On the evening of March 13, 1997, something moved across the sky over Phoenix. Thousands of people saw it. They described a formation of lights arranged in a V-shape, moving slowly and silently from the north. The lights passed over the city and continued south. Later that evening, a second set of lights appeared over the Estrella Mountains south of Phoenix. The governor saw it. A movie star flying his own plane saw it and reported it to air traffic control. Police officers saw it. The lights became known as the Phoenix Lights, and they remain one of the largest mass UFO sightings in American history.
TL;DR: On March 13, 1997, thousands of people across Arizona reported seeing a formation of lights moving across the night sky. The lights were described as arranged in a V-shape or triangular pattern, moving slowly and silently. Two separate events occurred that evening: an early sighting of a V-shaped formation seen from northern Arizona to Phoenix, and a later display of stationary lights over the Estrella Mountains. Actor Kurt Russell, piloting his private plane, reported the lights to the FAA. Governor Fife Symington, who initially mocked the reports, later admitted he saw the object and described it as “otherworldly.” Sources linked below.
Timeline
March 13, 1997, 7:55 PM The first reports come from Henderson, Nevada, where witnesses describe a formation of five lights in a V-shape moving southeast. The object is described as silent and moving slowly. Over the next hour, similar reports come from communities across northern Arizona.
8:15 PM to 8:45 PM The V-shaped formation passes over the Prescott and Dewey areas of Arizona. Witnesses describe a massive, solid object blocking out the stars as it passes overhead. The object is estimated by some witnesses to be over a mile wide. Reports describe the object as completely silent.
Approximately 10:00 PM The formation passes over Phoenix. Thousands of residents report seeing the lights. Governor Fife Symington later stated he saw the object from his home and described it as “otherworldly” and “enormous.” Actor Kurt Russell, piloting his private plane near Phoenix, reports the lights to the FAA. He did not publicly discuss the incident for years.
Approximately 10:30 PM A second set of lights appears over the Estrella Mountains south of Phoenix. These lights are captured on multiple home video recordings. The footage shows a series of amber lights in a row or arc over the mountain ridge. This second event is later attributed to military flares dropped by aircraft from Luke Air Force Base.
June 1997 Governor Symington holds a press conference about the Phoenix Lights. He introduces a man in an alien costume, presented as a suspect, in what he later described as an attempt to defuse public anxiety through humor. The stunt is widely criticized by witnesses who felt their experiences were being mocked.
2007 Symington publicly reverses his position, stating that he personally witnessed the Phoenix Lights and described the object as “otherworldly.” He states his press conference was an attempt to manage public reaction, not to deny the experience.
Two Events, One Night
The Phoenix Lights are often discussed as a single event, but two distinct phenomena occurred on March 13, 1997.
The V-shaped formation (8:00-10:00 PM). This is the event that generated the most reports and the most controversy. Witnesses from northern Arizona to Phoenix describe a massive V-shaped or triangular formation of lights moving slowly and silently across the sky. Some witnesses report seeing a solid craft blocking out stars as it passed overhead. The object was estimated by various witnesses to be between several hundred feet and over a mile in width. The consistency of descriptions across hundreds of miles suggests a single large object rather than multiple independent sightings.
The Estrella Mountain lights (10:30 PM). A separate set of lights appeared over the Estrella Mountains south of Phoenix approximately 30 minutes after the V-formation passed over the city. These lights were captured on home video footage that was widely broadcast. The Air Force later stated that these lights were flares dropped by A-10 aircraft during training exercises at the Barry Goldwater Range. Many skeptics consider the Estrella lights to be the source of the Phoenix Lights legend, arguing that video footage of the flares has been conflated with earlier reports of the V-formation.
The identification problem. The conflation of these two events has complicated the analysis of the Phoenix Lights for decades. Witnesses of the V-formation describe a structured, silent craft. The Estrella lights footage shows stationary or slowly descending lights consistent with flares. Critics argue the entire event can be explained by the flares. Witnesses counter that the earlier V-formation, seen across hundreds of miles, cannot be explained by flares.
Opposing Perspectives
The mass sighting case: The Phoenix Lights are notable for the sheer number and consistency of witness reports. Thousands of people across multiple counties described the same phenomenon: a massive, silent, V-shaped formation moving across the sky. The witnesses included the state governor, a trained pilot, police officers, and military personnel. The consistency of reports across such a wide geographic area makes coordinated misidentification unlikely. The governor’s later admission that he saw something “otherworldly” from a position of authority adds credibility to the sighting.
The conventional case: Skeptics argue that the Estrella Mountain lights, widely attributed to military flares, have been conflated with earlier reports to create a more dramatic narrative. The V-formation seen earlier in the evening could have been a formation of conventional aircraft or military planes, with the distance and darkness obscuring the individual aircraft and creating the impression of a single craft. The lack of any physical evidence, radar data, or official investigation means the sighting remains a collection of eyewitness reports without corroborating technical data.
The cultural impact: Regardless of what was seen, the Phoenix Lights had a significant cultural impact. The mass sighting drew national attention to the UFO topic and demonstrated that large-scale sightings could occur over major metropolitan areas with thousands of witnesses. The incident remains a touchstone in UAP discussions and is frequently cited in congressional testimony and media coverage.
Sources
Reporting
- Axios Phoenix – Phoenix Lights Put Arizona on the UFO Map in 1997 (March 13, 2024)
- Phoenix New Times – Phoenix Lights UFO Mystery Explanations (June 3, 2024)