ALSACAT ▶ Home ☰

Cette page en français

ALSACAT:

◀ Previous case Next case ▶

Case between Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines and Aubure, in 1978:

Case number:

ALSACAT-1978-00-00-SAINTEMARIEAUXMINES-1

Summary:

Local ufologist Eric Antoine published his investigation report on this case between Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines and Aubure, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #269-270 from November - December 1986.

He indicated that the date of the sighting was in October or November 1978 or in the summer of 1979.

His investigation was carried out on May 29, 1984, October 26, 1984 and September 8, 1985.

He explains that the investigation was due to chance: he was photocopying UFO sighting articles in Mrs. Meyer's store, when she told him about her own experience.

The witnesses were Mr. Y. Postel, painter upholsterer, 28 at the time of the events, living in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines; Mrs. Meyer, shopkeeper, aged 25 to 28 at the time of the events, residing in Lièpvre; and their daughter, a 6-year-old schoolgirl at the time of the events, who had asked to remain anonymous.

According to Mr. Postel the time of the sighting was 30 past midnight, according to Mrs. Meyer it was 11:30 p.m. or midnight.

This happened on National Road 416, between Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines and Aubure, south-east of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, 700 meters before the "Haut de Ribeauvillé" pass, on the lands of Sainte-Marie-aux Mines.

The witnesses were driving in a vehicle in a Datsun automobile of metallic gray color, with tinted (smoked) windows and windshield.

According to the witnesses, the sky was clear, it was not raining.

According to Mr. Postel, the sighting lasted 7 or 8 seconds, Mrs. Meyer only indicated that it was very fast.

The witnesses had spent the evening with friends. At the end of the evening, they decided to leave. Out of habit, but also to save time, they took Route Nationale 416 to return to their home in Riquewihr at the time.

Mr. Postel said:

At the time, we had a store in Riquewihr... That evening, we were in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines with friends. To reach our home, we had to go through the "Haut de Ribeauvillé" pass. To get there, you can't drive fast, given the tight turns and the sloping ground. On average I was driving at 45/50 kilometers per hour. On the passenger side my wife and behind her our 6-year-old daughter. On my side, the window was half-open, as I was in the process of smoking a cigarette.

Six kilometers later, on the ascent of the north-west facing pass, and 550 meters after the farm-inn called "Aux Sapins", we were able to observe the evolution of a ball that lit up everything in its path. Its trajectory was by no means horizontal, but oblique and downward from our right to our left (south-east to north-east). Its movement was similar to a ball thrown on the ground and its bouncing. Immediately my reflex was to slow down. From 45/50 km / h I went down to 20 km / h and I stopped my vehicle about 50 meters further, while leaving the engine running... Anyway I would not have been able to continue my journey given the glare caused by lighting. Beside me, my wife begged me to make a U turn. The road being narrow, the maneuver would have been risky. Moreover, we were almost at the pass.

We couldn't exactly define the contours. But the light did come from this spherical shape of mixed yellow / red color, like fire. The whole was comparable to a fire when there are beautiful yellow and red flames; a beautiful hue.

It's hard to explain. The lighting accompanied the spherical shape, let's say that at the start of our observation this ball lit up the top of the hill in front of us then became general when it passed our level. We were bathed in that same light. But at an incredible speed!

We were amazed. This is one of the reasons why I stopped my vehicle. I could not have continued. My headlights seemed absent, so much its luminosity was powerful. I compare its density to the setting sun when it "hits" into my windshield and its glare to the flash of a camera - Apart from its color - We could have read or done anything that is normally impossible to do in the middle of the night! The landscape around us had taken on the same pronounced hue.

During its move (oblique downward trajectory), this ball of fire advanced rapidly without any pause or other movements. Its trajectory was regular.

Continuing its descent, at a certain point it was no longer visible. Hidden by the steep, deforested slope on the left side of the road. While at a lower level from our position, the lighting persisted and seemed even more pronounced to me than before.

This spherical shape described a trajectory identical to a ball launched obliquely on the ground, as if by ricochet. We saw it go up in the distance, not vertically, but obliquely, to move away towards the northeast and disappear in the sky, as if there had been nothing. In straight line, I estimate the ascent of the ball, at a hundred meters. Everything suddenly went off. This resulted in us immersing ourselves in the night again and giving us an incredible effect. The sphere and its lighting had disappeared, there was nothing left, as if nothing had happened. It took us a few seconds to return to normal sight while our eyes got used to the night.

For us, this observation was really a surprise or something unforeseen. It's around midnight, we're driving quietly, it's dark, no car, no nearby dwellings, suddenly, something happens illuminating the whole top of the hills and the inside of our car at an incredible speed! We stopped for two to four minutes. Apart from the curiosity to know what it was about, we were hardly reassured. Besides, at no time did we go out [of the car]. I believe that if the window on my side was ajar I had to close it. We weren't at peace. I don't know if I turned off my headlights. What is certain is that we stayed in our car, without speaking, as if to hide or protect ourselves from something. After these few minutes, which seemed very long to us, I started off again slowly, driving moderately, until I reached a bend 150 meters from where I started to accelerate. We looked to our left side, to see or notice something. Arrived at the top of the Haux de Ribeauvillé pass, I simply stepped on the accelerator to get away from the scene as quickly as possible, as if to leave everything behind us. We still expected to see something. What, I don't know. Once I reached the top of the pass, I accelerated...

During the descent from the pass, on the south / east side, towards Ribeauvillé, we were already more relaxed. The place of our observation was far behind us, that was enough to reassure us. My wife was even more so once we arrived in Ribeauvillé!

We discussed it at length but no more.

What shocked me the most was the presence of this immense light. I think that the ball had to have a very important dimension to illuminate in its passage all our environment as well as the interior of our vehicle. Apart from curiosity, this dazzling lighting is also the cause of the stop I had made for a few minutes, during and after the observation.

Eric Antoine specified that this declaration is the synthesis or the summary of the investigations which he had carried out at the residence of Mr. Postel on October 26, 1984 and on the premises on September 8, 1985.

Ms. Meyer said:

"... It was between 11:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. I was next to my husband in the car. We were accompanied by our then six-year-old daughter, in the back seat and behind me. We climbed the northwest side of the Haut de Ribeauvillé pass, on the N. 416 to get to Riquewihr, where I worked (at the time).

Arrived not far from the summit, at a clear part of the climb, my husband who was driving caught our attention. The time to turn my head, I just saw a light fall into the void of the slope to the left of this road. It had a spherical shape, like a ball of fire the size of a soccer ball. My husband immediately had the reflex to brake. We thought it could be a meteorite, and it was similar. But suddenly this ball rose from the deforested slope, following the opposite course of its descent. So, in reverse, like a falling ball bounces off the ground.

I couldn't tell if we were stationary or driving slowly. Still, after its ascension we were suddenly surrounded by a light. So now, I was no longer trying to understand, I was in a hurry to go home. I shouted "Accelerate! Accelerate!" I was really scared! This light that surrounded us seemed to come from nowhere. I always compare it to a flash, as if we had been photographed. This light came suddenly, we did not expect it. It wasn't so dazzling that you had to close your eyes. The same intensity of a photo flash. The interior of our vehicle was also lit.

I was very impressed by the fact that we were in a remote place with no dwellings. Besides, it was something strange that had never happened to me before. I said to him: "But drive on! But drive on!". My daughter was behind me, she was not too reassured and realized my fear. She just asked what it was. She thought she was dealing with a storm. But during the observation, which was very quick, I no longer thought of my daughter at the time. My husband was rather curious, he even seems interested and thought it was good. He really expected to see something. I believe that if he had been alone, he would have stayed put. Finally, for the thing itself there was no reason to be afraid. I'm afraid of what isn't tangible or what I don't understand. I have often observed lightning storms or heat, there is no comparison to be made.

I cannot give any details on the total duration of our observation, it was very fast, nor on the altitude or the distance which separated it from this ball of fire. Its outlines were blurred. Like something incandescent. What surprised us the most was when it came back up, performing its trajectory in the opposite direction and this light in which we were bathed. That's when we realized it couldn't be a meteorite.

At no time did we get out of the vehicle. The engine was running. The car radio was off. There were no anomalies or failures. I think my husband opened his window to watch the ball of fire falling into the void to the left of the road. It is impossible to say how far this lighting occurred. I've never seen lightning like this, and then right on us! And that it can light up so brightly! The thing is, my husband saw it first. So, on his part, he must remember other details, perhaps better than me as, during the observation, I was impressed and shocked.

We did not go to the gendarmerie. For what! To say that we had seen a light! We would have been questioned for hours! We haven't seen anything concrete! I don't like to talk about things where there's no proof. I don't want to be taken for a crank.

Eric Antoine specifies that this is a summary of the most important statements made by Mrs. Meyer during his investigation of May 29, 1984.

He indicates that the girl had described the phenomenon as follows:

It was a ball, like fire falling. For a moment it was hidden from us, then it came back up. I was very scared when there was a light shining on us. I even cried.

Eric Antoine provides these details:

When the lighting occurred, the witnesses did not feel any heat or taste.

It is not certain that there was no noise; according to Mr. Postel the windows were closed and the engine was running.

The only indication of the dimension of the phenomenon had been: a soccer ball.

There was no effect on the vehicle, which was new, with mechanical repairs carried out two months after the incident.

There were no physical or psychological side effects on the witnesses, apart from the fear and worry caused during the observation.

Mrs. Meyer wore glasses during her observation, for eyestrain; Mr. Postel did not wear glasses, and estimated his visual average at 9/10. Neither had a hearing problem.

No overhead power lines pass through the premises concerned, the nearest is 550 meters away. It was close to the Farm-Inn "Aux Sapins".

The place of observation is at an altitude between 683 and 729 meters.

According to his field investigation of September 8, 1985, in the presence of Mr. Postel, he established that the direction taken by the fireball was from the southwest to the northeast, that the distance of the phenomenon by distance to the stationary vehicle, estimated on the spot and with a 1/25000e map, was 150 meters. This estimate was calculated in relation to a visible fault oriented SW/NE 150 meters from the witnesses. The observation on the spot was obvious: the phenomenon evolved above this visible fault, which extends over several kilometers towards Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines and Musloch.

The hill opposite the witnesses, called "La Finkenhoehe", reaches an altitude of 940 m; Mr. Postel had observed the fireball from this summit on. From the level of National Road 416, its distance was only 200 meters, and the "void" located to the left of this road at a depth of about 250 meters, according to the location "Hury" to the North-east from there, at an altitude of 514 meters.

(These elements of positions, distance, directions, are very well explained by the photos of the premises and sketches published in the report, and visible further down in this file).

In his psychological investigation, Eric Antoine noted that Mr. Postel was not particularly interested in UFOs before the sighting, he is more interested in them afterwards. He was interested in astronomy, but not passionate, just knowing the main stars names. At night, when the opportunity presented itself, he could not help but stargazing or looking at anything that moved in the sky, this mania dating from before the phenomenon. Mr. Postel claimed to have a certain gift for those close to him, involuntarily foreseeing incidents or events (no verification could be made). He could not explain this gift. This had come to him long before the sighting.

Mrs. Meyer is the ex-wife of Mr. Postel, she is a shopkeeper with a very down to earth mind, much less observant, skeptical of the UFO phenomenon. She had read ufology articles and watched the October 1984 program "Droit de Réponse" about UFOs, and found this program very disappointing for witnesses to such events. "It took the witnesses for crazy... If I see something, I won't testify anymore. I don't want to be ridiculed!" As luck would have it, her current companion is interested in the UFO problem.

The girl did not seem to be very observant; her statements should be "put in parentheses", because she was merely repeating what she had heard from her parents.

Data:

Temporal data:

Geographical data:

Witnesses data:

Ufology data:

Classifications:

Sources:

[Ref. eae1:] ERIC ANTOINE:

Discussion:

The Route Nationale 416 is now the Route Départementale 416. Below, the place in 2020; the fir trees grew considerably.

The rise of the fireball from the ravine to the left of the road makes this observation totally strange. No man-made aircraft, nor any known natural phenomenon, achieves such a performance in such a short interval of time.

There are sometimes discussions about "geological faults" claimed to be in one way or another related to UFOs. Ufologist Fernand Lagarde for example, plotted UFO sightings on geological maps and thought he was demonstrating this. But, he hardly showed this correlation. And his casuistry was incorrect, including "identified" or "identifiable" cases, unverified and unverifiable cases, and was otherwise wholly incomplete.

The only element of interest in this idea of correlation is the so-called "earth lights" phenomenon, still little studied but whose proven elements are as follows: just before, and at the time, of telluric activities, luminous phenomena sometimes occur, due to piezoelectric effects in certain rocks. But these lights never perform rapid maneuvers as described here, they are quasi-immobile. Their luminosity is not in any way intense, they are gleams.

Furthermore, if one wants to correlate UFOs and geological faults, I would like to remind that the whole plain of Alsace is a tectonic fault. The ancient Hercynian mountain range that covered the present plain collapsed; the Vosges and the Black Forest are the remains to the west and east of this collapse. The plain continues to collapse in spurts, resulting in earthquakes that are rarely intense but quite frequent. But these tremors are neither preceded nor concomitant with UFO sightings.

Evaluation:

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

• [aea1] * In "Haut-Rhin: entre Ste Marie-aux-Mines et Aubure", investigation report by Eric Antoine, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #269-270, pp 32-37, November / December 1986.

File history:

Authoring:

Changes history:

Feedback  |  Top  |  Back  |  Forward  |  Map  |  List |  Home

This page was last updated on March 1, 2023.