About Phoenix Lights
The Phoenix Lights were a series of widely witnessed unidentified lights that appeared over Arizona and southern Nevada on the evening of March 13, 1997. The event involved two main occurrences: a V-shaped formation of lights in the early evening and a row of stationary or slow-falling lights in the Phoenix area later that night. Investigators and military officials explained the sightings as A-10 aircraft flying in formation and illumination flares dropped during training exercises, though various witnesses and former Governor Fife Symington rejected these explanations.
- Also known as
- Lights Over Phoenix
- Date
- About 7:30–10:30 p.m. MST, 13 March 1997
- Area
- A 300-mile (480 km) corridor from the Nevada line through Phoenix to the edge of Tucson
- Events
- (1) A V-shaped formation of lights, about 8–8:45 p.m.; (2) a row of hovering lights southwest of Phoenix, about 10 p.m.
- Explanation
- A-10 aircraft of Operation Snowbird flying in formation; LUU-2B/B illumination flares dropped over the Barry M. Goldwater Range
- Notable witness
- Governor Fife Symington (disclosed 2007)
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Coordinates
- 33.4500, -112.0700 ↗
The full story, section by section
The story of Phoenix Lights in 5 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.
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The first event: the V-shaped formationAt 7:55 p.m. a witness in Henderson, Nevada, reported a large V-shaped object travelling southeast.Read this part →
Comet Hale-Bopp in March 1997. Many Arizonans were outside to see the comet that night. · Photo: Philipp Salzgeber, CC BY-SA 2.0 at, Wikimedia Commons -
The second event: the hovering lightsAt about 10 p.m., hundreds if not thousands of people in the Phoenix area saw "a row of brilliant lights hovering in the sky, or slowly falling" to the southwest.Read this part →
The Sierra Estrella mountains southwest of Phoenix. Each light vanished as it dropped behind their unseen ridge line. · Photo: Jason West, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons -
Governor SymingtonIn June 1997 Governor Fife Symington III held a press conference to announce that the Department of Public Safety had arrested "the culprit": a tall, bug-eyed alien brought in in handcuffs, who was unmasked as his 6-foot-4 chief of staff, Jay Heiler.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
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Later lightsLights reported and filmed by the local Fox station over Phoenix on 6 February 2007 were identified by military officials and the FAA as flares dropped by F-16s training from Luke Air Force Base.Read this part →
Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Lights, 2011 · Photo: Chris English, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons -
LegacyThe 1997 sightings came days before members of the Heaven's Gate cult took their own lives on 26 March 1997, believing they would join an object supposedly following Comet Hale-Bopp — a claim based on a misidentified star in an amateur photograph.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
Key people
The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:
- Bill ClintonBill Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, following his time as attorney general and governor of Arkansas. During his presidency,…
- Edgar MitchellEdgar Dean Mitchell was a U.S. Navy officer, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut who became the sixth person to walk on the Moon as the lunar module pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971.
- Barry GoldwaterBarry Goldwater was a long-serving U.S. senator from Arizona, a military pilot, and the 1964 Republican presidential nominee who is credited with helping lay the foundation for the American conservat…
- Peter GerstenPeter Gersten is an American lawyer known as the UFO lawyer for his legal work involving freedom of information lawsuits and UFO documentation against government agencies. Operating from the late 197…
- Bruce MaccabeeBruce S. Maccabee was an American optical physicist and government scientist who became a prominent UFO researcher over five decades. He investigated numerous well-known UFO photographs, films, and r…
- Grant CameronGrant Cameron is a Canadian UFO researcher who has spent decades investigating the relationship between United States presidents and UFOs by utilizing Freedom of Information Act requests and presiden…
- Ed DamesEd Dames is a retired U.S. Army major and military intelligence officer who served in government remote-viewing units between 1981 and 1995.
Related cases & events
Events and sightings linked to Phoenix Lights:
🗓️ Event · 5 min readCAUS Phoenix Lights lawsuitIn January 1999, Peter Gersten and Citizens Against UFO Secrecy filed a lawsuit in a Phoenix federal court against the U.S. Department of Defense under the Freedom of Information Act.
🛸 Case · 12 min readTravis Walton incidentThe Travis Walton incident involves the claim by Arizona forestry worker Travis Walton that he was abducted by a UFO on November 5, 1975, and went missing for five days. Six co-workers reported seeing a glowing craft and a beam of light strike Walton as he ap…
🛸 Case · 9 min readStephenville UFO sightingsThe Stephenville UFO sightings were a mass sighting of large, bright, silent lights over Stephenville, Texas, and nearby towns on the evening of January 8, 2008. Numerous residents and pilots reported fast-moving objects, sometimes allegedly pursued by milita…
🗓️ Event · 7 min readBruce Maccabee's CIA talk (1987)On 7 July 1987, U.S. Navy optical physicist and UFO analyst Bruce Maccabee gave a lecture on UFOs to about two dozen employees at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
🗓️ Event · 6 min readNIDS black triangle studyThe National Institute for Discovery Science conducted a study, released in 2004, analyzing nearly 400 reports of large, low-flying triangular craft across the United States and Canada. Led by Colm Kelleher and funded by Robert Bigelow, the research concluded…
📅 Year · 4 min read1997 in UFO historyThe article covers UFO and UAP events, reports, and publications that occurred in 1997 across various locations, including Arizona, Nevada, and Peru. Key events included the Phoenix Lights sighting traced to Air National Guard aircraft, the release of the Air…
📅 Year · 4 min read1999 in UFO historyThe UAP timeline records ten UFO-related events in 1999 that centered on debates over the MJ-12 papers, private disclosure preparations, and various claims about crashes and retrievals. Key occurrences included James Westwood concluding that the MJ-12 Eisenho…Programs, organizations & documents
The official programs, groups and papers involved:
🏢 Organization · 9 min readHeaven's GateHeaven's Gate was an American UFO religion founded in 1974 and led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The group taught that followers could become immortal extraterrestrial beings by abandoning human nature and passing to a higher world. The organizat…
🏢 Organization · 6 min readCitizens Against UFO SecrecyCitizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) was an American non-profit activist group founded in 1977 that used the Freedom of Information Act and the courts to try to force federal and state agencies to release classified UFO information. Its best-known legal case i…
📄 Document · 13 min readFreedom of Information ActThe Freedom of Information Act is a United States law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966, requiring federal executive agencies to release records upon request unless they fall under specific exemptions. The statute allows federal courts to …
🏢 Organization · 7 min readNIDSThe National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) was a privately financed research organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that operated from 1995 to 2004 to study UFOs and other anomalous phenomena. Founded by Robert Bigelow, the organization is best kno…
🏢 Organization · 4 min readPsi-TechPsi-Tech was an American company formed in 1989 by former members of a US military psychic intelligence program to sell "remote viewing" services and training courses. Led by Ed Dames, the company gained widespread attention in the 1990s through controversial…Related topics & places
Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:
📍 Place · 4 min readNellis Air Force BaseNellis Air Force Base is a large United States Air Force base located in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, that originated from a military range established in 1940 and was officially named in 1950. The base is primarily known for advanced air-combat training, in…
📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them…📖 Term · 4 min readBlack triangleA black triangle is a type of UFO report describing a large, dark, triangular object usually seen at night with pulsing colored lights at the corners. Numerous sightings have occurred internationally since 1960, including prominent waves in the Hudson Valley,…🗓️ Phoenix Lights on the UAP timeline
- A civilian group sues for records on the Phoenix Lights. Read the article →
🛸 UFO sightings near Phoenix Lights
276 sightings on ufos.dev were reported within 120 km. The most-upvoted:
Sightings that mention Phoenix Lights
More in the encyclopedia
Other articles that link to or mention Phoenix Lights:
- Kaikoura lightsThe Kaikoura lights were a series of unidentified UFO sightings by cargo plane crews, residents, and a television crew in December 1978 off the Kaikoura coast and ranges in New Zealand. The events we…
- Lubbock LightsThe Lubbock Lights were formations of soft, glowing bluish-green lights seen by multiple witnesses over Lubbock, Texas, and surrounding areas between August and September 1951. The sightings were fam…
- Tinley Park lightsThe Tinley Park lights were repeated sightings of silent red lights, often in a triangular formation, over Tinley Park and nearby suburbs south of Chicago, Illinois, between 2004 and 2006. Hundreds o…
- Hessdalen lightsThe Hessdalen lights are unidentified, recurring light phenomena that have been seen periodically since at least the 1930s over the Hessdalen valley in Norway. They became world-famous during a surge…
- Rhodes UFO photographsThe Rhodes UFO photographs are two pictures of a disc-shaped object reportedly taken over Phoenix, Arizona, on July 7, 1947, by amateur astronomer William Albert Rhodes. The images were published on …
- Burned Kennedy MJ memoThe article discusses the "burned Kennedy MJ memo," a partly burned, nine-page document that surfaced in 1999 after being sent to UFO researcher Timothy Cooper. The document purports to be a Kennedy-…
- Bigelow's contact contingency planning (1999)In 1999, Robert Bigelow proposed that his research institute, the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), develop a private contingency plan in case humans were found to share the Earth with…
Questions & answers
What is Phoenix Lights?
Phoenix Lights: The Phoenix Lights were a series of widely witnessed unidentified lights that appeared over Arizona and southern Nevada on the evening of March 13, 1997. The event involved two main occurrences: a V-shaped formation of lights in the early evening and a row of stationary or slow-falling lights in the Phoenix area later that night. Investigators and military officials explained the sightings as A-10 aircraft flying in formation and illumination flares dropped during training exercises, though various witnesses and former Governor Fife Symington rejected these explanations. Read: Phoenix Lights →
Where is Phoenix Lights?
Phoenix Lights is in Phoenix, Arizona (about 33.450, -112.070). Read: Phoenix Lights →
What else is Phoenix Lights called?
Phoenix Lights is also known as Lights Over Phoenix.
Who is Bill Clinton?
Bill Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, following his time as attorney general and governor of Arkansas. During his presidency, which featured long economic expansion and his 1998 impeachment and 1999 acquittal, he expressed a playful interest in UFOs and was lobbied regarding UFO disclosure through the Rockefeller Initiative. Read: Bill Clinton →
Who is Edgar Mitchell?
Edgar Mitchell: Edgar Dean Mitchell was a U.S. Navy officer, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut who became the sixth person to walk on the Moon as the lunar module pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971. Read: Edgar Mitchell →
Who is Barry Goldwater?
Barry Goldwater was a long-serving U.S. senator from Arizona, a military pilot, and the 1964 Republican presidential nominee who is credited with helping lay the foundation for the American conservative movement. Read: Barry Goldwater →
What was CAUS Phoenix Lights lawsuit?
CAUS Phoenix Lights lawsuit: In January 1999, Peter Gersten and Citizens Against UFO Secrecy filed a lawsuit in a Phoenix federal court against the U.S. Department of Defense under the Freedom of Information Act. Read: CAUS Phoenix Lights lawsuit →
What was Travis Walton incident?
Travis Walton incident: The Travis Walton incident involves the claim by Arizona forestry worker Travis Walton that he was abducted by a UFO on November 5, 1975, and went missing for five days. Six co-workers reported seeing a glowing craft and a beam of light strike Walton as he approached it. While Walton maintained his account was real, skeptics and some of the crew members later called the event a hoax. Read: Travis Walton incident →
What is Heaven's Gate?
Heaven's Gate was an American UFO religion founded in 1974 and led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The group taught that followers could become immortal extraterrestrial beings by abandoning human nature and passing to a higher world. The organization is primarily known for the 1997 mass suicide of 39 members, including Applewhite, in Rancho Santa Fe, California, timed to the approach of Comet Hale–Bopp. Read: Heaven's Gate →
What is Citizens Against UFO Secrecy?
Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) was an American non-profit activist group founded in 1977 that used the Freedom of Information Act and the courts to try to force federal and state agencies to release classified UFO information. Its best-known legal case involved a 1980 lawsuit against the National Security Agency that ended when a judge accepted the agency's secret reasons for withholding its records. The group later became inactive, and its non-profit status was revoked by 2023. Read: Citizens Against UFO Secrecy →
What is Nellis Air Force Base?
Nellis Air Force Base is a large United States Air Force base located in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, that originated from a military range established in 1940 and was officially named in 1950. The base is primarily known for advanced air-combat training, including Red Flag exercises, and for controlling the Nevada Test and Training Range. Because its controlled ranges encompass secret facilities like Area 51, the base is frequently associated with unconfirmed UFO lore and claims of extraterrestrial encounters. Read: Nellis Air Force Base →
What is Unidentified flying object?
Unidentified flying object: An unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them to be known objects, natural phenomena, hoaxes, or mirages, and no government investigation has ever concluded they are extraterrestrial. Read: Unidentified flying object →
Have UFOs been reported near Phoenix Lights?
276 sightings on ufos.dev were reported within 120 km of Phoenix Lights, and 157 mention it by name. Sightings near Phoenix Lights →