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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 between Duttlenheim and Griesheim, on November 3, 2008:

Case number:

ALSACAT-2008-11-03-DUTTLENHEIM-1

Summary:

On November 5, 2008, the webmaster of the Alsatian ufology association SPICA published an observation report, asking if there were other witnesses, for an observation of November 3, 2008 at 07:05 p.m., on the highway between Duttlenheim and Griesheim near Molsheim, as they were driving towards the Vosges.

SPICA indicated that five witnesses in a car had observed on their left side a plane in landing approach, and they thought that behind this plane, there was another aircraft waiting to land. But it did not move, and during the observation, it did not move relative to the stars that were in the sky.

There were three white lights, very intense, brighter than the plane's landing lights during landing. These three lights were placed in a triangle, and in the center there was a blinking red light.

It was not "very high", so that the witnesses even wondered if it could have been some streetlights and some red light like on a construction site or something of that kind.

The witnesses were unable to stop before being at the level of Mutzig, where they no longer saw anything. Also when returning to Strasbourg, they saw nothing that resembled what they had seen on the earlier trip.

SPICA specified that these witnesses were not familiar with that route.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date: November 3, 2008
Time: 07:05 p.m.
Duration: ?
First known report date: November 3, 2008
Reporting delay: Hour, 2 days.

Geographical data:

Department: Bas-Rhin
City: Duttlenheim. Griesheim-près-Molsheim
Place: From a car driving between Duttlenheim and Griesheim, UFO low.
Latitude: 48.514
Longitude: 7.552
Uncertainty radius:

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses: 5
Number of known witnesses: ?
Number of named witnesses: 0
Witness(es) ages: ?
Witness(es) types: ?

Ufology data:

Reporting channel: Local ufology group SPICA.
Type of location: From a car, driving, UFO low.
Visibility conditions: Night
UFO observed: Yes
UFO arrival observed: Yes
UFO departure observed: Yes
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, mabe streetlights and a signal red light.

Classifications:

Hynek: NL
ALSACAT: Possible plane.

Sources:

[Ref. rnc1:] "RESEAU NATIONAL CIVIL DE SURVEILLANCE DU CIEL":

11/03/2008 - 7:05 p.m. - Bas-Rhin (67) - Triangle

Testimony filed by Spica57 on 05/11/2008 on the SPICA Forum.

Direct Link: http://www.spica.org/sujet-ovni-ufo-463024.php

Title: Call for witnesses

Citation: 03/11/08 at 19:05

Location: on the highway towards the Vosges, between Duttlenheim and Griesheim near Molsheim

Facts: Five witnesses in a car observed on their left a plane in landing phase and they felt that behind there was another aircraft waiting to land, but it did not move.

Throughout the observation it did not move relative to the stars that were in the sky.

There were three white lights, very intense, brighter than the airplane's landing lights during landing. These three lights were placed in a triangle and at the center there was a red light that was blinking. It was not very high, witnesses even raised the question whether it could be street lights and a red light of some sort (possibly a construction sign or something like that). Witnesses were unable to stop before the height of Muteig [sic, probably Mutzig] where they no longer see anything. Also returning to Strasbourg, they did not see anything that might resemble what they observed on the other way.

The witnesses do not commonly use this road.

Thank you for contacting us.

The webmaster

[Note: the "direct link" to www.spica.org/sujet-ovni-ufo-463024.php does not bring up, or does not bring up anymore, the report cited here.]

[Ref. spa1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "SPICA":

City Date and hour of observation General shape
Identification
General color
Hypothesis
Conclusion
DUTTLENHEIM Monday 3 November 2008 at 19:05 triangular
Unidentified
white
None
Unsolved -lack of info

Discussion:

Map.

Map.

The witnesses were thus on the A352 highway "between Duttlenheim and Griesheim", on the blue line on the above map. This portion of the highway is about 2 km long. They were driving "towards the Vosges" and stopped at Mutzig, thus to the left on the map.

Note the Entzheim airport landing strips at the red dot on the upper left.

Photo.

The highway on this portion is generally a couple of meters below the height of the surrounding terrain, and sometimes bordered with small trees, except at the end at the approach of the Dorlisheim and Molsheim exit

I found no permanent installation of the ground that would have produced the described lights (no soccer field with projectors for example.)

Unless the phenomenon was not really at ground level or near-ground level like the witness thought, it must have been straight ahead of the car.

Logically, they saw the arriving plane ahead and the phenomenon was also ahead, "behind" the plane in landing approach.

The description immediately suggests that the phenomenon was also a plane, also in landing approach, maybe appearing a bit differently, and further away than the first plane.

But much information is missing:

Just before the Dorlisheim exit, there is a high power line pylon. This pylon might have had a blinking red beacon at its top as it is practically in the airway to the Entzheim landing strips:

Pylon.

It would have been in average at 275° (West) from the witnesses going West. Stars could make the lights in triangle around it. But the witness would have driven on right next to it and could not have seen it as fixed relative to the stars; and they would probably have identified a pylon by driving next to it:

Pylon.

Evaluation:

Possible plane.

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 November 29, 2014 Creation, [rnc1].
1.0 Patrick Gross November 29, 2014 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross June 11, 2015 Addition [spa1].

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This page was last updated on June 11, 2015.