The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 17-oct-54-Avanne.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In their book "Face aux Extra-Terrestres" of 1975, ufologists and journalists Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier reported on the basis of press clippings they did not specify and their personal file, that on October 17, 1954, at 9:30 p.m. in Avanne, in the Doubs, Mr. André Agnus, a Social Security employee working in Besançon, went to his parents-in-law, when:
"While I was out on the doorstep I saw that an intense gleam lit the valley, as well as a part of the right bank of river Doubs. One minute later, everything died out. I then saw at about 200 or 300 meters of me, and ten meters downwards, a machine which I had not distinguished yet. This machine took off at once, in my direction. It quickly rose, passed at a hundred meters above me. It flew then at 150 kilometers per hour approximately. It appeared to me as a disc of 3 to 4 meters in diameter, of which I did not distinguish the thickness. It rose while following the cliff's wall. I could follow it with my eyes for 10 seconds approximately."
According to the 1979 book of ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, there was an investigation into this case by local ufologist Jean Tyrode, and it remained "unidentified."
[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
Ufologist Charles Garreau and journalist Raymond Lavier report in their book, indicating newspaper clipping and personal files as sources, that on October 17, 1954, at 09:30 P.M. in Avanne, in the département of Doubs, Mr. André Agnus, an employee of the Social Welfare working in Besancon, went to see his step-parents, when:
"While I was out on the doorstep I saw that an intense gleam lit the valley, as well as a part of the right bank of river Doubs. One minute later, everything died out. I then saw at about 200 or 300 meters of me, and ten meters downwards, a machine which I had not distinguished yet. This machine took off at once, in my direction. It quickly rose, passed at a hundred meters above me. It flew then at 150 kilometers per hour approximately. It appeared to me as a disc of 3 to 4 meters in diameter, of which I did not distinguish the thickness. It rose while following the cliff's wall. I could follow it with my eyes for 10 seconds approximately."
Garreau and Lavier add that several other testimonys were gathered in the area, which confirm that of Mr. Agnus. They mention in particular a sighting in Fontain.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Avanne, in the department of the Doubs, on October 17, 1954 at 09:35 p.m., André Agnus was in visit at his parents-in-law, when, being on the step of the door directed East, in the direction to Besancon, he saw an intense light red-orange which illuminated all the top of the hill of Planoise and extended up to 400 or 500 meters from him, as well as a part of the slope of the right bank of the river Doubs.
He initially thought that this light might come from headlights of a car on the national road 83, but he did not see these headlights. At the end of 25 to 30 seconds, in the place of the luminous extent orange red, an intense white light appeared; which seemed to come from behind a cliff. After 5 to 10 seconds this light extincted in its turn.
He was then surprized to see, within 200 meters of him and 10 meters lower, a machine landed on the ground. The apparatus took off at once and approached him at a speed which he estimated to be of 100 or 150 km/h and passed at the vertical of his place of observation.
The duration of this observation was ten seconds. It was luminous without being dazzling. It appeared as a perfect circle presenting three definitely delimited different colourings, laid out in concentric zones of rays proportional to 1, 3 and 5. The central circle was orange, the one in the middle was pale green and the external crown was clearly yellow. He could not evaluate its thickness.
There was no modification during the observation. Then, he did not see anything any more, and returned in his parents-in-law home and share his observation with them. He went out again with his mother in law little afterwards. They then observed a large scintillating yellow star, going up and down in the sky, which he described as of pale green color.
Mr. Agnus' sister, who returned to her home towards 08:30 p.m., saw an enormous orange red ball which moved towards Planoise.
The source is said to be an investigation by Jean Tyrode in LDLN 101.
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| Nr of the J. C. Fumoux list | Nr of the Francat list | Localization | Date | Class | Credibility | Sources | Number of W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 099 | 227 | Avanne | 10/17 | CE0 | NI [= Unidentified] investigation J. Tyrode | 2-p. 181 | 5 W |
[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 227 CE1 | 17 10 1954 | 21.35 | Avanne | 25 760 B4 | NI, OVNI: p. l80 |
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4182: 1954/10/17 21:20 20 5:58:00 E 47:12:00 N 3333 WEU FRN DBS 7:A
AVANNE,FR:5 OBS:STRANGE GLOW:4M SCR ON GND TAKES OFF ^::FBL>>SW:/r230v2#5
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 180 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that on October 17, 1954 in France, in Avanne, in the Doubs, André Agnus gets outside on the doorstep towards 21.35: "I saw an intense gleam which lit the valley and part of the right bank of the [river] Doubs. One minute later all died out. I then saw at 200 or 300 meters from me and ten meters downwards, a craft I had not distinguished yet. This craft took off at once, in my direction. It quickly rose, passed at a hundred meters above me. It flew then at 150 km/h approximately. It appeared to to me as a disc of 3 to 4 meters in diameter from which I did not distinguish the thickness. It rose while following the wall of cliff, I could still follow it with my eyes during ten seconds."
The source is given as "GARREAU and LAVIER: 'Face aux extra-terrestres' - DELARGE 1975 - J'ai Lu, p. 35,36".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Doubs in Avanne Avenay, the witness "was that day visiting some in his stepfather and stapmother. At about 21:35, being on the doorstep directed to the East, to Besancon, he sees an intense red-orange light which illuminates all the top of the hill of Planoise and extends up to 400 or 500 meters from him, as well as part of the slope of right bank of the [river] Doubs. He thinks that this light can come from headlights of car on the N83, but it does not see these headlights. At the end of 25 to 30 seconds, in the place of the luminous orange red an intense white light appears which seem to come from behind a cliff; after 5 to 10 seconds this light dies out also."
"The witness then was surprized to see, within 200 meters of him and 10 meters lower, a machine posed on the ground. The apparatus takes off at once and approaches him at a speed which he estimates as 100 or 150 km/h and passes at the vertical of his observation spot. The duration of the observation is ten seconds. This object appeared as a circle of three to four meters in diameter and it was not possible to him to evaluate its thickness. It was luminous without being dazzling. It is appeared as a perfect circle presenting three definitely delimited different colourings, laid out in concentric zones of rays proportional to 1, 3 and 5. The central circle is orange, the middle one is pale green and the external crown is bright yellow. There is no modification during the observation. The witness does not see anything any more, returns to his in-law's and shares his observation with them. He goes outside with his stepmother little later. They then observe a large scintillating yellow star, going up and down in the sky. (the first witness saw it as pale green.)."
The sister of the first witness whom returns home towards 20:30, sees an enormous orange red ball which moves towards Planoise."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 17 October 1954 at 21:35 in Avanne, France, "an object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. An unidentifiable object was observed at close range on a farm (Agnus)."
The sources are indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541017 | 17.10.1954 | Avanne | France | 21.35 | CE I |
|
Figuet and Ruchon evoke a "Jean Tyrode investigation in LDLN 101"; there is no such thing in this issue of that magazine, but I cannot exclude that it appeared in a supplement. Jean Tyrode was indeed doing field investigations in this area at that time.
As for the phenomenon, it remains undientified to me.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Avanne, Avanne-Aveney, Doubs, André Agnus, intense, light, luminous, gleam, river, craft, machine, apparatus, slow, disc, multiple, circle, red, green, hovering, manoeuvre, orange, white, landing, concentric, ball, yellow
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | August 5, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 3, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 16, 2014 | A search on the web and in my documentation did not bring more information. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 2, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | December 13, 2019 | Additions [mft2], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
