A driver sees a black line and a flash in the sky

Summary

On September 7, 2014, a driver in Seine-et-Marne observed a horizontal black line in the sky, just above some typical airplane contrails. Immediately after, he saw a bright white flash. The witness lost sight of the phenomenon as he focused on the road. No other testimonies were collected. GEIPAN investigators note that this combination is common in a natural phenomenon known as "edge shadow," where a straight airplane contrail partially blocks sunlight. This creates a dark stripe visible to observers in certain positions.

The flash, according to the analysis, was likely a reflection of the sun on the aircraft, a common but rarely noticed occurrence unless attention is already on the sky. Although both phenomena occurred at the same time, they are not necessarily related. At that moment, there were several airplanes in the sky, increasing the chance of coincidences. The case was classified as B by GEIPAN, attributed to the contrail and its shadow effect. Although no photos are available to confirm, similar cases with images support this explanation.