Deuil-la-Barre 2014, a misidentified aircraft sighting

Summary

In September 2014, a witness in Deuil-la-Barre (France) saw two blinking red and white lights approaching at night. The object turned right, and while the witness tried to photograph it, it disappeared. The description of an "aircraft" with flashing lights initially suggested an unusual phenomenon, but further analysis provided a simpler explanation. The blinking lights were so bright that they masked the weaker fixed green and red navigation lights, creating an optical illusion. Flightradar data showed that a Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 was performing a holding pattern near the location, likely waiting its turn to land at Roissy. This explains the unusual trajectory and the witness's confusion.