Phoenix Lights
"Bigger than anything I've ever seen in the sky ... absolutely silent." Thousands of people across Nevada and Arizona witnessed two different sets of lights in the sky on March 13, 1997. The U.S. military explanation has left many in the public unconvinced.
On March 13, 1997, thousands of people across a geography that spanned across Southern Nevada and much of Arizona described seeing varying lights in the sky between approximately 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM MST.
V-shaped Object Traveling SE
Just before 8 PM in Henderson, Nevada, a witness reported a large object with five lights in a v-shape (or boomerang formation) passing overhead, traveling in a southeasterly direction towards Arizona. Many people subsequently spotted this object across Nevada and Arizona, continuing over Phoenix, and as far as Tucson and even parts of Mexico. This object was, according to on-the-ground observers, moving slowly, close to the ground, and silently as it passed overhead.The Governor of Arizona at the time, Fyfe Symington, witnessed this object, and gained notoriety for publicly joking about it in a press conference, but later describing it with awe and the opinion that it was not made by humans. A pilot and former member of the Air Force, he said, "It's nothing like I've ever seen ... it was pretty breathtaking. Bigger than anything I've ever seen in the sky. It was absolutely silent."
Falling Lights
Later on this same evening at about 10:00 PM MST, many people in metro Phoenix described lights hovering or slowly falling from the sky. Distinct from the other objects, witnesses described them as extremely bright and moving vertically.
Possible Explanations
According to the U.S. military, the v-shaped formation was actually five A-10 Warthog aircraft flying over Phoenix participating in Operation Snowbird, and that the "falling lights" from 10pm were flares that were ejected by A-10 Warthogs. This explanation has been accepted by some, and dismissed by others, including former Governor Fyfe Symington.
