New Report on the Phoenix Lights by a First-Hand Witness

I was messing around online, a few days ago, when I noticed a comment made by someone on another website. They mentioned being in Phoenix and being a witness to the 1997 Phoenix Lights.

I took a moment and e-mailed the person, asking them if they would give me a precise account of their experiences. Today they responded and this is what they had to say about it:

My family and I recall that night often. I had only lived in phoenix for about a year, year and a half at most. We were living on williams airforce base when we saw it. We actually saw it from two vantage points though. Williams was the second.

We were at my aunts house when we first noticed it. That was about 10 miles to the north north west (roughly) near Mesa Dr. and I forget what other road. There was a middle school nearby my cousin went to. Anyway, it was just after sunset, or so it seemed, I was still young. My cousin John Doe spotted it and called me outside. Then i saw it and called out my dad and broth (sic).

It was very large to my memory. Not as high as a jumbo jet or anything, but it was at least 5,000 feet up and massive, in the shape of a V made out of lights. They weren't regular sized lights, they were relatively larger than stadium lights while standing at the bottom of the pole they are mounted on, but thousands of feet in the air and not extremely bright either. They were more like a yellow, old school street lamp as it looks through a rainy fog, maybe even distorted, but you could dismiss that as being mesmerized at the time.

After seeing it and watching it move towards the south (ish) direction, we went back into my aunt's house for five minutes and then left. My dad, my brother, and myself all drove home and we stared out the window at it, as we went. We were headed back south along the freeway, from Mesa Drive towards Williams AFB. (Sorry, I don't know the cross streets, all i know is that it was within about 10 - 15 mins from our house at most)

There was a point where we kind of ended up not under it directly, but we could see less lights off to the side more. (im writing the story on here as it recalls in my head, trying to be honest as possible without deleting things)

We were talking a lot at this point and I don't remember as many visual details. We got home a few minutes later. My dad got inside and made his bed and crap, while John Doe and I were watching.

At this point we were farther away and the vantage point changed. We saw the same V shape, but it wasn't as large. Also, you could see the thickness of the lights now, very thin in comparison to it's size. They looked like those weird battery powered, 'as-seen-on-tv' lights ~ the round ones that you slap or press to turn on. The lights still appeared as if they were under that same fog, the same thickness, but from a further distance.

We watched this thing move all across the city for about 20 - 25 minutes in total, just like we did when they were too far away to judge, but still visible.

I think it was a show, like going to a nocturnal fish or zoo exhibit and just shinning a flashlight down thinking "hey, they are probably too dumb to know whats going on"... maybe they are right, but who knows.

You can archive this, or do whatever you want to do with it. This is the same thing I have said, every time, to the best of my memory.

*Sub Note: I have lived in the desert Southwest of the US for most of my life. New Mexico to be specific. Living here has granted me many special opportunities to experience very strange, but great things.

I have heard the Taos hum; a very strange phenomenon that seems to occur mostly to locals, but a grand many tourists have heard it too. White Sands missile range, labeled a "natural" occurrence by many here, but still very mysterious. Also, this rather strange disappearing military base, located near Ladron Peak, south of Belen, New Mexico...

Let's not forget the S.E.T.I. Program...

Hope this serves you well. Don't be mocking me on it.

This actually makes me have real hope for our race in the future, even if you, I, or our great, great, great, great grandchildren don't live to see it. It means humans weren't some kind of dumb mistake. We, as a race, have some kind of big brother out there, who may be looking out for us.

I replied to their mail and await their reply.

They may be joining the thread to answer any questions or to discuss this further - depending on how they are about their privacy. Some people see extraordinary things, but don't want potential ridicule, so they keep it to themselves, even though it is true.

I always like learning about alternative possibilities, for the Phoenix Lights, that contrast the 'Official Story'

I'll keep my eyes open and will post further info as I get it. Hopefully they will come in and answer quesitons, etc.

Very interesting account. Nice of them to be so forthcoming.

That certainly comes across as sincere, not flares, and not planes in formation.
Thanks for posting. S&F.

Great story.
There doesn't seem to be any photos taken of this thing considering it was in the sky for so long.
I've seen the videos but no photographs.

reply to post by draknoir2


Yes they were very cordial in their response and their attitude toward my solicitation. I think the fact that the website I met them on is not a conspiracy site, or a news site for that matter. It's a site, similar to IMDB, but where movies can be talked about by peers.

I am sure they have seen my screen name there, as I have seen their's many times, but we never happened across each other. They may have ignored my mail if I seemed like a complete stranger, trying to troll them off the bridge, but the small familiarity made the difference - that's what I like to think anyway.

I could tell they were skittish(?) about my inquiry, evidenced by the request to refrain from any mockery. Maybe they will see my sincerity and have enough trust to tell any other info or maybe come over and talk with you guys about it.


reply to post by xpoq47


Yes, they do seem very honest, so far. I have no reason to think that would end, if they do get back to my most recent mail.

I tend to be much more skeptical when someone shows up, guns ablaze, trying to jack-hammer their story down our throats. I my have never known they witnessed this, had I not noticed the single comment... In that sense, they are a lucky find for me, as far as this topic goes.

It would be awesome to have several of the friends, who witnessed the event, join them here at ATS, describing their experiences that night.




reply to post by lambros56


That is one of the most puzzling aspects to this case. Maybe there weren't cameras in everyone's pocket, but there certainly were cameras in almost every home and road side market.

I didn't think to ask this person if they have any photos, or if they know of any un-published images or videos. That would be incredible too! Never before seen video showcased for the 1st time on ATS. That would be something nice for the members here to be a part of.... let's hope I am not only dreaming, but they do know of video/photos we can see.

Originally posted by esteay812
I was messing around online, a few days ago, when I noticed a comment made by someone on another website. They mentioned being in Phoenix and being a witness to the 1997 Phoenix Lights.

I took a moment and e-mailed the person, asking them if they would give me a precise account of their experiences. Today they responded and this is what they had to say about it:
...

To me, it's equally as valid as the documentaries and collected testimonials shown in all those broadly available reports of the Phoenix Lights.

It's good. It only adds to the mountain of evidence. There's nothing particularly "more immediate" or "more credible" about testimony from somebody's direct email. There were countless credible witnesses. I recall Mike Fortson, firsthand witness, is also here in these forums.

As for the bottom-glowing lights, the way it's described now seem to indicate they may be some sort of propulsion exhaust.

reply to post by FormerSkeptic


For me, there is absolutely something of more value when the story comes directly from a first-hand witness. The fact that I recieved the mail from him/her, in the exact wording as included in the opening post, is something that should be valued when comparing to other eye-witness testimony.

I do not hold this testimony in a higher regard, because it was sent directly to me. Instead, I hold it in higher regard, because there is 0% chance that a 3rd party has manipulated or incorrectly interpreted the witness account. There is a chance that an effort to bend witness reports to match the overall agenda of a 3rd party presenter - generally financially driven motivation...

Instead of being at the bottom floor of a 100 floor pyramid, waiting for the story to make it's way through the other 99 levels (99 re-tellings), you are on the 99th floor and you are the first person to hear the account...

This is a story that has interested me since i very first read about it, I also saw it in a documentary and not one person they interviewed said planes in formation or flares.

I just really want to know what it was now

Originally posted by Snoopie
This is a story that has interested me since i very first read about it, I also saw it in a documentary and not one person they interviewed said planes in formation or flares.

I just really want to know what it was now

It has always interested me as well. Whatever that thing was it was HUGE!!!!!! Strange that it would allow itself to be seen like that. Intriguing, very intriguing.

reply to post by Snoopie


I hear that Snoop!e

There seems to be a very clearly defined line of division between the two sides of the debate.

On one hand, there is the governments official story and those who concur with that explanation.

On the other hand are the eye witnesses, who are passionate about the fact that a craft could be seen moving through the sky. Travelling over several counties and being witnessed by hundreds and hundreds of people along it's path. Nearly all of those vehemently deny the possibility that they saw flares.

There may have been flares dropped that evening, but that seems like the foundation for a disinformation campaign. Could the military have sent the flare drops, AFTER confirming reports of the giant flying V, so a plausible cover story would be available ASAP?


reply to post by Night Star



I've also questioned that. Why did the craft remain visible as it flew along it's path? Maybe there is something to explain that... Maybe a mechanical failure in cloaking tech systems? Maybe they did not realize they were visible? Maybe it was a secret craft being tested and the residents were Guinea Pigs (not likely, in my opinion)?

Years ago, no one would believe that the cloaking technology, needed to hide something of this size, was even possible. Even today there are many many people who do not believe that such cloaking technology is available, or even possible... it is.

Right now, there is a thread on ATS that covers this cutting edge technology being revealed to the public for the first time in this much detail. If they are talking openly about it, then maybe they have already had it or known of it for decades.


P.S.

YaY!! I am your 7,300th Star!

S+F, for some more info on the actual events of this incident then this thread may be of interest. Also reported is that an old thread on here was allegedly posted by a military witness to the event:

www.examiner.com...

I also find this part very believable:

A pair of F-15s were dispatched from Luke AFB to attempt an interception of one or more of the vees approaching or entering the valley at that time. This was reported to NUFORC by a ground crewman at Luke who stated that the aircraft were equipped with gun cameras and that one of the pilots had to be helped out of his plane because he was so shaken up by his encounter.

And the ATS thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by Zcustosmorum


Thanks so much for linking us up with that info!

I hadn't read that about the military crewman. Really makes me want to talk to the pilot that had to be assisted out of his plane...if true, the stories some of these people could tell.

I wish the ingredients would be right for one of these paradigm shifting accounts to make it into the mainstream, just one time, like the Perfect Storm. Hopefully there will be a time when everything lines up just right and an undeniable story, with evidence, is revealed to the masses... I wonder how many people would still scream 'HOAX!' or 'FAKE!' ?

Timelines are way off for the flare cover story.plus the thing was seen far from the place they supposedly dropped them
I find it amazing the gubmint boys can simply say "it never happened" and get away with it time and again......
My own brother saw a huge triangle in the early morning sky over Laughlin NV. said it was massive and silent and flew very much slower than ordinary planes would be flying.....
The big black ones arent ours i dont think.....just too far advanced.....
Two gendarmes in Belgium chased one around the countryside one night, and ended up parked by a lake, while the Triangle hovered over it, shooting red fireballs ......, which would dissapear over the horizon and return to the craft.......what that was about i sure would like to know.......

reply to post by esteay812


Great story. Great find.

I also witnessed 1 of the massive V's at 8:30 pm March 13, 1997. I hope the person and family come to this site. I would love to meet with them and compare notes of the sighting. The former Williams AFB is east of Phoenix app. 20 miles or so. This is a great opportunity to get details from another witness coming forward.

This is not unusual to occur. A few days after the mass sighting the media went out of their way to embarrass and humiliate witnesses. Just think if a concerted attempt to get all the witnesses that night to detail what they saw, including former governor Fife Symington (waited 10 years to come forward), the case would have had a much greater impact on our society.

The mass sighting was not only throughout the state of Arizona, but also in Nebraska, Iowa, New Mexico, Utah, California, Nevada, and northern Mexico.

reply to post by stirling


I know it is healthy to be skeptical, as-well-as open minded, but some things are just obvious. I mean to read as saying that the mass sightings, like in Phoenix and other cities, and the sightings by trusted friends, co-workers, relatives, community leaders and servants, and government military officials are nearly impossible to discount as something other than alien in origin.

Sometimes the subject can seem empty, but all you need to do to remember is look at the testimony from these respected people. I just don't understand how mass consciousness/awareness works. It seems that a large majority of individuals believe in ET and their visits. These individuals want to know the truth and they are not shy about their opinions.

I am guessing here, the %'s may be higher or lower.... If 50% of the population believes, individually, in UFO's/ET, why do we continually fall on our face as a collective group when we try to get answers from those who are hiding them?

If any other subject had 50% of the population's support, there would be no hesitation in addressing their requests and answering their questions. Not the case with UFO's/E.T.'s... 50%, or 150 million Americans (using Americans, because I am an American) are being stone-walled each time a request for uncensored documents is declined. I wonder if uncensored documents would be released if 150million Americans demanded the records or threatened a march on Capitol Hill?

reply to post by Zcustosmorum


This is true.

There are at least 3 seperate encounter's by the USAF that night.

5:30 pm Crown King
8:25 pm Phoenix area
9:15 pm Chandler area

FOIA from Luke AFB stated the "unusual aerial objects" were not flares and not theirs.

Official responce was, "at not point in time was there a threat to our national security". Thus, I have always said, "they were friendly".

Originally posted by esteay812
I was messing around online, a few days ago, when I noticed a comment made by someone on another website. They mentioned being in Phoenix and being a witness to the 1997 Phoenix Lights.

I took a moment and e-mailed the person, asking them if they would give me a precise account of their experiences. Today they responded and this is what they had to say about it:

That was pretty cool that you took the initiative to contact the witness and more cool that they replied.

If you have the opportunity, see if you can find out as specific as they can recall, what time of evening this was. I ask that because the Phoenix Lights story has morphed into two stories. The first reported sighting was around 8:30p.m. PST. Then later, 10-10:30pm PST, the second sighting. The second sighting was the one where the military explained those lights as flares dropped by A-10 Warthog aircraft. There has been quite a bit of video analysis, still enough debate, but I think this second sighting probably were flares.

The more interesting sighting came at the earlier time in the evening around 8:15-8:30 timeframe. Witnesses from various reports indicated that craft to enormous in the shape of a very wide V or delta shape. That observation was also reported the governor at the time, Fyfe Symington. He only came forward after he left that office, but also being a former Viet Nam Air Force pilot, his discription came across as very believable, that what he saw was NOT like anything he had ever seen, and felt it was unworldly.
Here is his statement
So, I am just curious as to what the time was when your witness saw it.

In an interview with The Daily Courier in Prescott, Symington said:
I'm a pilot and I know just about every machine that flies. It was bigger than anything that I've ever seen. It remains a great mystery. Other people saw it, responsible people. I don't know why people would ridicule it.
—Fife Symington III, [13]
It was enormous and inexplicable. Who knows where it came from? A lot of people saw it, and I saw it too. It was dramatic. And it couldn't have been flares because it was too symmetrical. It had a geometric outline, a constant shape.
—Fife Symington III

Symington comments link
Cheers! ID

reply to post by mikefortson


Hi Mike!

Yes, it would be awesome if they would come visit here and explain their story, as only they can. I really didn't have anything to add, aside from their mail to me. I worried adding anything may muddy what their message is and I really didn't want that to happen.

I will keep cecking mail and as soon as I hear anything from them, I will update it in the thread. Shouldn't be long though, they are a moderator at the other site... most moderators have a cerebral up-link implanted for the sites they moderate,

Edited in:

Thanks for that brief timeline of the evening the Phoenix Lights occurred. I don't remember learning much about those different locations. Do you have a good link that could be linked here for us to check out?

Either way, thanks!

reply to post by ItDepends


Thanks for the reply I.D.!

I am leaning toward their sighting taking place at the earlier time, because they mentioned the sun had just started to set. That time of year in Arizona, isn't sunset around 8ish o'clock?

I hate to give any sort of definitive answer, since I only know what is in the mail I posted. Hopefully they will be along to answer this sort of thing. There may not be much more they can add to their original account, but answering the small questions like this would be great!

Edited for:

I mentioned above that there is a pretty clear dividing line between the witnesses and the skeptics. Those who believe the official story and those who know the official story is bunktastic, because they saw it themselves.

There isn't a real grey area, either you are down with the Official Story or you oppose it comepletely. This sort of polarization could be a poduct of two completely different events taking place in the area;

One, the real event that sparked everything off.

Two, the flare drop a couple hours later

I am sure the flare drop has many supporters who witnessed it. They probably don't realize, or didn't realize that the flares were not what others saw. They saw the flares and, thinking they witnessed what everyone else did, they closed the case when what they saw was explained as flares.

So the people who saw the flares stand behind their sighting and the official story and believe they are 100%correct. They believe others are embellishing, hoaxing, or simply mis-interpreting what they saw.

Anyone who saw the original V formation craft, then saw the flares later on, could confirm the differences for those who only saw the flares. They could also explain to those who saw the craft, but not the flares, why so many people do not believe their reports.

Originally posted by esteay812
reply to post by FormerSkeptic

 

...
I do not hold this testimony in a higher regard, because it was sent directly to me. Instead, I hold it in higher regard, because there is 0% chance that a 3rd party has manipulated or incorrectly interpreted the witness account. There is a chance that an effort to bend witness reports to match the overall agenda of a 3rd party presenter - generally financially driven motivation...
...

Good point.

It shows that some people (not particularly you) cannot discern the difference in validity when presented by a third party.

For example, Mike Fortson was in those documentary videos in person, not just in static silent email. The editors can do only so much to manipulate his words if they wanted. Even if Mike didn't say to forum readers here one way or another that he was misrepresented, viewers should be able to tell — how much misinterpretation is possible? Then add it all up. Not that people here disregard Mike Fortson. But considering all the other witnesses. Are they real people? Is it powerful?

Now, imagine if everybody, every reader, everywhere required direct email confirmation (or even higher, like face-to-face personal meeting) personally written from every strong witness who submits testimony for anything that's difficult to believe.

How intelligent is that?