Phoenix Lights mass sighting

1997 March 13

One of the most widely witnessed UFO events ever, with estimates of 10,000+ witnesses. The primary sighting involved a huge, silent, boomerang- or triangular-shaped object with 5–10 amber/orange lights blocking out stars as it passed overhead from Nevada through Phoenix toward Tucson between ~8:00–8:40 p.m. MST. A second event around 10:00 p.m. featured stationary lights over Phoenix, often explained as flares but disputed by many due to timing, silence, and size.

Then-Arizona Governor Fife Symington initially mocked the reports but later admitted he saw the lights himself and believed they were “not of this world.” Official explanations cite military flares from Operation Snowbird (A-10 aircraft and/or drops at Barry Goldwater Range), but witnesses and some analyses argue the descriptions don’t fully match.

Mentioned in numerous documentaries (e.g., “The Phoenix Lights” by Lynne Kitei) and mainstream coverage as a benchmark mass sighting.