Patrick Thornton

If asked to describe the most famous UFO sighting in history, most people would immediately think of “The Roswell Incident” from 1947, but the most documented UFO sighting actually occurred 50 years later in Arizona when a formation of six to seven bright lights appeared over the city of Phoenix. Hundreds of eyewitnesses began filming the lights and calling local authorities, and theories about alien visitation quickly escalated.

Nearly 25 years later, there is still no conclusive answer to what has become known as the Phoenix Lights incident. While the US Air Force eventually gave an explanation, many who saw the lights firsthand are certain they witnessed something extraterrestrial. Even government officials who were in office at the time speculated that the Phoenix area was visited by a UFO.

This list breaks down the facts, theories, and rumors surrounding the largest – and perhaps most controversial – UFO sighting in history.

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Video: YouTube

The First Part Of The Phoenix Lights Sighting Happened Around 8 PM On March 13, 1997

The first Phoenix Lights sighting was witnessed by hundreds (if not thousands) of people across Arizona and parts of Nevada on the evening of March 13, 1997. Witnesses described the lights forming a V shape that seemed to be headed south towards the city of Tucson.

Eyewitness accounts also note the alleged UFO was completely silent, unlike typical aircrafts such as a plane or helicopter. An anonymous witness said the craft was so big that it “completely blocked out the stars.”

• The Second Round Of Mass Sightings Occurred A Few Hours Later

Around 10 pm on the evening of March 13, a second sighting of a “boomerang”-shaped object hovered over the city of Phoenix. Witnesses described the object’s orange and red lights blinking in regular intervals and estimated it to be more than a mile long. Even air traffic controllers reported seeing the lights, but no aircraft were detected on their radar equipment.

The controllers later described the experience as “inexplicable” in an interview with USA Today. Whatever the aircraft was, many witnesses wanted answers, but those who sought out the answers were not taken seriously.

Video: YouTube

Kurt Russell Revealed In An Interview That He Was The Pilot Who Called In The Sighting

In a 2017 interview, actor Kurt Russell claimed he was the first pilot to report seeing the Phoenix Lights as he flew into the city with his son, Oliver. Russell explained that Oliver asked about the formation of six lights, which formed the now-famous V pattern, but Russell had no idea what they were.

Upon reporting the lights to air traffic control, Russell received an abrupt response: “We don’t show anything.” After that, he let the incident go, and Russell never discussed the Phoenix Lights – not even with his son.

• Years Later, Goldie Hawn Watched A Documentary On The Sighting, Triggering Russell’s Memories

After seeing the Phoenix Lights, Kurt Russell said he completely put the event out of his mind. That changed just two years after the encounter when Russell came home to find his wife, actor Goldie Hawn, watching a documentary on UFOs. Russell’s interest was piqued when the documentary began discussing the Phoenix Lights and how it had been initially reported by “a general aviation pilot.”

Russell suddenly realized he was the pilot in question. As he put it in the interview, “Had I not seen the show, I never would’ve thought of it again. That, to me, was the weird part.” Russell was even able to confirm he was at the airport at the time of the incident after referencing his flight logs.

• Photo: UFO / Showtime

Arizona Governor Fife Symington First Treated The Sightings As A Joke, But He Later Changed His Opinion

Fife Symington was governor of Arizona at the time of the Phoenix Lights incident, but he didn’t initially express much concern over it. He even had an aid dress up as an alien during a press conference, telling reporters, “This just goes to show that you guys are entirely too serious.” Symington’s comment was met with laughter, indicating the idea of an alien visit was not being taken too seriously by the media.

However, in the years following Symington’s time as governor, he shed his earlier skepticism of the Phoenix Lights and even revealed that he had seen the lights himself. In an interview for the docuseries UFO, Symington recalled, “It was really eerie. It had embedded lights. I always refer to it as otherworldly. I’d never seen anything like it.”

Symington has specified in multiple interviews that he saw the lights in the area of Squaw Peak and thought they were “breathtaking.”

• Photo: UFO / Showtime

Councilmember Frances Barwood Demanded An Investigation But Was Ridiculed

Frances Barwood was a member of the Phoenix City Council in 1997 and brought her concerns regarding the Phoenix Lights to a council meeting shortly after the event on March 13. Barwood felt ignored and was told by another council member, “You shouldn’t have asked that question.”

Despite pushback from other councilmembers, Barwood soon received hundreds of letters from residents in Phoenix who hoped she would bring attention to the matter. Barwood subsequently went to then-governor Fife Symington with hundreds of reports from residents but was dismissed. She was also ridiculed by the press, who ran unflattering cartoons of Barwood with references to tin foil hats and Spock from Star Trek.

• Barwood Theorized Symington Was Forced To Downplay The Incident

In the 2021 docuseries UFO, Barwood implied Fife Symington may have downplayed the Phoenix Lights incident as he faced a criminal trial. Symington was convicted on 21 counts of fraud in 1997 related to business dealings prior to him becoming governor.

Barwood noted in the docuseries that it was around the time of the trial that Symington held his now-notorious press conference with the staffer in the alien costume, though there is no credible connection between the two incidents. Symington’s conviction was later overturned, and President Bill Clinton pardoned him in 2001.

When asked directly if there was any pressure from the military or government to cover up the Phoenix Lights incident, or that his trial played into his actions, Symington replied, “There was no conspiracy behind it at all.” According to Symington, he was merely looking to calm what he feared was a growing hysteria over UFOs.

• Photo: UFO / Showtime

At First, The Military Denied Any Involvement But Later Said The Lights Were High-Intensity Flares

When air traffic controllers initially saw the Phoenix Lights, they speculated it could have been some sort of military aircraft. However, the Air Force claimed the lights were not the result of any sort of military activity. They later changed their statement and reported that the lights were a result of high-intensity flares dropped during a training routine involving a fleet of A-10s.

Fife Symington questioned the Air Force’s claims, stating, “As a pilot and a former Air Force Officer, I can definitively say that this craft did not resemble any man-made object I’d ever seen. And it was certainly not high-altitude flares, because flares don’t fly in formation.”

The Air Force reportedly ignored requests from both Symington and Arizona senator John McCain for an investigation into the Phoenix Lights incident.

• Eyewitness Mitch Stanley Watched The Lights Through His Telescope And Saw That They Were Airplanes

Three months after the Phoenix Lights incident, the Arizona New Times ran an article on then 21-year-old Mitch Stanley who was using his telescope for stargazing on the night of March 13 when he saw the lights. Stanley’s telescope was reported to be 60 times more powerful than the human eye, and he could clearly see the outline of seven planes that each emitted their own light.

Stanley claimed that his sighting of the planes was passed on to the local media, as well as Frances Barwood, but no one ever followed up with him. Barwood countered that she had passed along the information to Village Labs, a company in Tempe, AZ, that was investigating the possibility of the Phoenix Lights being something extraterrestrial.

• Photo: Phoenix Forgotten / 20th Century Fox

The Phoenix Lights Inspired A Book, Multiple Documentaries, And The Horror Film ‘Phoenix Forgotten’

Whether it was just a military exercise or an extraterrestrial sighting, the Phoenix Lights have inspired multiple creative endeavors, including the documentary The Phoenix Lights: Beyond Top Secret and the book The Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic’s Discovery That We Are Not Alone by Dr. Lynne D. Kitei. The 2017 found footage horror film Phoenix Forgotten recounts the fictional story of three teenagers who vanished after launching their own investigation into the Phoenix Lights.

In 2021, J.J. Abrams executive produced UFO, a four-part docuseries for Showtime, directed by Paul Crowder and Mark Monroe. The first installment in the series covered the controversial Phoenix Lights incident and included interviews with Fife Symington and Frances Barwood, among others who have found themselves at the center of the story.

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