Almost a quarter of a century ago, thousands of people witnessed an unusual phenomenon. The lights shining in the sky over the United States and Mexico have not yet found a scientific explanation and are cited as an indestructible fact of the appearance of UFOs. One of the witnesses was a military pilot.
Shining over Phoenix
On Thursday 13 March 1997, In the skies over the North American states of Arizona and Nevada, as well as over the Mexican state of Sonora, from 19.30 to 22.30 local winter time, thousands of people observed unidentified flying objects.
Despite the fact that the appearance of UFOs was recorded in many places, later the phenomenon was called “The Shining over Phoenix” – Phoenix Lights or Lights Over Phoenix.
Perhaps because those who saw the triangle-shaped glow were only able to sketch or describe these objects, and only those who were near the capital of Arizona – Phoenix were fortunate enough to record a series of stationary lights on film.
Governor and military pilot
Arizona Governor Fife Symington (John Fife Symington III) served in the US Air Force base during the Vietnam War in 1970 and retired to the reserve with the rank of captain. The former pilot realized that it was impossible to explain the phenomenon, and in order to avoid panic, he decided not to disturb the public.
With giggles and exclamations that “the culprit of the incident has been found,” one of the governor’s assistants stepped onto the stage dressed as an alien.
In an interview with the local newspaper The Daily Courier, Symington later stated:
“I am a pilot and know almost any aircraft. The one I saw then was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen before. It remains a big mystery. Other trustworthy people saw it too. I don’t know why they laugh at it. It was something huge and inexplicable. Who knows where it came from? Many saw it, and so did I. It was dramatic. And it couldn’t be radiance because it was too symmetrical. It had a geometric outline, an unchanging shape.”
In Phoenix, the incident was sparsely reported in several notes. The event did not attract much attention. On June 18, 1997, the daily nationwide ‘USA Today’ published an editorial that caught the attention of not only the entire country, but also the world community. ABC and NBC television news coverage soon followed, including specials on History and Discovery.
Fully voiced phenomenon
In 2017, Symington wrote an editorial for CNN in which he described his experience of observing the Phoenix lights, mentioning the silently moving deltoid ship. He further described it as “extremely large” with “a very distinctive wing and huge lights.”
The ex-pilot expressed dissatisfaction with Air Force explanations for the event, which interpreted the glow as flares during a missile test, while acknowledging the likelihood that flares were fired that night, but the lights over Phoenix were miles apart.
Symington went on to express his hope for the investigation to continue, stating that “must be resumed, documents must be disclosed, and the idea of open dialogue can no longer be abandoned,” he called on the government to stop “spreading stories that perpetuate the myth that all UFOs can be explained with the help of everyday and familiar things. “
