Incident · 28 January 1994 · Near Paris, France
Air France flight 3532 sighting
Also known as AF 3532, Air France 3532
On 28 January 1994, the crew of Air France flight 3532, captained by Jean-Charles Duboc, reported a very large object near Paris. A radar track recorded by the air defence network at the same time crossed the flight's path, but GEIPAN found it inconsistent with what the crew described.
The case was studied by France's COMETA group and by GEIPAN, the official French UAP office, and remains unexplained. Duboc described it at the National Press Club in Washington in 2007; his account is listed below.
Sources: National Press Club (2007) · GEIPAN case 1994-01-01345
Facts and claims
- claimed The crew of Air France flight 3532 reported a very large object near Paris. Duboc says the sighting coincided with a radar track at the French air defence centre; GEIPAN found the track temporally coincident but inconsistent with the visual observation. France's COMETA group and GEIPAN studied it and it remains unexplained. — Jean-Charles Duboc Source: National Press Club - November 12th, 2007. UFO Close Encounters at 15:43
- documented GEIPAN's case file records that the captain and copilot saw a brown or dark red disc that changed shape and suddenly vanished, while a 50-second unidentified radar track crossed the flight's path and disappeared at the same moment. GEIPAN classifies the case D1, unexplained and of medium consistency, but notes that the testimony came three years late, the steward never gave a statement, and the radar track is inconsistent with the object observed. Source: GEIPAN case file: « AF3532 » Coulommiers, 28 January 1994
- documented Météo-France found in 2012 that a sounding balloon crossed the aircraft's path an hour earlier, too early to explain the sighting. GEIPAN keeps an unknown optical phenomenon or a drifting balloon envelope as possible but unprovable explanations. Source: GEIPAN case file: « AF3532 » Coulommiers, 28 January 1994
Connected files
Documents
- GEIPAN case file: « AF3532 » Coulommiers, 28 January 1994 (documented in)
Events
Organizations
- GEIPAN (CNES, France) (investigated by)
People
- Jean-Charles Duboc (witnesses)
Official records (PURSUE)
- 255_413270_UFO's_and_Defense_What_Should_we_Prepare_For — 255_413270_UFO's_and_Defense_What_Should_we_Prepare_For (subject of)
Videos
- France 3 report on the Air France 3532 sighting and its radar trace, with Jean-Charles Duboc (30 March 2007) (subject of)
- National Press Club - November 12th, 2007. UFO Close Encounters (discussed in)