The Phoenix Lights

The Phoenix Lights

The Phoenix Lights event of March 13, 1997 is one of the most widely witnessed mass UFO sightings in recorded history, with thousands of witnesses across the state of Arizona and parts of Nevada and the Mexican state of Sonora reporting an enormous formation of lights moving silently across the night sky.

The Sighting

Beginning at approximately 7:30 PM, witnesses reported seeing a massive V-shaped or boomerang-shaped formation of lights traveling southward from Henderson, Nevada, through Phoenix and onward toward Tucson. Witnesses described:

• A solid, mile-wide triangular or V-shaped craft
• Five to seven lights in a rigid formation
• Complete silence despite its apparent massive size
• A duration of sighting lasting from several seconds to over ten minutes per observer

The formation passed over an area of approximately 300 miles, suggesting either a very large single craft or a tight formation of objects maintaining precise spacing at extreme speed, with many observers noting that the formation blocked out the stars, indicating a solid structure.

Official Explanation

The Arizona National Guard claimed that A-10 aircraft from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base dropped flares over the Estrella Mountains as part of a training exercise at approximately 10 PM — an event witnessed by many people and documented on video. However, this event is now widely considered a separate occurrence from the 7:30 PM sighting of the V-shaped formation.

Governor Fife Symington initially mocked the phenomenon at a press conference by having an aide appear dressed in an alien costume. Years later, Symington reversed course, publicly stating that what he personally witnessed that night was "something that defied explanation" and that he believed it was not of this world.

Legacy

The Phoenix Lights remain one of the most significant mass-witness UFO events in history. Despite multiple video recordings and thousands of eyewitness testimonies, no definitive explanation for the 7:30 PM formation event has been officially accepted. Annual commemorations are held in Phoenix, and the incident has been the subject of multiple documentaries, books, and news investigations.