Twenty years later, the incident, dubbed the "Phoenix Lights", is still the subject of controversy among UFO researchers around the world. In March 1997, thousands witnessed the appearance of a strange V-shaped object over the city of Phoenix.
Officials attributed this phenomenon to the launching of military rockets, but for those who sincerely believe in the existence of UFOs and aliens, this answer turned out to be dissatisfied. Even in spite of the fact that two decades have passed since that moment, interest in this incident still does not dry out.
On Friday, February 17, 2017, at the UFO Congress in Scottsdale, near the city of Phoenix, Arizona, several hundred people participated in a panel discussion on the Phoenix Lights phenomenon, including scientists, UFO researchers, writers, journalists, filmmakers and, of course, skeptics.
So what is known about the mysterious incident? What's left behind the scenes?
An unidentified flying vehicle with lights on board appeared over Phoenix on the night of March 13, 1997. However, similar mysterious lights had already been observed several months before this incident. They were first seen near Henderson, Nevada. After that, they spied on Mexico.
The first news of the strange March 1997 night came only three months later. Only on June 18, 1997, did US newspapers publish a brief report on the lights over Arizona on their pages.
Until now, some UFO researchers, not having enough evidence, are hesitant to claim that the lights are associated with aliens.
“Do we have proof that they were aliens? Not. We have evidence that this was an extremely strange event. We can only say that it was an anomaly,”said Jim Mann, head of MUFON's Arizona office, adding that his office received 325 UFO reports last year and only 12 of them were identified as unknown.
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Attendees to the UFO Congress noted another strange feature associated with the mysterious lights. Some eyewitnesses reported that the fires caused them an unnatural reaction, a kind of temporary amnesia. Instead of immediately telling someone about the flashing lights, people seemed to forget about them.
“We went back to drink tea,” said one of the women after seeing a UFO.
Jim Mann also added that one of the eyewitnesses stopped his car on the side of the highway and, along with other people, looked at the ship as it glided slowly overhead. Nobody said a word. After the UFO flew by, everyone got into their own car and drove home.
Voronina Svetlana