated interpretation.

GEIPAN reviewed the case decades later and considered a plausible explanation to be an aircraft in an unusual flight phase, whose navigation lights could account for the white and red colours observed. However, the reported absence of noise and the shape described by some witnesses left doubts unresolved. Insufficient objective data led to a C classification.