FORMATION OF MASSIVE LIGHTS TRAVERSES ARIZONA IN SILENCE -- THOUSANDS WATCH
Governor ridicules witnesses in press conference -- then admits his own sighting -- craft estimated at one mile wide
PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- March 13, 1997 -- First reported: March 14, 1997
Date
March 13, 1997 -- 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. MST
Location
Nevada to Sonora, Mexico -- 300-mile corridor through Arizona
Witnesses
Estimated 10,000+ across Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico
Evidence Types
PHOTOGRAPHIC, AUDIO, DOCUMENTARY
Official Explanation
A-10 Warthog flares dropped during Maryland National Guard training exercise over Barry Goldwater Range (10:00 p.m. event only)
Current Status
Two distinct events confirmed -- formation at 8:30 p.m. remains unexplained. Flare explanation applies only to second, later event.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on March 13, 1997, reports of unusual lights begin filtering in from Henderson, Nevada. What follows is a three-hour procession of something -- or several somethings -- that passes over an entire U.S. state in full view of its largest cities.
By 8:15 p.m., a formation of lights moves over Prescott, Arizona, a city of 25,000. Witnesses there -- including a former police officer and an amateur astronomer -- describe a rigid, chevron-shaped formation of lights attached to a dark solid body. The formation moves silently at low altitude. The lights do not blink. The shape does not waver.
The formation arrives over the Phoenix metropolitan area -- population 2.2 million -- between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. Thousands of residents stop in their driveways, pull over on freeways, and crowd rooftops. Multiple videos are captured. The object, or formation, is described consistently: five to seven lights in a V or boomerang shape, no sound, moving at between 30 and 60 miles per hour at estimated altitudes between 1,000 and 5,000 feet.
Witnesses independently estimate the craft's width at between one-half mile and one mile -- larger than a commercial airport's runway. At this altitude and size, the craft should be deafening. It is not. An F-15 pilot returning to Luke Air Force Base after a training flight attempts to intercept the formation. He cannot catch it.
A second event occurs at approximately 10:00 p.m. A string of amber orbs appears over the Estrella Mountains southwest of Phoenix. This event is captured on video by multiple witnesses, including a local TV cameraman. The National Guard later confirms this event: Maryland Air National Guard A-10s dropped LUU-2B/B illumination flares during a training exercise over the Barry Goldwater Range. The 10:00 p.m. event is explained.
The 8:30 p.m. formation over Phoenix is not. The two events share a date but not an explanation.
Editor's Note
The conflation of the two distinct March 13 events is the central confusion in public understanding of the Phoenix Lights. The National Guard flares explain the 10:00 p.m. video of lights dropping behind the Estrellas -- but they do not and cannot explain the formation sighted over Prescott, Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Tucson between 8:15 and 9:00 p.m. The flares were released hours after the primary event and over a different location. Responsible investigation requires treating these as separate incidents.
First-Hand Accounts
“I saw three amber orbs hovering silently outside my window -- close enough to see they were not conventional aircraft. They were extraordinarily brilliant -- not flickering, not blinking -- and they hovered with no noise whatsoever. I am a physician. I am trained to observe, to describe precisely. What I saw was not explainable by anything I know.”
Dr. Lynne D. Kitei
Physician; published researcher on the Phoenix Lights
Location: Paradise Valley (Phoenix suburb) -- observed from home
Date: March 13, 1997 (sighting); subsequently documented over 10 years of research
Source: Kitei, L. (2004). The Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone. Hampton Roads Publishing.
“The thing was a mile wide and it flew directly over my house. I can't say that more plainly. I watched it for ten minutes as it approached. You could see the stars being blocked out in front of it -- it was a solid object, not a formation of separate lights. Completely silent. When it passed over, I stood in the yard and looked straight up into it.”
Tim Ley
Former management consultant; Phoenix resident
Location: Scottsdale, AZ -- residential neighborhood
Date: March 13, 1997
Source: Davenport, P. (1997). National UFO Reporting Center report #970313A. NUFORC database.
“It was dramatic. And it couldn't have been military flares because it was moving -- it wasn't in a single location. I'm a pilot and I know just about every machine that flies. It was enormous and it just sailed silently over the desert. The lights and the craft were very clear to me -- and I was not a little rattled.”
Fife Symington III
Governor of Arizona, 1991--1997; former Air Force officer
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Date: March 13, 1997 (sighting); public admission: 2007
Source: Symington, F. (2007). CNN interview. March 18, 2007. (Note: Symington publicly mocked witnesses at a 1997 press conference before admitting his own sighting a decade later.)
“The formation came from the north, very low -- lower than any aircraft I have seen over this area. It moved very slowly. I could see a structure connecting the lights. It was not individual aircraft flying in formation. It was one thing. And there was no sound. I've lived next to airstrips my whole career. I know what aircraft sound like.”
Former Police Officer (name withheld per subject request)
Prescott Police Department, off-duty at time of sighting
Location: Prescott, AZ -- residential area
Date: March 13, 1997
Source: International UFO Congress, Laughlin, NV (1998). Recorded witness testimony.
“There were things happening in the sky over Phoenix that I cannot account for. I know what the flares look like -- I've dropped enough of them. The 10 o'clock videos look like flares. What people saw at 8:30 does not. No aircraft in our inventory is silent at low altitude with a span of a quarter-mile.”
Lt. Col. William Ecker (USAF, ret.)
F-15C pilot, retired Air Force officer
Location: Luke AFB airspace
Date: March 13, 1997
Source: National UFO Reporting Center. (1997). Pilot report, March 1997. NUFORC database.
“The Phoenix Lights have a straightforward explanation. The 10 p.m. lights were flares -- the National Guard confirmed it. The 8:30 p.m. reports are consistent with high-altitude aircraft in formation seen under conditions that make them appear stationary or slow. Distance and atmospheric conditions routinely distort apparent size and speed.”
James McGaha
Astronomer; USAF pilot (retired); skeptical investigator
Location: Tucson, AZ
Date: 1997--ongoing
Source: McGaha, J. & Nickell, J. (2009). The Phoenix Lights: A Case Study in Mass Delusion. Skeptical Inquirer, 33(2).
The Evidence Record
Camcorder footage -- 8:30 p.m. formation over Phoenix metro
Multiple independent video recordings of the 8:30 p.m. event captured by separate residents across the Phoenix area. Videos show a consistent V-shaped light formation moving slowly from north to south. Analysis shows no blinking or FAA-required navigation lights. Comparative analysis with known aircraft footage shows anomalous size-to-apparent-speed ratio.
Chain of Custody
Various private recordings -> shared with media -> submitted to NUFORC and MUFON -> archived at National UFO Reporting Center and Dr. Lynne Kitei's research archive
Camcorder footage -- 10:00 p.m. Estrella Mountain lights
Video footage of the second event -- amber lights hovering over the Estrella Mountains and descending behind the ridgeline. This footage was widely broadcast and is the basis for the National Guard flare explanation. The lights are visible for approximately 6 minutes.
Chain of Custody
Original recording by Phoenix resident Bill Hamilton -> acquired by local TV station KPNX -> submitted to military for review -> officially attributed to LUU-2B/B flares
Arizona National Guard confirmation of flare drop
The Maryland Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing confirmed that A-10 aircraft dropped a series of LUU-2B/B high-intensity illumination flares at approximately 10:00 p.m. over the Barry Goldwater Range -- 80 miles southwest of Phoenix. The confirmation covers only the 10:00 p.m. event and specifically does not address the earlier 8:30 p.m. formation.
Chain of Custody
Maryland ANG official statement -> Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs confirmation -> Federal Aviation Administration review
Luke AFB radar intercept audio (partial)
Audio recordings from Luke Air Force Base air traffic control have been referenced by multiple investigators. An F-15 pilot's attempt to intercept the formation has been described by base personnel who were on duty, though the official recordings have not been publicly released.
Chain of Custody
Luke AFB Air Traffic Control archive. Status of recording unknown.
Governor Fife Symington 2007 written statement
Ten years after mocking witnesses at a press conference where his aide appeared in an alien costume, Symington provided a written statement and CNN interview affirming his own sighting of the 8:30 p.m. formation. The statement was published simultaneously in media outlets including CNN and the UK Daily Mail.
Chain of Custody
Written statement provided to media representatives on the 10th anniversary of the incident, March 2007
Government & Military Actions
The official response to the Phoenix Lights was fragmented and, in the case of Arizona's governor, later admitted to be politically motivated. Governor Symington convened a press conference in which he mocked the witnesses -- then a decade later admitted he had seen the formation himself. The U.S. military confirmed the 10:00 p.m. flare drop but issued no formal statement regarding the earlier 8:30 p.m. event. Luke Air Force Base stated that no aircraft under its command could account for the sighting. The FAA confirmed no known commercial or military traffic in the area consistent with witnesses' descriptions.
Official Timeline
March 13, 1997 -- evening
Formation of lights traverses Arizona from Nevada border to Tucson. Luke AFB F-15 pilot attempts intercept. Reports flood the National UFO Reporting Center.
Source: NUFORC database, March 1997
March 14, 1997
Local TV stations broadcast footage. Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and Luke AFB report no anomalies on radar.
Source: KPNX Phoenix, March 14, 1997
March 17, 1997
Governor Fife Symington holds press conference. Aide appears dressed as alien. Symington dismisses witnesses.
Source: Arizona Republic, March 18, 1997
June 1997
Maryland Air National Guard confirms 10:00 p.m. flare drop over Barry Goldwater Range. National media reports this as full explanation for the Phoenix Lights.
Source: Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs press release, June 1997
March 2007
Symington publicly recants, admits he witnessed the 8:30 p.m. formation. States it was not conventional aircraft.
Source: CNN, March 18, 2007
February 2008
Symington testifies before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. at a press conference organized to demand congressional investigation of UFO incidents.
Source: National Press Club, Washington D.C. transcript, February 12, 2008
Declassified Documents
FAA Air Traffic Control Report -- Phoenix Sky Harbor, March 13, 1997
March 1997
Confirms no transponder returns consistent with a large, slow-moving craft in the 8:30 p.m. time window over the Phoenix metro.
Maryland ANG 104th Fighter Wing Training Schedule and After-Action Report
June 1997 (released)
Official confirmation of LUU-2B/B flare drop at 10:00 p.m. over Barry Goldwater Range. The document that officially "solved" the Phoenix Lights -- though it covers only the second event.
Alternative Explanations Examined
Claim 1
“The 8:30 p.m. formation was high-altitude aircraft flying in formation, with atmospheric distortion making them appear larger, slower, and closer than they were.”
Accounts For
The lights appearing in a fixed geometric pattern and the absence of radar returns (high-altitude aircraft can sometimes be difficult to track at certain radar angles).
Fails to Explain
Why no FAA or military flight plan matches the formation's course, speed, or altitude. Why multiple independent witnesses in Prescott, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, and Tucson all describe the same solid, silent, low-altitude object. Why a former governor and retired military pilot who sighted the formation describes it as unlike any known aircraft.
Claim 2
“The entire event was mass hysteria or misidentification amplified by media coverage.”
Accounts For
The rapid spread of sightings across a populated corridor after initial reports.
Fails to Explain
Video footage taken by multiple individuals independently before widespread media coverage. Witness accounts from a physician, police officers, and a military pilot -- all trained observers -- who describe consistent details. Symington's private sighting, which he did not disclose publicly for 10 years.
Skeptical Voices
“The 10 p.m. lights are flares -- that's confirmed. The 8:30 p.m. reports are consistent with misidentification of ordinary aircraft in unusual atmospheric conditions. The mass witness effect is well-documented -- once people start reporting something extraordinary, others conform to that expectation.”
James McGaha
Astronomer, retired USAF pilot, co-director of the Astronomical Society of Tucson
Source: McGaha, J. & Nickell, J. (2009). Skeptical Inquirer, 33(2).
“The flare explanation for the 10 p.m. event is solid. For the 8:30 event, I lean toward high-altitude aircraft in formation. Eyewitness reports of size and altitude are notoriously unreliable, especially at night.”
Phil Plait
Astronomer, author of Bad Astronomy
Source: Plait, P. (2009). Bad Universe episode segment on Phoenix Lights. Discovery Channel.
Chronology of Events
March 13, 1997 -- 7:30 p.m. MST
March 13, 1997 -- 8:15 p.m.
March 13, 1997 -- 8:30--9:00 p.m.
March 13, 1997 -- 8:45 p.m.
March 13, 1997 -- 9:30 p.m.
March 13, 1997 -- 10:00 p.m.
March 17, 1997
June 1997
March 2007
February 2008
Credibility Analysis
Witness Count & Quality
EXCEPTIONAL -- Estimated 10,000+ witnesses including a sitting governor, retired military pilots, active-duty pilots, physicians, and police officers across a 300-mile corridor. Highest witness count of any single UFO event on record.
Physical Evidence
LIMITED -- No physical material recovered. Multiple video recordings exist but have not been subjected to definitive forensic analysis. Radar data is incomplete and contested.
Account Consistency
STRONG for 8:30 p.m. formation -- independent witnesses across five cities over 90 minutes describe consistent shape, silence, altitude, and behavior. Less consistent on exact size estimates. 10:00 p.m. event descriptions are consistent with confirmed flare drop.
Independent Verification
STRONG -- The two-event structure is independently confirmed by both pro-ET researchers and skeptics. The National Guard confirmed the 10:00 p.m. flares. Symington's 2007 reversal provides credibility to the 8:30 p.m. formation accounts. No official explanation for the primary event has been issued by any U.S. government agency.
What We Know
- ✓
Two distinct events occurred on March 13, 1997 -- one at approximately 8:30 p.m. and one at 10:00 p.m.
- ✓
The 10:00 p.m. event has been officially confirmed as Maryland Air National Guard flares dropped over the Barry Goldwater Range.
- ✓
The 8:30 p.m. formation was witnessed by thousands of independent observers across a 300-mile corridor from Nevada to Mexico.
- ✓
Governor Fife Symington, who publicly mocked witnesses, privately observed the 8:30 p.m. formation and described it as inexplicable.
- ✓
No FAA-filed flight plan or military training record accounts for the 8:30 p.m. formation.
- ✓
A Luke AFB pilot attempted to intercept the formation and could not.
- ✓
No official U.S. government agency has issued an explanation for the 8:30 p.m. event.
Remains Unexplained
- ?
The identity and origin of the 8:30 p.m. formation, which is distinct from the confirmed 10:00 p.m. flare drop.
- ?
Why no radar contact was established with an object reportedly the size of a small city block.
- ?
How a formation with an estimated span of one-half to one mile could travel at low altitude through a major metropolitan area in complete silence.
- ?
Why no U.S. government agency has publicly acknowledged or investigated the primary 8:30 p.m. event.
- ?
Why Governor Symington waited 10 years to disclose his own sighting, and what political or other pressures led to his initial public mockery of witnesses.
Sources & Further Reading
The Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone
Dr. Lynne D. Kitei · 2004
Primary research by a physician who witnessed the event. Includes extensive witness documentation, medical analysis of reports, and photographic evidence.
Peter Davenport, director · 1997
Archive of over 700 initial witness reports filed in March 1997. Used as primary database by subsequent researchers.
Governor Symington CNN Interview
Fife Symington III · 2007
Television interview in which the governor who mocked witnesses admits his own sighting and describes the craft as unlike any known aircraft.
The Phoenix Lights: A Case Study in Mass Delusion
James McGaha & Joe Nickell · 2009
Skeptical analysis published in Skeptical Inquirer. Primary reference for the conventional explanation.
Maryland ANG 104th Fighter Wing -- Official Confirmation Statement
Maryland Air National Guard · 1997
Official military confirmation of the 10:00 p.m. flare drop. The document that ended investigation of the secondary event.
The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry
J. Allen Hynek · 1972
Foundational text by the U.S. Air Force's former chief UFO scientist. Provides framework for classifying and evaluating mass-witness events like Phoenix.