1997 · Arizona
The Phoenix Lights
WhenMarch 13, 1997
WhereArizona
Backing3 independent
Witnesses1 named
Evidenceofficial records, sensor data
Thousands of people from Nevada to Tucson watched a huge V-shaped formation of lights glide silently overhead. Many said the lights belonged to a single craft a mile wide that blotted out the stars. Governor Fife Symington mocked the sightings at a press conference, then admitted ten years later that he had seen it himself and that it was 'otherworldly'.
Evidence, in date order (3)
- 13 Mar 19971997 video recordingssensor dataoriginal and raw footage of the lights Phoenix Lights, 1997: original video
- 13 Mar 1997Thousands of residentswitnessmass witness reports across Arizona Wikipedia: Phoenix Lights
- 2007Gov. Fife Symingtonofficialsaid in 2007 he saw the craft himself and called it otherworldly Former Governor Symington on witnessing the lights
How plausible · High
Thousands of witnesses, video and a sitting governor's firsthand account of a huge V-shaped craft; no official sensor record released.
- ●●Access Seen across the state.
- ●●Cost of speaking The governor first mocked it, then admitted seeing it.
- ●●No gain sought Ordinary residents.
- ●●Consistent over time Decades.
- ●●Character record A governor and a pilot among them.
- ●●Independent convergence Thousands.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- Thousands of witness reports and multiple videos.
- Symington's 2007 public statement that he saw the craft.
- Listed as an 'actual case' in the UNLV societal-impact scenarios inside BAASS's March 2009 report (DOW-UAP-D169, PURSUE Release 07).A triangle over Afghanistan
Claims
A massive structured craft over a major U.S. city.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedPhoenix witnesses
A UNLV scenario list in BAASS's March 2009 report to DIA labels Phoenix, 13 March 1997, as an 'actual case'.BAASS monthly reports to DIA (March, April, June and November 2009)analysisOn the recordDOW-UAP-D169
Where
Arizona
33.5°N 112.1°W
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Sources
- Wikipedia: Phoenix Lights
- Phoenix Lights, 1997: original video
- Phoenix Lights raw footage
- Fife Symington on the Phoenix Lights: full interview
- Former Governor Symington on witnessing the lights
- war.gov: DOW-UAP-D169, BAASS Monthly Report, March 2009