Witness observes luminous object in Le Cannet on August 1, 2011

Summary

On August 1, 2011, around 12:25 PM, a driver and his passenger noticed a bright object in the sky. The object appeared stationary before suddenly disappearing. The phenomenon lasted between 4 and 5 seconds. Brief luminous points observed during the day are usually explained by Iridium satellite flares or aircraft seen head-on. In this case, the Air Navigation Service confirmed that a Falcon 900 was approaching the Cannes airport exactly where and when the witness saw it. The observed light could have been from the aircraft's beacon or a sun reflection on the plane. When the aircraft turned to align with the runway, the witness was no longer in the line of sight of the light, making it appear to vanish. Witnesses often interpret the disappearance of luminous points—such as satellites entering Earth's shadow—as a rapid departure. Due to the identification of the aircraft as the source of the phenomenon, this case was classified as "A": perfectly identified.