Air France 3532 over Coulommiers 1994 — commercial pilot encounter with radar correlation

On the afternoon of January 28, 1994, the crew of Air France Flight 3532, an Airbus A320 flying from Nice to London with Captain Jean-Charles Duboc in command, reported observing a large lens-shaped object at high altitude over the Coulommiers area east of Paris. The observation was simultaneously correlated with radar data from the French Air Force's air-defence radar network, providing one of the cleanest commercial-aviation radar-correlated UAP cases in the European record. The case became the subject of a substantial GEPAN/SEPRA investigation and remains one of the most-cited modern French commercial-aviation UAP cases.

The encounter

Captain Duboc's account, given on landing and subsequently in extensive interviews with GEPAN/SEPRA investigators, described the observation as beginning when his cabin crew member drew his attention to an unusual object visible to one side of the aircraft. Both Duboc and his first officer observed a large dark lens-shaped object at high altitude, which they estimated as substantially larger than any conventional aircraft. The observation extended across approximately one minute, during which the object appeared to remain in apparent stationary hover relative to the moving aircraft, before — by the crew's account — appearing to dematerialise rapidly from view.

The crew reported the observation to air traffic control during the flight. After landing, Duboc filed a formal aviation incident report and subsequently engaged in detailed interviews with French institutional investigators.

The radar correlation

The substantively distinguishing feature of the case is the simultaneous independent radar correlation. French Air Force air-defence radar data from the relevant time window included a return at a position consistent with the visual sighting, persisting for an approximate duration matching the visual observation. The radar data was made available to the GEPAN/SEPRA investigation and is documented in the released case file material on the GEIPAN public website.

The radar correlation places the Air France 3532 case in a small set of European commercial-aviation UAP cases for which independent sensor evidence is available alongside the witness account. The combination of experienced commercial pilot witnesses, multi-witness cabin observation, and independent military radar correlation collectively places the case at the upper end of evidentiary substantiation for cases in this category.

The institutional investigation

SEPRA's investigation of the case produced a substantial documentary file which has subsequently been released in summary form through the GEIPAN public archive. The investigation considered various conventional-explanation candidates including possible misidentification of meteorological balloons, atmospheric optical phenomena, and other conventional aviation traffic. None of the candidates cleanly accounts for the combined visual-and-radar record. The case is classified in the GEIPAN categorisation framework as one of the cases for which no satisfactory conventional explanation has been established.

Captain Duboc has spoken publicly about the case in subsequent decades, including in detailed interviews with French and international media. His account has remained substantively consistent. For comparison with other commercial-aviation UAP cases including the Spanish Manises 1979 case and the Channel Islands 2007 case, see the SkyLens UAP files page.

Editorial note: Independent SkyLens analysis of a French institutional UAP case or the GEPAN / SEPRA / GEIPAN investigative framework. The case index linking related releases is on the SkyLens UAP files page.