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ALSACAT:

ALSACAT is my comprehensive catalog of UFO sighting reports in Alsace, the region is the North-East of France, whether they are "explained" or "unexplained".

The ALSACAT catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file. A general index and thematic sub-catalogs give access to these Alsatian case files.

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Case of Muhlbach-sur-Munster, on December 11, 1980:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1980-12-11-MULBACHSURMUNSTER-1

Summary:

The ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #215-216 of May - June 1982 published an investigation of a member of the ufology groups GHREPA - SAHR on a phenomenon seen in the Haut-Rhin near Munster on Friday, December 12, 1980.

The witness had called the local ufologist after having obtained his phone number from the Munster gendarmerie.

On December 13, 1980, the ufologist went to see this witness, Mr. Henri Poussel, 49-year-old, married, with two children, residing on Chemin du Mittelberg in Mulhlbach-sur-Munster, commercial executive in photography, who had been a non-commissioned officer in the Air Force for 20 years as a secretary and had flown 4000 hours in about 8 years on all types of sailplanes, including in competition, which meant that he was a "glider and airplane instructor".

He told the investigator:

"This Thursday, December 11, after storing my vehicle in a garage in the village, I walked home. I closed the gate, put my suitcase on the ground and locked it. That's when my gaze was attracted to a bright spot in the sky, resembling a large star, at about 45°. It had a brilliance greater than a star. It was growing, as if this bright spot was descending, rather quickly. I said to myself: could it be a satellite, a fireworks rocket coming down towards me?... Then it reached the size of half a full moon, off-white in color. There was diffraction of this light and emission of small rays, very very short, always off-white in color. It seemed to descend and grow in size as it came towards me. I said to myself: it's a descending plane with its landing light on which is going to land in Colmar. But there is sudden disappearance of this light. And almost at the same time I had the impression that there was only a mass (for a very very short time), illuminated below. I then saw numerous luminous dots, red, green, white, fixed, which seemed placed regularly. Most of them were red in color. There was no noise. The place is very quiet."

In answer to questions, he indicated that he estimated the altitude of the luminous mass at 1000 or 2000 meters maximum, the speed between 300 and 500 km/h maximum approximately.

The witness continued:

"Before this luminous mass disappeared behind the ridge of the roof of my house, I heard a noise, very short (2 to 3 seconds) which resembled between a distant, reduced jet engine noise, or a displacement of air made by a glider, soft and powerful, while being modulated once (sound rising and falling). To keep this phenomenon in sight, I moved to the right, one foot in the snow. (After question:) This mass has always had a straight trajectory. The silence was total. No traffic on the road below, no barking dogs (After question:) I still wanted to believe this was a plane. But it was not possible, otherwise it would have veered left to land on the Colmar-Houssen airfield, and there were too many lights. At constant speed, this phenomenon passed to the left of the "Petit Ballon" mount. I still saw several lights, mostly red ones. Then I saw a pulsating red light, which seemed far above the other steady lights."

"I didn't have time to take my binoculars or call my wife who was sleeping, because I was afraid I wouldn't see this phenomenon again if I got home."

The investigator noted that the time of sighting was around 10:15 p.m. - 10:30 p.m., this being an estimate because the witness did not look at the watch. He had left the city of Strasbourg at 9:05 p.m. in his CX vehicle, the distance from Strasbourg to his home was 87 km, with very little traffic that evening. The sighting had lasted one to two minutes.

He indicates that the weather was cool with temperatures between 0°C and -1°C on the ground, with a few cirrus clouds at 7,000 meters altitude, a weak West - South - West wind at altitude (20 to 25 knots) and zero wind on the ground. A few stars were visible, the moon was not visible, the excellent visibility was of 15 km.

The investigator gives angular sizes, for the white light seen from afar: n° 2 to the comparator; for the closest seen white light n° 5 to the comparator; for the ten lights: between 1 and 2 on the comparator. He deduces that it could correspond to an "object" of about 9 meters in diameter seen at closest, estimating it at 1000 meters high or about 12 meters by estimating it at about 1500 meters altitude.

About the colors, he gives for green "Green" in the Pantone color chart, for red: "Vivid, very bright + 206 in the color chart."

The investigator reports that there were no street lights in the immediate vicinity.

He comments that the witness seemed to him particularly sincere, this idea being confirmed by the observation, made the same evening and at the same time, 40 km instraight line from this place, to the south, investigated by the GHREPA of Guebwiller. He notes that moreover, due to his former profession, the witness has the sense and the habit of observation and evaluation.

He explains that the witness, after seeing this phenomenon, on returning home, wanted to look at the time, but he did not do so and cannot explain why.

He explains that the witness "does not believe in UFOs but was persuaded to see some bizarre phenomenon one day or another (sic)."

He adds that the witness is a keen photographer, who reads very little outside of photo magazines, who has seen the film "Star Wars", that he is in excellent health, has very good eyesight, though wearing glasses to read.

The investigator concluded:

This observation cannot be the fruit of the imagination and be confused with an airplane whose sound (which is always behind the apparatus) could not be perceived. In any case, current known flying objects do not have so many lights. Moreover, the trajectory followed by this phenomenon (N.N.W. S.S.E. trajectory) does not match the air corridors taken, and no military flight took place that evening.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: December 11, 1980
Time: 10:15 p.m.
Duration: 1 to 2 minutes.
First known report date: December 13, 1980
Reporting delay: Hour, 1 day.

Geographical data:

Department: Haut-Rhin
City: Muhlbach-sur-Munster
Place: Outside near home.
Latitude: 48.029
Longitude: 7.707
Uncertainty radius: 200 m.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 1
Number of known witnesses: 1
Number of named witnesses: 1
Witness(es) ages: 49
Witness(es) types: Executive, photograph, sailplane instructor.

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: To the Gendarmerie then to local ufologist.
Type of location: Outside near home in mountain village.
Visibility conditions: Night.
UFO observed: Yes.
UFO arrival observed: No.
UFO departure observed: ?
Entities: No
Photographs: No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es): No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): No.
Witness(es) feelings: ?
Witnesses interpretation: Not a plane, not a star.

Classifications:

Hynek: NL
ALSACAT: ?

Sources:

[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

Scan.

GHREPA SAHR investigation

Phenomenon in the Haut-Rhin near Munster and Mulhouse

On Friday December 12, 1980, a person who saw an unusual phenomenon the night before, telephoned me. My contact details had been communicated to him by the Munster gendarmerie, which I would like to thank in passing for their excellent collaboration.

The next day, December 13, I went to see this witness.

NAME: POUSSEL Henri.

AGE: 49 years old, Married with two children

ADDRESS: Chemin du Mittelberg in MUHLBACH near MUNSTER (68)

OCCUPATION: Commercial executive in photography (was for 20 years a non-commissioned officer in the Air Force as a secretary, but above all, had approximately 4000 flight hours on all types of aircraft, and more precisely sailplanes. What he practiced especially during eight full years, in competition. Possesses among other things the qualification "of sailplane and plane instructor").

DATE OF OBSERVATION: Thursday, December 11, 1980

TIME: Around 10:15 pm - 10:30 pm (unconfirmed - the witness did not check the time. He had left the city of Strasbourg at 9:05 p.m. in his CX vehicle. Distance Strasbourg home: 87 km - very little traffic that evening).

LOCATION: MUHLBACH, and the mountain of the "Petit Ballon" (altitude: 1267 m).

Michelin map n ° 87 - Fold 17-18, or IGN 1 / 50,000 map sheet 36.19).

WEATHER: Cool weather - temperature between 00 and -1 ° on the ground. Some cirrus clouds at an altitude of 7000 m. Weak West - South - West wind at altitude (20 to 25 knots) zero on the ground. Some stars visible. Moon not visible (BW on the 15th). Excellent visibility (15 kms).

Observation time: One to two minutes.

THE FACTS:

"This Thursday, December 11, after parking my vehicle in a garage located in the village, I walked home. I closed the gate, put my suitcase on the ground and locked it. It was then that my gaze was drawn to a bright spot in the sky, resembling a large star, at about 45°. It had a brightness greater than a star. It was growing, as if this luminous point was descending, rather quickly. I was thinking to myself: would it be a satellite, a firework rocket coming down towards me? ... Then it reached the size of half of a full moon, off-white in color. There was diffraction of this light and emission of small rays, very very short, always off-white in color. It seemed to descend and grow larger as it came towards me. I said to myself: it is a plane in descent with its landing light on that is going to land in Colmar. But there is a sudden disappearance of this light. And almost at the same time I had the impression that there was only one mass (for a very, very short time), illuminated below. I then saw many luminous dots, red, green, white, fixed, which seemed to be placed regularly. Most of them were red in color. There was no noise. The place is very peaceful. (A.0) I estimate this luminous mass at 1000 or

18

Scan.

[Map caption:] MAP OF THE SITE OF THE PHENOMENON OBSERVED by M. Poussel on December 11, 1980
in MUHLBACH near MUNSTER (68)

2000 meters maximum altitude at a speed between 300 and 500 km / h approximately maximum.

Before this luminous mass disappeared behind the ridge of the roof of my house, I heard a noise, very short (2 to 3 seconds) that sounded between a distant, reduced engine noise, or a displacement of air made by a glider, soft and powerful, while being modulated once (sound rise and falling). In order not to lose sight of this phenomenon, I moved to the right, one foot in the snow. (A.Q.) This mass has always had a rectilinear trajectory. The silence was total. No traffic on the road below, no barking dogs (A.Q.). I still wanted to believe this was an airplane. But it was not possible, otherwise it would have turned to the left to land on the Colmar-Houssen field, and there were too many lights. At constant speed, this phenomenon passed to the left of the "Petit Ballon" mountain top. I still saw several lights, mostly red. Then I saw a pulsating red light, which appeared high above the other steady lights.

I did not have time to take my binoculars or to call my sleeping wife, because I was afraid that I would never see this phenomenon again if I entered home".

(A.Q. = after question)

FURTHER DETAILS:

Sizes of the phenomenon:

- White light seen from afar nr 2 on the comparator
- White light seen up close: nr 5 on the comparator.
- The ten lights: between 1 and 2 on the comparator.

Which could give: an "object" of approximately 09 m in diameter seen as closely as possible by estimating it at 1000 m high or approximately 12 m by estimating it at approximately 1500 m altitude.

- No street lamp in the immediate vicinity.
- Lights colors:
- Green: Green in Pantone color chart
- Red: Vivid, very bright + 206 in the color chart

REFLECTIONS: the witness seems particularly sincere to me. This idea is supported by the observation, made the same evening and at the same time, 40 km in straight line from this place, to the south (see survey below carried out by the GHREPA of Guebwiller). Moreover, because of his former profession, the witness has a sense and habit of observation and evaluation.

After seeing this phenomenon he wanted to check the time on his way home. He didn't and can't explain why.

The time given by the witness agrees with WITTELSHEIM's testimony.

Mr POUSSEL does not believe in UFOs but was convinced to see a bizarre phenomenon one day or another {sic)

He's a keen photographer, reads very little (if not photo magazines), saw the movie "Star Wars". Has very good eyesight. However, wears glasses to read. Seems to enjoy excellent health.

CONCLUSION

This observation cannot be the fruit of the imagination and be confused with an airplane whose sound (which is always behind the craft) could not be perceived. In any case, the current known flying objects do not have as many lights. In addition, the trajectory followed by this phenomenon (N.N.O. S.S.E. trajectory) does not match the air corridors taken, and no military flight took place that evening.

19

Discussion:

Map.

A determining element is that this observation agrees rather well with that of Wittelsheim the same day at 22:31. Wittelsheim is located in straight line 28 kilometers south-south-east of the place of this observation, not 40 kilometers as indicated in the investigation report in [ldl1].

Another element is that this witness had contacted the Gendarmerie brigade of Munster; no Gendarmerie report on this observation has yet been published, but this may be the case in the next few years. In those years, local ufologists and local Gendarmes collaborated willingly; a few years later, following possible leaks about radar traces linked to an observation in the Haut-Rhin, a memorandom asked the Gendarmes to no longer communicate with ufologists. The collaboration will resume with the GEIPAN around 2007, under conditions of discretion as to the identities of the witnesses.

The sighting itself is vaguely reminiscent of an airplane, the witness himself thought about it; but as the sighting progressed, he considered it implausible. This is also the case in Wittelsheim's observation, one giving credence to the other.

Evaluation:

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

File history:

Authoring:

Main author: Patrick Gross
Contributors: None
Reviewers: None
Editor: Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version: Create/changed by: Date: Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross August 27, 2022 Creation, [ldl1].
1.0 Patrick Gross August 27, 2022 First published.

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This page was last updated on August 27, 2022.