On the evening of March 13, 1997, thousands of witnesses across Arizona reported observing unusual aerial phenomena over a span of several hours. The events occurred across a corridor spanning approximately 300 miles from Nevada through Phoenix to Tucson, making it one of the most widely witnessed incidents of its kind documented in U.S. public records.
The Sighting
Two distinct phenomena were reported on the night of March 13, 1997.
The first event involved a large V-shaped formation of lights that witnesses reported seeing moving southward from Henderson, Nevada, through the Phoenix area toward Tucson between approximately 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM local time. Witnesses described the formation as enormous in size and silent, with some reporting that the formation appeared to block out stars as it passed overhead. The object reportedly moved slowly across the sky before disappearing from view.
The second event occurred approximately one hour later, around 10:00 PM, when a series of stationary lights appeared over the Estrella Mountains area near Phoenix. Residents filmed the lights, and this footage became part of the documented record of the evening’s events.
Witnesses
The sighting attracted reports from thousands of residents across the affected region. Witnesses included off-duty law enforcement personnel and pilots with professional aviation experience, in addition to civilian observers.
Arizona Governor Fife Symington became a notable figure in the public record of the incident. Initially, Symington’s office held a press conference that included an aide in an extraterrestrial costume, which Symington later characterized as a regrettable decision. However, in subsequent interviews beginning in 2007, Symington made public statements indicating that he had personally witnessed the V-shaped formation on the evening of March 13, 1997. In on-record interviews, Symington described the formation as “otherworldly” and stated that the experience had changed his perspective on the subject.
Official Responses
The U.S. military addressed the sightings through official channels. The Maryland Air National Guard issued a statement indicating that the stationary lights observed over the Estrella Mountains around 10:00 PM were flares dropped during military exercises conducted at the Barry Goldwater Range, a military training area in Arizona. This explanation addressed the second phenomenon reported that evening but did not account for the earlier V-shaped formation sightings reported between 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM.
The Public Record
The Phoenix Lights incident remains documented in multiple official and public databases. City of Phoenix records contain documentation of the sightings and the city’s response. The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) maintains records of witness reports filed for March 13, 1997, creating a documented database of testimonies.
The Phoenix Lights incident received renewed attention in 2023 during congressional discussions focused on unidentified aerial phenomena, highlighting its continued significance as a documented historical event with extensive witness testimony and official government involvement in the public record.