Phoenix Lights

What was reported. Between about 7:30 and 8:45 pm on 13 March 1997 witnesses from Paulden south through Prescott, Phoenix and Tucson described five to seven lights in a V or boomerang moving slowly and silently, many saying stars were blocked out between the lights. Around 10 pm a separate row of lights appeared over the southwest horizon of Phoenix and was videotaped from several homes. (FACT.)

What followed. Local television and, in June, USA Today covered the story; the Maryland Air National Guard said A-10s had dropped flares at 10 pm. Governor Symington held a press conference with an aide in an alien costume, then in 2007 said he had seen a large craft that night. (FACT.)

What the corpus adds. James Fox's episode presents the case as a formation over a mile across seen by thousands. A 2025 episode recounts that witnesses dislike the name "Phoenix Lights" because they saw a massive craft, not lights. A surgeon-pilot guest says he would fly toward such an object. (FACT about testimony.)

Explanations offered. Flares for the 10 pm event, with the timing and terrain supporting it; for the earlier V, skeptics propose a flight of A-10s in formation, while supporters cite descriptions of a solid shape at low altitude. (INFERENCE.)