Cussac close encounter
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 4
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Cussac |
The Cussac close encounter is a report by two children that on 29 August 1967, near Cussac in the Cantal region of France, they saw four small dark figures beside a shining sphere, which then rose and flew away. It was later investigated by GEPAN, the French space agency's UFO office, and remains debated.[1]
The report
A 13-year-old boy and his nine-year-old sister were watching the family's cattle when they said they saw four small, dark figures and a spherical object beyond a roadside hedge. The figures moved to the sphere, which became intensely bright and rose with a whistling sound before disappearing.[1] They told adults and the gendarmes, and the case was reported in the French press.[1]
Investigations
In April 1968 Joël Mesnard and Claude Pavy investigated for the civilian group GEPA and published the children's testimony with drawings.[1] In April 1978, more than ten years after the event, GEPAN, then directed by astronomer Claude Poher, carried out a retrospective investigation, interviewing witnesses and taking measurements. It interpreted the accounts as indicating the departure of an occupied vehicle of unknown type.[1]
Between 1983 and 1985 researchers Thierry Pinvidic, Bertrand Méheust and Jean-Pierre Grangeon re-examined the case and questioned some details, such as the duration and the descriptions, without agreeing on an explanation.[1] Skeptic Éric Maillot and others proposed a helicopter, combined with the effects of memory and publicity about other UFO reports, and in 2009 a Skeptical Inquirer article criticised GEPAN's methods in this and other cases.[1][2]
The report's release
GEPAN's 1978 report was released in redacted form in 2005 after efforts by researcher Grégory Gutierez, and in 2026 the Sign Oral History Project published an English translation.[1]
References
- Close encounter of Cussac — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- David Rossoni, Éric Maillot and Éric Déguillaume, Skeptical Inquirer (2009) (PDF) · skepticalinquirer.org · 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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