Witness observes unusual maneuvers of an aircraft with an escort

Summary

A witness in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region observed an aircraft performing a U-turn in the sky, closely followed by another object positioned between its left wing and tail. Air traffic control confirmed it was an Airbus A350 from Airbus Industrie, undergoing a test or demonstration flight, performing atypical maneuvers with two loops over the Pyrenees before landing in Toulouse. The object accompanying the aircraft was a smaller plane, a Corvette, tasked with aerial photography. The position of this aircraft, to the south of the Airbus, was ideal for capturing photos and videos relative to the sun. Although the main aircraft was flying at around 10,000 meters, the accompanying craft was likely much higher to observe from above. The GEIPAN classified this case as "A", indicating a certain observation of a large aircraft on a test flight, accompanied by a light aircraft conducting photographic work.