Trans-en-Provence case
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 4
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Trans-en-Provence |
The Trans-en-Provence case is a reported UFO landing on 8 January 1981 near Trans-en-Provence in the Var department of southern France. It is notable because the French government's UFO study office, GEPAN, investigated physical traces at the site with laboratory analyses and was unable to find an explanation.[1][2]
The report
At about 5 p.m., farmer Renato Nicolaï, aged 55, was working on his land when he heard a faint whistling sound. He said he saw a lead-coloured object, shaped like two saucers placed rim to rim and about 2.5 metres across and 1.5 metres high, with a ridge around its edge and two "feet" or protrusions beneath, land about 50 metres away. It lifted off almost immediately at speed, leaving circular marks on the ground. Nicolaï first suspected a military test from the nearby Canjuers army base.[1][3]
Investigation
The gendarmerie interviewed him the next day, photographed the site and took soil and plant samples, and the case was passed to GEPAN, the unit of the French space agency CNES that investigated unidentified phenomena. GEPAN's analysis reported that the ground had been compressed by a weight it estimated at four to five tonnes and heated to between 300 and 600 °C, found traces of phosphate and zinc, and reported that nearby alfalfa plants had chlorophyll levels 30 to 50 percent lower than expected. After a two-year investigation with the gendarmerie, GEPAN found no plausible explanation.[1][2][4]
Criticism
The police report suggested the marks could be tyre tracks, since a track crossed the site and vehicles were passing at the time, and critics noted that the marks were two overlapping semicircles rather than a full circle; GEPAN rejected this because of the witness's account. Skeptics have questioned the reliability of the plant measurements and the reliance on a single witness.[1][5]
References
- Trans-en-Provence case — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "France opens up its UFO files", New Scientist (2007) · newscientist.com · archived copy
- "UFO Casebook: 1981", NICAP · nicap.org · archived copy
- Jim Wilson, "When UFOs Land", Popular Mechanics (2001) — Google Books · books.google.com · archived copy
- Rossoni et al., Les ovnis du CNES (2007, extracts) · zetetique.fr · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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