The Phoenix Lights Case - In Depth

I think the Air Force would have been better served to not drop flares. By doing so, they at least in my opinion, cemented the fact that it wasn't a military aircraft. The sightings occurred hours before the flares were dropped (as well as after, south of Phoenix). Which also leads me to believe it wasn't an elaborate hoax, either. Nor do I buy the idea that a simple slight of planes was mistaken for hours by all witnesses as a triangular UFO. When has a flight of planes been mistaken for a UFO for hours, by thousands of witnesses?

Those flares being dropped in sight of the city has only happened that one time, on that one night, after the calls started coming in about a triangular craft, and it was dropped to at least have a point (and appear triangular). How people can think that is merely a coincidence is baffling. Obviously is was no coincidence.

I think this has become my favorite Phoenix Lights video. ThinkerThunker stabilized the hell out of some footage which shows that the lights remain relatively stable for more than a minute, not falling, drifting only minimally. Things you wouldn't expect from flares.

originally posted by: Blue Shift
I think this has become my favorite Phoenix Lights video. ThinkerThunker stabilized the hell out of some footage which shows that the lights remain relatively stable for more than a minute, not falling, drifting only minimally. Things you wouldn't expect from flares.

And unfortunately, this was mission complete for the military. That misdirection is still fooling people obviously even now. Those were absolutely flares. The overlay of the daytime video of the mountains is conclusive. Each light (flare) disappears exactly as it goes behind part of the mountain range.

And so the misinformation, misdirection continues to succeed.

a reply to: Gazrok

There is no doubt that you did extensive research on this subject. But I feel you went overboard and I don't know why you bothered. It's good to put it in perspective but what you reported has nothing to do with what are called the "Phoenix Lights" which should be renamed the "Phoenix Flares". That's the meat and potatoes of the event. All of the publicity was aimed at the flares which were proved beyond questioning to be flares and 2 videos are all one needs. The first nighttime video convinced every believer that the arc of lights were UFOs. The daytime video from the same location as the nighttime video proved that they were flares each one disappearing behind a corresponding mountain peak. That's the whole thing in a nutshell. Anything else as shown in your superduper-long OP is really immaterial and less known to the average person.

Additionally, the claim that thousands saw the flares is so much hooey 'cause the flares were not dropped above Phoenix but many miles away. Anyone looking up from the streets of Phoenix saw only the normal dark, star-filled sky and had no idea of what was happening over the military range.

And the one video alleged to show a triangular craft is a myth 'cause the grainy black and white footage only shows a formation of jets and the triangle is constantly shifting.

Too much ado about nothing.

Additionally, the claim that thousands saw the flares is so much hooey 'cause the flares were not dropped above Phoenix but many miles away. Anyone looking up from the streets of Phoenix saw only the normal dark, star-filled sky and had no idea of what was happening over the military range.

Of course, the actual sightings occurred well before the dropping of the flares (and a couple after, as well). That is the bulk of the sightings. Yes, the flares were dropped as close as possible to the edge of the military range, in view of Phoenix, for those that could see. But why, only on that night?

It's disingenuous to state that the "thousands" of sightings were in Phoenix proper. They weren't. The bulk were well before, and north, of Phoenix. They had nothing to do with the flares near Phoenix. Of course, people will have folks believe a flight of planes was mistaken for a large craft.. for hours. Because clearly flights of planes don't occur over the United States, right? If they did after all, we'd have a lot more of these mass triangular shaped craft sightings after all.

originally posted by: fleabit
And unfortunately, this was mission complete for the military.

Complete speculation.

oK so we got the video with the flares??? or whatever that is,But according to testimony there was a huge v shaped craft flying silently

we got video of first event but not video of the v shaped craft?

Why is that?

The video above was the second event which was aircraft dropping flares.I dont think there was a video released of the first sightings.

There is no doubt that you did extensive research on this subject. But I feel you went overboard and I don't know why you bothered. It's good to put it in perspective but what you reported has nothing to do with what are called the "Phoenix Lights" which should be renamed the "Phoenix Flares". That's the meat and potatoes of the event.

A super long post you obviously didn't read, as I wholly concurred that the video event was flares. In researching this though, I was surprised at the number of reports, and the similarity of the reports, that happened PRIOR to the flare drop, but you seem to be missing that part. As for going overboard, well, that's up to the reader. There is certainly no gun to the head for folks to read though it all, but I try to be thorough.

a reply to: Blackfinger

I dont think there was a video released of the first sightings.

There is only one (that I know of), and it is grainy as heck, and to me, looks like it could easily be the aircraft. So it really isn't helpful. I had only previously seen it on a TV special, I couldn't find it online when I authored the thread. (But I do believe I included it earlier).

Wasnt there a pic or two taken though.?These were the days before mobile phones were widespread as well.

That's really the bothersome part about it. There are at least 3 different good videos of the flare drop event, yet nothing decent of the previous reported event.

It will always be a tough pill to swallow for anyone believing the earlier observations.

The only real hard data is that many reports are recorded and logged as being PRIOR to the flare drop, so there are certainly reports prior to the second event, and enough to firmly establish that many were seeing things BEFORE the first flare.

It's just very frustrating that nothing more concrete has surfaced. It makes it hard to believe the witnesses.

Worst thing is people watching the second video and hearing the story of it being flares and making it lore that it was Airplanes for the first sighting.

originally posted by: Gazrok
That's really the bothersome part about it. There are at least 3 different good videos of the flare drop event, yet nothing decent of the previous reported event.

It will always be a tough pill to swallow for anyone believing the earlier observations.

The only real hard data is that many reports are recorded and logged as being PRIOR to the flare drop, so there are certainly reports prior to the second event, and enough to firmly establish that many were seeing things BEFORE the first flare.

It's just very frustrating that nothing more concrete has surfaced. It makes it hard to believe the witnesses.

I think eyewitness accounts is an excellent bit of proof. One witness? Three? A dozen? Perhaps they didn't clearly understood what they were seeing. Hundreds? Thousands? Not so much. The theory that it was a flight a planes mistaken for hours for a UFO is to me, ridiculous. And completely discounts the sightings of a craft much lower and clearly obvious to observers.

Also there a lot more people in Phoenix proper, than in the southward track of the sighting. It's not surprising it was caught in view of a city that had a population around at least a million back then.

People are very ready to dismiss human perception of an event as faulty. But honestly, in normal circumstances, humans can identify something in the air very quickly. Most can identify a plane as such within seconds. When many hundreds of people all say they are seeing something that is not normal, and are not planes, they are probably right.

The fact that the military dropped flares in view of the city that night, hours after the sightings began, in a slight V formation, is of huge importance. There is no way it was coincidental that those flares were dropped that night. Nor that someone thought to send someone in an alien suit to a press conference to turn the sighting into a mockery.