Within Phoenix Lights
Where the Flare Explanation Works Best
The flare explanation is strong for many later videos, but it does not automatically explain the whole night.
On this page
- The A 10 flare claim
- Why parachute flares can look strange
- What the flare account leaves unresolved
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Introduction
The military flare explanation is strongest when applied to the later Phoenix Lights videos, not necessarily to every report made across the entire evening of 13 March 1997. This distinction is important in discussions of Kurt Russell’s recollection, because his account is generally associated with the earlier moving V-shaped lights rather than the later stationary lights filmed from the Phoenix area. Treating the entire night’s events as a single phenomenon has caused decades of confusion. The flare hypothesis offers a detailed, technically plausible explanation for many of the well-known videos recorded later that night, while leaving debate over some earlier sightings largely separate. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
Where the Flare Explanation Works Best
The A-10 flare claim
The official explanation for the later lights centres on an Air National Guard training exercise conducted as part of Operation Snowbird. According to the U.S. Air Force and later reporting, A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the Maryland Air National Guard flew training missions from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base and released LUU-2B/B parachute illumination flares over the Barry M. Goldwater Range, a military training area southwest of Phoenix. [Wikipedia+2Las Vegas Sun]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
The flare explanation did not emerge immediately on the night itself. Early statements from military officials did not identify the exercise, which fuelled speculation. Several months later, reports connected the lights to the Maryland Air National Guard’s training mission. In subsequent years, Lieutenant Colonel Ed Jones confirmed publicly that he had participated in one of the aircraft involved in the exercise, reinforcing the military account. [Las Vegas Sun+2Phoenix New Times]lasvegassun.commilitary now says flares may be cause of mysteriouLas Vegas SunMilitary now says flares may be cause of mysterious…25 Jul 1997 — It turns out visiting jets from the Maryland Air Nation…
The timing also matches many of the famous recordings. The later lights generally appeared around 10:00 p.m., well after the earlier reports of a moving V-shaped formation crossing Arizona. This separation in time is one reason many investigators treat the two episodes independently rather than attempting to explain both with a single cause. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
Why parachute flares can look strange
Illumination flares are designed to burn brightly while descending slowly beneath parachutes, providing sustained light over a target area. From dozens of kilometres away at night, several characteristics can make them appear unusual:
- They seem stationary. The flares descend very slowly, and at long distances their vertical movement is difficult to perceive.
- They appear to hover. Without nearby visual references, the gradual descent can create the impression that the lights are fixed in place.
- They extinguish one after another. As the descending flares pass behind the Sierra Estrella mountains southwest of Phoenix, each disappears from view in sequence, producing the familiar “lights going out” effect visible in many recordings.
- They can resemble a formation. Multiple flares released over a short period may appear evenly spaced along a horizontal or gently curved line.
These behaviours closely resemble what is visible in many of the widely circulated late-evening videos. Later comparisons between known military flare exercises and the 1997 recordings have demonstrated striking visual similarities, particularly in the gradual disappearance of the lights behind the mountain ridge. [Wikipedia+2Plane & Pilot]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
Another factor is perspective. The mountains responsible for hiding the descending flares are difficult or impossible to distinguish in low-light video, making it appear as though the lights simply extinguish in mid-air rather than passing behind terrain. This creates an effect that can seem mysterious unless the geography is taken into account. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
What the Flare Account Leaves Unresolved
The flare explanation is persuasive for many of the later recordings, but it is not universally accepted as a complete explanation for everything reported that night.
Critics point out that many witnesses described a large V-shaped object moving silently across Arizona earlier in the evening, well before the flare exercise. Those reports involved apparent motion across much of the state rather than stationary lights above the southwest horizon. Even investigators who favour conventional explanations often distinguish this earlier event from the later flare display rather than arguing that one mechanism explains both. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
There are also disagreements over individual witness perceptions. Some observers reported apparent solid structure between the lights, while others described only separate points of light. Human perception under night-time conditions is particularly susceptible to optical illusions, especially when observers have few visual references and are viewing bright lights at great distance. This makes it difficult to determine whether descriptions of a single enormous object reflected an external reality or the brain’s tendency to connect isolated lights into a coherent shape. [Wikipedia]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
For readers following the Kurt Russell branch of the Phoenix Lights story, this distinction is especially important. Russell’s recollection concerns six lights in a V-shaped arrangement during his approach into Phoenix, whereas the flare explanation primarily addresses the later stationary lights captured on video. Accepting the flare explanation for those later recordings therefore does not automatically determine what earlier observers—including Russell, if his memory is correctly dated—were seeing. The strongest evidence supports treating the later videos and the earlier moving formation as separate questions requiring separate evaluation. [Wikipedia+2Phoenix New Times]WikipediaPhoenix LightsPhoenix Lights
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Endnotes
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Phoenix Lights
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Lights -
Source: governor.maryland.gov
Link: https://governor.maryland.gov/news/press-releases/governor-moore-joins-maryland-air-national-guard-honor-10c-thunderbolt-ii-flying-mission-duringSource snippet
Moore Joins Maryland Air National Guard to Honor...23 Sept 2025 — ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today joined the Maryland Air Natio...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOkXUvS3iX0Source snippet
The Phoenix Lights - 17 years later...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: The Phoenix Lights
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SUJTh6Hs-I -
Source: phoenixnewtimes.com
Title: phoenix lights ufo mystery explanations 19105870
Link: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/uncategorized/phoenix-lights-ufo-mystery-explanations-19105870/Source snippet
Phoenix Lights explained: Everything to know about the...Jun 3, 2024 — Ed Jones of the Maryland Air National Guard told the Arizona Repu...
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Source: lasvegassun.com
Title: military now says flares may be cause of mysteriou
Link: https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/jul/25/military-now-says-flares-may-be-cause-of-mysteriou/Source snippet
Las Vegas SunMilitary now says flares may be cause of mysterious...25 Jul 1997 — It turns out visiting jets from the Maryland Air Nation...
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Source: planeandpilotmag.com
Title: the phoenix lights
Link: https://planeandpilotmag.com/the-phoenix-lights/Source snippet
20 Sept 2022 — A leading explanation suggests the lights were flares dropped by Maryland National Guard A-10 Warthog aircraft, with obser...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Phoenix Lights
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1fW1l1sh-ASource snippet
The Dark Truth?The Flying V wasn't some hugely impossible slow moving aircraft but rather five a tents simply flying in formation...
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Source: stampaday.wordpress.com
Title: the phoenix lights
Link: https://stampaday.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/the-phoenix-lights/Source snippet
Phoenix Lights - A Stamp A Day13 Mar 2019 — The United States Air Force identified the second group of lights as flares dropped by A-10 W...
Additional References
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Source: tonyortega.org
Link: https://tonyortega.org/the-phoenix-lights-20-years-later-still-the-same-set-of-planes-and-flares-over-arizona/Source snippet
The Underground BunkerThe 'Phoenix Lights': 20 years later, still the same set of...An earlier “vee” of lights traversed nearly the enti...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1cutdd9/what_really_where_the_phoenix_lights/Source snippet
What really where the Phoenix Lights?: r/UFOsTo this day, and this one still gives me the chills. What really could it have been? Extrat...
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Source: facebook.com
Title: authorities have said the lights were flares used by the air national guard but
Link: https://www.facebook.com/12news/posts/authorities-have-said-the-lights-were-flares-used-by-the-air-national-guard-but-/10157326214864015/Source snippet
Authorities have said the lights were flares used by the Air...10 Mar 2019 — Authorities have said the lights were flares used by the Ai...
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Source: 175wg.ang.af.mil
Title: maryland air national guard hosts inactivation ceremony before departure of fin
Link: https://www.175wg.ang.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4313377/maryland-air-national-guard-hosts-inactivation-ceremony-before-departure-of-fin/Source snippet
Air National Guard hosts inactivation ceremony...23 Sept 2025 — The Maryland Air National Guard hosted an inactivation ceremony for the...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WtuwPbZ-sMSource snippet
Deactivation ceremony held for Maryland's A-10sThe legendary A-10 Warthogs are officially gone from Maryland. State officials joined past...
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Source: abcnews.com
Link: https://abcnews.com/Technology/phoenix-ufo-mystery-solved-lights-high-school-football/story?id=14884994Source snippet
Phoenix UFO Mystery Solved: What Were Those Lights?In 1997, bright flare-like lights were seen in the night sky, causing a surge of UFO r...
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Source: deseret.com
Title: flares not ufos caused light show military says
Link: https://www.deseret.com/1997/7/26/19325702/flares-not-ufos-caused-light-show-military-says/Source snippet
Deseret NewsFlares, not UFOs, caused light show, military says26 Jul 1997 — Military flares - rather than UFOs - might be behind those my...
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Source: cbsnews.com
Title: maryland air national guard a10 inactive
Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/maryland-air-national-guard-a10-inactive/Source snippet
Maryland Air National Guard marks end to A-10 flying...24 Sept 2025 — The Air Force began divesting the aircraft in March, with the goal...
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Source: nationalguard.mil
Title: maryland air national guard begins divesting a 10s
Link: https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article-View/Article/4136645/maryland-air-national-guard-begins-divesting-a-10s/Source snippet
The Maryland Air National Guard divested an A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft at Warfield Air National Guard Base at Martin...
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Source: phoenixtapware.com.au
Title: View all products · Bathroom. Explore.Read more
Link: https://www.phoenixtapware.com.au/Source snippet
Phoenix Tapware: Tapware, Bathroom Taps, & AccessoriesDiscover innovative, design-led tapware and bathroom accessories from one of Austra...
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