HONFLEUR (14) 1980

Summary

On August 19, 1980, a group of young people in Honfleur observed a luminous object slowly moving and swaying in the sky. The object, which was light-colored, had a rounded and bright upper part. It was moving north-south at an altitude typical for tourist flights. Suddenly, the object caught fire and fell abruptly, leading witnesses to believe it had crashed nearby, though they could not pinpoint the location. The gendarmerie found a part of the object stuck in a tree. The debris revealed it was a hot-air balloon made of silk paper and wire, built by an amateur. However, the owner was never identified.