ALSACAT-1977-07-22-STECROIXENPLAINE-1
The French ufologist Michel Figuet had included in his catalog a UFO sighting of the "close encounter" type of July 22, 1977, at 10:30 p.m. in Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine, France.
NICAP, a ufology group in the United States, indicated for this case that it was a "disc, 18 meters in diameter, bowl shaped, with a dome"; which hovered 50 meters above d a house in "Croix-en-Plaine" in France at 10:30 p.m. Rays coming from the UFO had converged on the roof of the house.
Both said it comes from the ufology magazine "Lumières Dans La Nuit" of December 1979. This is the primary source of this case, in the form of an investigation report by Jacques Journot.
Following another investigation relating to phenomena which occurred over the Vosges and towards Colmar on October 10, 1978, he learned that the wife of Mr. Haegelin from Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine, one of the witnesses of the sightings of October 10, 1978, had herself seen something intriguing in 1977.
He visited her on December 10, 1978.
He learned that the date of the observation was Saturday July 22, 1977, date confirmed because the next day the witness was going on vacation.
It happened in Saint-Croix-en-Plaine, between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., on a clear, nice day, with the stars visible.
The witness, Ms. Monique Haegelin, 37 years old at the time of the sighting, told the investigator:
"Like almost all people, I walk my dog (7 year old mongrel) to the fields near the subdivision where we live. I was on a tarmac path, with only fields around, except for a house in front of me and two others located to my right. I had, like my mother, untied my dog so that he could frolic. Contrary to his habit, it remained close to me, turning around my legs. I said to him: Come on, go for a run. Go do your business before going home! Despite my commands, he still had to turn around my legs and did not want to move forward. I was then about 250 meters away from the last house in the lot. Suddenly I realized that a house to my right was all lit up."
"I could make out the windows, the door and the roof perfectly. It lit up like the headlights of a car illuminating the landscape. But this light came from the sky. I then saw a light, of a non-dazzling white, at a height of about 50 meters, stationary, in the shape of a soup plate, but upside down. There was no noise."
"The house was only lit for 2-3 seconds. But this object remained illuminated."
"Always with the same color. I watched it for 4 to 5 minutes. Then this luminosity shrank, it got very small. I got scared. I leashed my dog again, and hurried home, not looking behind to see if this thing was still there or not."
On the spot, the witness specified that this important luminosity was at a height of 4 to 5 times the height of the illuminated house. The investigator, based on what she had specified, taking a large cloud as a landmark, the height of the luminosity was indeed 50 meters maximum. The angular size was estimated, with the comparator, at 2°.
The viewing distance has been estimated at 550 meters.
She told him that the brightness of the "craft" was the same as that which lit the house; that when the light shrunk, she did not feel like it was leaving.
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The investigator contacted the couple living in the house 200 meters away where this phenomenon occurred, but they had not observed anything that they remembered - except seeing a phenomenon in February or early March 1978.
The investigator interviewed the owner of the house lit by the phenomenon, a cow breeder; he, too, has no memory of anything abnormal at that time, including with his cows. He is not sure he was home that night.
The witness had good eyesight, wearing glasses only to work closely, in her sewing work for example.
She had no side effects, neither did the dog.
She went on vacation for a month the day after the sighting, she remained marked, she no longer walks her dog to this place and remains in the lot because she is afraid.
She was not particularly interested in UFOs, she believes that there is "something else" in the universe but has no clear idea on this topic, and she does not read anything dealing with this topic.
| Date: | July 22, 1977 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 10:30 p.m. |
| Duration: | 4 minutes. |
| First known report date: | December 10, 1978 |
| Reporting delay: | 1 years and a half. |
| Department: | Haut-Rhin |
|---|---|
| City: | Sainte-Croix-en-Plaine |
| Place: | Outside, UFO in the sky. |
| Latitude: | 48.006 |
| Longitude: | 7.391 |
| Uncertainty radius: | 100 m |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Witness(es) ages: | 37 |
| Witness(es) types: | Married woman, resident. |
| Reporting channel: | Ufology magazine "Lumières Dans La Nuit". |
|---|---|
| Type of location: | Outside, UFO in the sky. |
| Visibility conditions: | Night |
| UFO observed: | Yes |
| UFO arrival observed: | No |
| UFO departure observed: | No |
| Entities: | No |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | Frightened. |
| Witnesses interpretation: | ? |
| Hynek: | CE1 |
|---|---|
| ALSACAT: | Possible extraterrestrial craft. |
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
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Following the investigation relating to the phenomena which occurred above the Vosges and towards COLMAR on 10 OCT 78, I learned that the wife of Mr HAEGELIN of SAINTE CROIX EN PLAINE (68) (one of the witnesses of 10/10) had seen something intriguing in 1977.
I was able to be received by this person on DEC 10, 1978.
DATE OF OBSERVATION: Saturday, July 22, 1977. (this date is confirmed, because the next day the witness was going on vacation)
LOCATION: SAINTE CROIX EN PLAINE (68) - Michelin 87 - Fold 17-18, or IGN map 1/50 OOOth "NEW BRISACH"
TIME: between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.
WITNESS: Madame HAEGELIN Monique
AGE: 37 years old at the time.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear and mild weather - Stars visible.
THE FACTS:
"Like almost all people, I walk my dog (7 year old mongrel) to the fields near the subdivision where we live. I was on a tarmac path, with only fields around, except for a house in front of me and two others located to my right. I had, like my mother, untied my dog so that he could frolic. Contrary to his habit, it remained close to me, turning around my legs. I said to him: Come on, go for a run. Go do your business before going home! Despite my commands, he still had to turn around my legs and did not want to move forward. I was then about 250 meters away from the last house in the lot. Suddenly I realized that a house to my right was all lit up.
I could make out the windows, the door and the roof perfectly. It lit up like the headlights of a car illuminating the landscape. But this light came from the sky. I then saw a light, of a non-dazzling white, at a height of about 50 meters, stationary, in the shape of a soup plate, but upside down. There was no noise.
The house was only lit for 2-3 seconds. But this object remained illuminated.
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Always with the same color. I watched it for 4 to 5 minutes. Then this luminosity shrank, it got very small. I got scared. I leashed my dog again, and hurried home, not looking behind to see if this thing was still there or not."
I contacted the HANSER couple Jean Marie and Marie-Jeanne living in the house located 200 meters from where this phenomenon happened. They did not notice anything abnormal, do not remember anything that might have caught their attention. "It's too old. We don't remember" they replied. On the other hand they saw a phenomenon in February-beginning of March 1978.
I interviewed the owner of the house lit by the phenomenon. Mr HEYMANN Bernard has a fairly large cow farm. He does not remember that anything abnormal happened around this time. His cows are still so peaceful. If his dogs have barked, they do this so often that he does not pay special attention. Perhaps they were also not present that evening in their house or in the stable.
[Sketch caption:] On the ground, the witness specified that this important luminosity was at a height of 4 to 5 times the height of the illuminated house. In my opinion, based on what Ms. Haegelin told me, taking a large cloud as a landmark, the height of this luminosity is indeed 50 m. maximum.
FURTHER DETAILS:
- The witness told me that the luminosity of the craft was the same as that which lit the house.
- When the light shrunk, the witness did not have the impression that it was leaving.
- The person concerned has good eyesight (only wears glasses to work closely: sewing work for example).
- Dimension of the luminosity specified by the witness to the comparator: 20 MM (2°) at least
- Distance from witness to object: 550 meters which would give an object of about 18 meters in diameter.
- No side effects observed by the witness nor on the dog.
- The witness who went on vacation for a month the day after this observation was marked by this vision. She no longer walks her dog to this place and remains in the housing estate because she is afraid.
- She's not particularly interested in UFOs. She believes there is "something else" in the universe but has no clear idea about it. She does not read specialized books on this topic.
[... other case ...]
[Ref. mft1:] "FRANCAT" - MICHEL FIGUET:
| CASE NR | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | TIME | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY | SOURCES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 811 | CE0-2 | 07/22/1977 | 10.30 p.m. | Ste-Croix en Plaine | 68420 C4 | NI | LDLN 190 p. 16 |
[Ref. cnu1:] GROUPE D'UFOLOGIE "CNEGU":
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Réf. F/00 67/77 22 (01) IQ: 1,1,1,0,1 (4) IE: 1,1,0,0,0 (2)
On Saturday July 22, between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. (UTC: 08.30 and 45 p.m.), a demale resident of Ste Croix-en-Plaine (68) walks her dog around the housing estate surrounded by fields. Suddenly, she sees a white light illuminate a house. This comes from a stationary form at an altitude of 50 m in the sky. From the appearance of a luminous soup plate, the phenomenon appears to be about 18 m long. The brightness shrinks without any noise. The witness is afraid and quickly returns home.
Source: investigation J. Journot (1978) in LDLN nr 190 p. 16/17, catalogue Delaval March 1990, LDLN nr 180 p. 27.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH:
12714: 1977/07/22 22:30 1 7:23:00 E 48:01:00 N 3333 WEU FRN HRH 7:6
Ste.CROIX-en-PLAINE,FR:18M BOWL SCR 50M OVR HOUSE:RAYS CONVERGE ^ ON ROOF!
Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 190 : RESIDENT'L
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
An 18 meter in diameter domed, bowl-shaped disc hovered 50 meters over a house in Croix-en-Plaine, France at 10:30 p.m. Rays from the UFO converged on the roof of the house. (Source: Lumieres dans la Nuit, November 1979).
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When I got their investigation report from Jacques Journot, I found important information that was missing in the summaries: the phenomenon did not produce any noise perceptible by the witness.
But the investigation report gives another piece of information: an observation distance of 550 meters. This is rather considerable, it does not allow to completely exclude a helicopter for example - possible solution which I envisaged initially.
Yet what is described does not look like a helicopter at all. The apparent width of the luminosity, located by the witness above a house that it lit, makes this case, in my opinion, a case of high strangeness, for which I have no obvious trivial explanation.
It goes without saying that if the phenomenon had been further away, its angular size would have been even stranger.
The direction of observation according to the map by Mr. Journot and its correspondence with a satellite view, is between 100 and 110° (roughly East). The Moon was in the sky, but at 253 °, roughly to the West, almost the opposite of the phenomenon.
An alien device? I think it is possible... It is obviously not "proven", we have only one witness here, unfortunately.
Possible extraterrestrial craft.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editeur: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | September 11, 2015 | Creation, [mft1], [nip1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | September 11, 2015 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 9, 2021 | Additions [ldl1], [lhh1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [ldl1]. In the Discussion, removed "One crucial information is missing and everything becomes unusable: if there was a noise, this could have been a helicopter, if there were no noise, it was something else." discussion rewritten. Evaluation changed, was "Unidentified, but possible helicopter." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | February 18, 2023 | Addition [cnu1]. |
