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By Clarkson Integrator 2-16-1963
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
"All UFO Secrets Must Be Disclosed," says Brazilian Air Force Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira
By A. J. Gevaerd
Editor Brazilian UFO Magazine
4-29-08
Introduction
Editor Brazilian UFO Magazine
4-29-08
Introduction
During the first ever official meeting between members of the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) and military of the Brazilian Air Force held on May 20th 2005, at the Brazilian Airspace Defense Command (Comdabra) headquarters, Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira, a former commander of the body from 1999 to 2001, has shown a special interest in the subject. At the end of the meeting, he escorted the ufologists himself to the exit door of the building and after receiving some issues of Brazilian UFO Magazine declared: “I thank you for the gift, but I should say that I always buy the magazine at Brasilia newsstands”. In an informal way and with no reservation Pereira confirmed his high interest and level of information regarding UFO matters.
Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira is undeniably regarded by Brazilian ufologists as a high-rank official who has material information on the existence and concreteness of UFOs, not to mention their unquestionable extraterrestrial origin. Until little time ago he did not bother to hide what military new on the issue. Therefore, as part of the second phase of the Brazilian campaign UFOs: Liberdade de Informação Já [UFOs: Freedom of Information Now], the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) decided to meet him for an interview with no guarantees that he would accept the invitation.
To our great surprise, however, Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira accepted the invitation and granted Brazilian UFO Magazine with an exclusive interview in which he reports the truth of UFO phenomena in Brazil. The meeting took place on March 8th, in Brasilia, and was a unique opportunity for Brazilian ufologists to become aware of Pereira's opinions on the issue. More than that, it was an opportunity for all to know details on his thinking about different aspects of UFO phenomenon, namely topics related to the Air Force, national security, and responses of Brazilian military surrounding this subject
“I'll be readily available to ufologists of Brazilian UFO Magazine and it will be a great pleasure to meet them at any time”, said Pereira when accepting the invitation. “I always respected the work of this magazine and I wish to contribute to the movement they are leading, aiming the freedom of UFO information in Brazil”. Days before the date of the interview was set a significant impact was expected after its publication. It would be something similar to another historical occasion for Brazilian Ufology when Brazilian UFO Magazine was also directly involved: the interview with Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda, in 1997.
For our publication this would be an opportunity for not only know the ideas of one of the most brilliant military in the country but also to bring him to join the movement UFOs: Liberdade de Informação Já, which was fully achieved. “It's time to disclose all secrets on this subject in Brazil, be them from any air bases, and I'll will work for this to happen”, he declares. During an interview with more than a hundred questions the military showed the seriousness with which he sees the subject and the research. He entrusted his interviewers – this editor and special consultants for Brazilian UFO Magazine Roberto Affonso Beck and Fernando de Aragao Ramalho – with important information.
Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira openly spoke on nearly all subjects approached not refraining from answering any questions to him presented. “I intend to talk to my uniform colleagues and get informed on the exact environment in military headquarters and air bases in order to bring the support of some of them to your work”, he offered even before being asked to do so. Throughout the questioning, Pereira talked about security in Brazilian air space, violations the nation suffered from unidentified flying objects, the so called Official UFO Night in Brazil, Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] and its commander, and even described some UFO events unknown to us.
“Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda, commander of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], was a serious and objective man, diligent and respected by all”, Pereira says, confirming what Brazilian ufologists always knew but had no means to assure – that indeed Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] resulted in more than 2.000 pages of documents besides the already known 500 pictures and 16 hours of footage. Regarding Caso Varginha, however, he says to know nothing but what was revealed by Brazilian UFO Magazine and the press. He seemed to be sincere because such case belongs to a different military sector, the Army.
Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira was born in Salvador (BA) and joined the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) in March 1958, retiring in July 2005 after occupying the main positions in the Air Force hierarchy including the highest rank of all. He was graduated in December 1963 and little by little became one of the best specialists for space policies and strategies in Brazil. Pereira was also a jet pilot as well as a pilot for transports, a special air operations and a military parachutist.
Pereira was an operations officer and a commander of the Unit for Jet Training, a commander of air bases and official of the superior military command in operations and personnel sectors. He had a distinguished performance at the military intelligence being an official at Brazilian Presidency cabinet and an official for intelligence at the Inter-American Defense Board, in Washington. Pereira was also chief of logistics and mobilization of the superior command of Brazilian Armed Forces, commander of the Brazilian Air Force Academy (AFA) and chief of the General Command of Air Operations.
Over the last 10 years, Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira was also a commander of operations for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) being responsible for 13 generals and a total number of 27 thousand subordinates. From 1999 to 2001, he was a general commander for Air Operations and for the Brazilian Airspace Defense Command (Comdabra), a body that was already called “Brazilian Area 51”. As we can see, it is no overestimate to say that during some time Pereira was the guardian of the key to the safe where Brazilian UFO secrets have been kept. On March 27th 2006, already retired, this Brigadier took office at the presidency of the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Agency (Infraero), by appointment of Minister Nelson Jobim.
Brazilian ufologists consider that Pereira's statements will have a significant impact on the campaign UFOs: Liberdade de Informação Já [UFOs: Freedom of Information Now]. Never before a military of that rank spoke so freely about UFOs. Very few from other countries came so close to repeat the same initiative. This encouraged Brazilian UFO Magazine to try a contact with military of the same level in the Navy and in the Army in order to look for the support Brazilian ufologists need to fulfill their goals. Step by step we follow our path which someday will lead us to the freedom of UFO information in Brazil. Uyrangê Hollanda gave his contribution and now Jose Carlos Pereira joins his efforts.
UFO: Brigadier, you have been the one in military who speaks more about UFOs in the media. You have given several interviews always in a very open and natural manner. What makes you act like this?
Pereira: I consider that as a matter of personal belief. I believe there should be no subject to be kept closed to humankind. It might look flamboyant and bizarre, but this subject must always be checked and investigated. Galileo, Copernicus, and so many other scientists must have known that. So I believe no human being or institution has the right to keep doors closed to the discussion of any matters, be it scientific, political, social or religious. Not even to Ufology, which I consider to be within the scientific field. This is a personal point of view that I sustain till these days.
UFO: It has been said that you keep the key to the safe where UFO secrets are kept, including documents, pictures and footages made in different circumstances by military in duty in different bases – some in missions like Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], some by accident. What could these secrets reveal?
Pereira: Look, I'm a man devoted to science, a man with a scientific mind. If you present the idea that extraterrestrials are here, that they are visiting and investigating us, that they are doing things that we cannot understand what they are, then your idea goes against scientific reasoning. Because, as far as we know, our Solar System has presented no indication for the existence of life in another planet except Earth.
UFO: And what if we consider civilizations with a much more advanced technology compared to ours?
Pereira: OK, look, I'm analyzing with the knowledge we have today in our planet, with the knowledge our current stage of science has achieved. This is the caveat to be consider. So, if we consider only this knowledge, I reject every possibility of anyone coming from outer space to Earth. And it gets more complex if we go further because Alpha Centauri does not seem to be a planetary system. Let's move then to the portion of the Universe astronomers call “inhabitable zone”, which seems to be many light years from Earth.
UFO: Is the understanding of this situation beyond our control?
Pereira: The starting point is the technology we have today to understand the universe. I wouldn't say no one might have advanced a million years ahead somewhere else. On the other hand, the technology we have today on Earth fully dismisses the possibility of someone from out of the solar system to arrive here. I humbly insist that our knowledge must still be insignificant to comprehend all of this. We can see by what happened over the last hundred years with discoveries ranging from penicillin to the airplane.
UFO: Spacecraft coming to Earth certainly do not use the same propulsion technology we used to explore the Moon, Mars or Venus. Do you think this should be openly discussed by civil society?
Pereira: No, they probably don't use rocket engines like our spacecraft sent to space. My opinion on Ufology is that it must approach scientific fields in the near future, such as astronomy, astrophysics, and astronautics in order to form a more consistent scientific group. I don't refuse the idea of philosophy entering this range of subjects, with its modern concepts aiming to quickly address the issues we couldn't solve to date: who we are, where we came from, and where are we going to... Since Aristotle we make the same questions and no one answers. Ufology in combination with these other subjects might be a way to these answers.
UFO: Your open and frank position matches those of a few other Brazilian military. However, the same is confronted by some sectors within the military who prefer UFO matters to be kept out of public discussion. Do you think it is time to break such resistance?
Pereira: Look, I believe the mere opening of secret files to be delivered to the press and the public in general is something that can be done tomorrow morning without any problem. But I think this is not enough, not sufficient. Ufologists might even get disappointed when they see those files because I feel they expect more concrete evidence and maybe they won't find what they long for in those folders. However, I think that an official example of opening UFO archives – especially when this attitude comes from the military – comes to favor and empower other people that fear to discuss the issue. I think that from the moment the government opens the subject for debate all the fear people have towards this subject will be gone and things become more transparent. No one fears transparency; instead people fear the lack of it. So I believe that such an opening is really helpful and has a very favorable effect in this discussion.
UFO: And what to do while we do not achieve this relying only on testimonials of thousands of highly credible people who have experienced UFO phenomena?
Pereira: One must consider all different sorts of evidence surrounding UFOs. As in any police work, we have documental, testimonial, and circumstantial evidence each with their own weight. Documental evidence, for example, has its own impact as has a testimonial. Has anybody seen something in the sky? Great! But it’s even better when we have 50 people witnessing it. Especially when these people don't know one another and live in different communities. This is how testimonial evidence becomes stronger. And, at last, we have the circumstantial evidence, which is the most fragile of all. We must separate these three kinds of evidence we have today concerning Ufology. Circumstantial evidence are present in high volume, so are testimonial ones, and 90% of these have a scientific explanation while the remaining 10% do not. Regarding material evidence, we have none.
UFO: Would you call the occurrence of May 20th 1986, the so called Official UFO Night in Brazil, as a circumstantial evidence of the UFO phenomena?
Pereira: As far as I know, observations in that occasion were testimonial evidence from people who saw it.
UFO: Jet pilots who were sent by the Air Force to intercept those objects were very experienced.
Pereira: Yes, they were. That's why those are testimonial evidence, situations in which witnesses saw something and radars detected that same thing. Look, radars may present a false echo, they may be affected by many different factors, but when we have more than one radar spotting the same target, then we have something serious enough to be ignored [in an assured tone]. This equipment operates in different frequencies.
UFO: One of the jet planes intercepting the objects was even surrounded by many of them who came relatively close...
Pereira: Here we have the sum of different facts. Someone has seen something and radar spotted it. Such equipment has nothing to do with human eyes, it's an electronic device. Another pair of eyes also saw that same thing [another pilot] and so on. Then you start to give credits to the occurrence and the situation becomes more concrete. OK, but where is the object? Was it captured? Here is where the material evidence thing comes in, and we don't have it.
UFO: Brigadier, when the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) visited Comdabra on May 20th 2005, we were received by Brigadier Atheneu Azambuja, who showed us three folders of UFO occurrences from that body's archives. Aren't these evidence that we have been visited by objects crewed and controlled by intelligent non terrestrial beings?
Pereira: Well, those folders are not only at Comdabra, they are spread through other bodies worldwide. They prove that unexplained phenomena occurring lead us to believe in the presence of such being and alien objects on planet Earth. That's it. They are uncommon to our planet. Now, telling what are those beings and objects is a very risky thing since we have no knowledge enough for that [in a cautious tone]. So, I believe Ufology has much more work ahead [in order to identify the phenomenon] and even needs to add some other subjects to its efforts.
UFO: At the time of that visit to Comdabra we said that we would like to conduct a joint study with the Air Force by forming a mixed team of civilian ufologists and military. What do you think about this?
Pereira: Yes, but I should say that such a team would need more people. Besides ufologists I believe that it's necessary to have scientists, astronomers, physicists, etc, because such knowledge must be jointly addressed by more people.
UFO: Do you personally believe that civilizations from other planets might be visiting us?
Pereira: Well, my thought on this is that we, humans, left ground for the first time in an airplane nearly 100 years ago and within only one century could reach the Moon. In astronomic means we could say that a hundred years are nothing, not even dust. Then, if in one century and with our limited capacity we could achieve this... Now, think: where will we reach a hundred or a thousand years from now?
UFO: We know that the Brazilian Air Force officially investigates the UFO phenomenon since 1969, when Brigadier Jose Vaz da Silva established the System for Investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects (SIOANI) at the Brazilian IV Regional Air Command (COMAR 4). But why was that research apparently closed in that same year without any further progress?
Pereira: Look, that's a very interesting question. I wasn't around that time and have not researched those facts. I've never had the idea of investigating the reasons why that work was ended, but I suspect Brigadier Vaz da Silva hasn't had any more conditions to go further. He tells a different story [from many other military]. He was always an avant-garde man, always ahead of this time.
UFO: Do you believe in a superior interference in the establishment of SIOANI or was it an exclusive initiative of Brigadier Vaz da Silva?
Pereira: I'm almost sure there was a superior order. Certainly a superior instance to Brigadier Vaz da Silva worked with it by supporting the project, assisting and implementing SIOANI. A commander can't do anything by himself. He must have a superior instance behind his actions.
UFO: The two leaked SIOANI bulletins brought descriptions of cases researched by the body, including UFO landings and their crew. These are being investigated and kept in secret by the military. This is the kind of documents ufologists want to see disclosed. Do you believe they can be publicly revealed?
Pereira: In my opinion there is no reason to keep such material in secret. None. I understand that the disclosure won't affect any of the four classical criteria military always have in mind when dealing with national secrets. And these are represented by the following questions: first, will the disclosure take the country into a war? Second, will it cause panic in the population? Third, is it a threat to the national security, be it with a South-American country or any other? And fourth, will the disclosure of this material affect the privacy of people possibly mentioned on it? This is what we must have in mind. If none of these matters are affected – which is actually the case –, then it must be disclosed!
UFO: Are you for the disclosure of UFO documents prepared by the military and kept in secret to date?
Pereira: Absolutely. Unless the disclosure affects any of the four items I've just mentioned. In that case I think the material should not be disclosed. We must respect people's privacy and also the national security as we have to preserve peace and order. Also, we shouldn't start a war or create indisposition with other countries. Anyway, we shouldn’t reveal our plans to the enemy. Besides those factors, it's time for transparency and for clearing this subject.
UFO: Do you think this also applies to documents from Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], carried out by the Air Force of State of Para in 1977?
Pereira: Sure! No doubt about that! To all and every operation!
UFO: Have you received specific information on that operation?
Pereira: At the moment it was carried out, no. I knew of the results only after that. But I knew Hollanda [Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda, commander of that military mission]. He worked for the Air Force Intelligence, same as I did, so we were always passing by one another.
UFO: I interviewed Hollanda in 1997. I had just given an interview to Fantástico [Fantastic], talking about the documents Brazilian Air Force holds and he saw me at the show and called me the next morning saying: “Look, Gevaerd, I follow your work and I know you are doing the right thing. I want to say that now I'm retired and have no more obligations with my uniform. So, if you want to come to Rio to interview me, I'll have much to say”. I went to Rio immediately and together with Marco Antonio Petit we had a historical interview with him. Have you read it?
Pereira: Yes, of course. I have a copy with me and have also found it in several websites. It's a long interview and I read it carefully. Some time ago, a colleague sent me a copy and I replied: “Man, do you really think I don't have it? I got a copy long ago”.
UFO: Really? Then I conclude that high rank officials as you may have had become aware of Hollanda's statements.
Pereira: Yes, certainly. It's a long and much known interview. But Hollanda was a very disturbed man, with a very introspective personality. And as a result he took his own life…
UFO: Do you believe his personal problems somehow influenced the statements he made to Brazilian UFO Magazine concerning Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]?
Pereira: Not the contents, but maybe the way he did it. Hollanda was a serious man and wouldn't be able to change the contents, especially regarding such an important matter.
UFO: People say that he loved to be called to lead that operation because all he wanted was to go to the jungle. He headed the military mission and had a close encounter with an ET, so he told us at the interview. Did you know this?
Pereira: I knew that, he reported it, but I have never discussed this issue with him. Hollanda also called me shortly after, but I was in another operation [not a ufological one].
UFO: He told us that he was together with a subordinate at Rio Guajará-Mirim heading towards the camp when a cylindrical aircraft with 100m in length nearly landed on the other margin. From the top, a door was opened and an ET came from it floating to the place where they were. According to Hollanda this was the most exciting moment in the operation. Have you ever discussed that with him?
Pereira: No, unfortunately I didn't have details before. But maybe that's why he had put all of his efforts and dedication in Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], which was where he found a sense for his life. If he couldn't succeed as an aviator and if he rejected the idea of being an intending officer, then the intelligence suited him well. Working for the intelligence for me is an agreeable experience, at least partially. Things were tough those times. I worked a lot with pure military intelligence, with strategy. But I was never much concerned with communists for example [the first official justification for Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] was that it was conceived in order to identify communists possibly hidden in the Amazon jungle].
UFO: Hollanda suspected that the contact he had with an ET at the margin of Rio Guajará-Mirim during December 1977 was the turning point for the termination of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]. He said he was ordered to terminate the operation after reporting it to his superior, Brigadier Protásio Lopes de Oliveira, then commander of the Brazilian I Regional Air Command (COMAR 1). Did you know that?
Pereira: Partly. I didn't have that detail.
UFO: Many people do not believe he killed himself. He would have been murdered instead for having supposedly talked too much. This is not true. However, if our issue where the first part of the interview – UFO 054, October 1997 – was earlier released and if he had seen the respect Equipe UFO [Brazilian UFO Magazine Team]rendered him then maybe by feeling honored and seeing the huge contribution he gave to Brazilian Ufology he would not have taken his own life...
Pereira: Yes, maybe. But he had a very lonely life and that is something very sad. That's why in military life the sector which mostly unites people is the intelligence. Those who lived this experience suffer when they leave the circle. It's somewhat like in a combat situation: when bullets are crossing by no one thinks about the homeland. Everybody is thinking about their own lives and the lives of those around them, the ones who can save their lives. When Hollanda retired he was completely isolated from everyone and everything. This can really affect someone.
UFO: Hollanda was very close to the UFO phenomenon, especially from the middle to the end of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], until he had that contact with an ET and the mission was terminated. But this did not prevent him from his own investigations which he carried out during his spare time. He even had other contacts until the phenomena around him suddenly stopped. This seems to have affected him a lot. Did you know that?
Pereira: No, I didn't. But once I was talking about Hollanda to a psychologist and she told me he presented the profile of someone who had faced something very serious in some moment of life. An event so serious that could isolate him, let's say, from his fellows [in a regretting tone].
UFO: Do you consider that the experience he had with Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] could have contributed to his state of mind?
Pereira: Yes, no doubt about that, it was a catalysis factor, a very strong experience.
UFO: During that time, were the results Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] commented on in military circles?
Pereira: Yes. Not with great emphasis, but everybody knew what was happening.
UFO: And how about the contact Hollanda had with an ET, in December 1977. Was this also known to military?
Pereira: Only a few people knew about that. I knew about it much later, not at the moment that occurred. Brigadier Protásio was the one who talked to me about that fact. At the time it occurred I was already more senior than Hollanda in the Air Force and I only knew about that specific episode, the contact itself, when I was to be promoted a Brigadier. But, regarding Operação Prato [Operation Saucer], I was made aware as soon as I started working in the intelligence, when I was still a Colonel. I was a planning director at the Air Force and all files were at my disposal.
UFO: Have you had access to the documents prepared during Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]?
Pereira: Yes, all of them. But this happened when I was the planning director for the Air Force, in the early 90s.
UFO: And where were those files? Brasilia?
Pereira: Yes, Brasilia. Those files were all collected and some were sent to the SNI [Brazilian National Information Service, a body that originated the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN)]. But only part of them. I would see them again only several years later when I was in a different position at the Air Force.
UFO: So you had the operation files at your disposal. The information we had came to us through Hollanda and could not be satisfactorily confirmed is that he and his subordinates produced at least 2.000 pages of sighting reports which were typed by sergeant Flavio Costa, a kind of secretary in the mission, besides 500 pictures and 16 hours of footage and super 16mm. Do you confirm that?
Pereira: Ah, yes, that must be this. Those footages were the best thing we had at the time.
UFO: When the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) was at Comdabra we could see part of those pages and pictures. We saw more than a hundred of them contained in a folder. Where is the rest of the materials?
Pereira: Well, Comdabra is the acronym for Brazilian Airspace Defense Command, which deals with air matters. At a certain moment, those files were distributed to different bodies according to their interests [performance scope]. Those which were sent to Comdabra are those directly related to the Air Defense System and involve radars spotting objects, jets following something, etc. Other kinds of operations which had nothing to do with the country's Air Defense remain at the old SNI, currently the ABIN.
UFO: Have you seen the footages of a huge amazing spacecraft over Rio Amazonas made during Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]?
Pereira: No, I haven't had the chance. But I know they do exist.
UFO: But where are these footages?
Pereira: Comdabra has what was already shown to ufologists. And the Air Force Intelligence System, also based in Brasília, also has some materials.
UFO: Besides those pictures from Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] did you see any images obtained in other missions or generated by any other means?
Pereira: No, what I saw were only the pictures of Operação Prato [Operation Saucer]. Some of them were made public a little later. There were no other missions. Operação Prato [Operation Saucer] was the only one.
UFO: Regarding the Brazilian Committee of Ufologists (CBU) visit to Comdabra, Brigadier Atheneu Azambuja - then commander of that body-, reported that it was common to have Air Force jets taking off to identify “radar targets” being “hotel traffic” among them. We know that those words were used to describe several things including flying saucers. How many of these interceptions occurred every year in Brazil and what are the outcomes?
Pereira: Many. I remember one at moment. This is all automated, procedures are automated. This fact occurred in Anapolis (GO) a few years ago. There was a radar contact with “something” and the Air Defense determined a Mirage to take off from the air field of that town. The unidentified object was very close, it wasn't very far, almost in Goiania area. The radar could not determine the altitude, but only the position it was. The Mirage went up towards it as high as possible and reached 48 thousand feet [nearly 16km], which is its maximum altitude of operation and had to abort the search. The pilot said: “I reached 48 thousand feet and can't see anything. The radar says it's in front of me, but I don't see anything”.
UFO: The ground radar spotted a dot in that position. How about the Mirage's radar?
Pereira: Yes. The jet's radar informed the altitude it was, but it couldn't tell the altitude of the other contact which appeared in both radars. So it's very hard when you don't know where the target is. It could be at any altitude from 1000m on. I remember that episode very well. The pilot had visual contact with the object, a lightening spot at noon, at broad day light.
UFO: Was that a large object?
Pereira: Well, it was a bright spot whose size was impossible to tell because it would involve parallax. You cannot tell the size of something when you don't know the distance it is from you. The pilot says it was far away. “I see something here, but it is far, very far”, he said. And he was already at the maximum altitude of 48 thousand feet. A Mirage can reach 50 thousand feet, but that would be dangerous. I remember that taking off very well.
UFO: Brigadier, how many of these cases happen every year and what are the outcomes?
Pereira: I remember three or four like these. I don't know about the annual average [laconic], but it can be two or three each year. There's another thing, do you have information on any case involving the Brazilian Navy in Rio Amazonas?
UFO: In Rio Amazonas all we have are cases involving civilian ships. As for the Navy, we have one case occurred in Rio Paraguay, 1962, involving a ship captained by the late Captain Joao Maria Romariz. That ship was followed by a UFO near Forte Coimbra, a territory that now is part the State of Mato Grosso do Sul. This case is reported in the book UFOs: Arquivo Confidencial. Do you know of any specific case occurred in Rio Amazonas?
Pereira: Yes, and this case was “sealed” in the Navy, it was never disclosed. I had the information that one of those old corvettes, which sail very well, was involved in a sighting. That kind of ship could go to very far frontiers. A corvette like that was travelling at night when approached by a UFO that came very close. Things went mad, they say. The situation got very complicated for the captain of the ship because panic took over the crew in a very remote area. In that kind of place, the nearest Indian is a thousand kilometers away...
UPDATE: Mystery 'Boom & Light' Captured On Video - Arrest Made!
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Baltimore Co. Light & Boom Mystery Solved
By Derek Valcourt
wjz.com
4-29-08
PIKESVILLE, Md. (WJZ) ― Police have made an arrest in a Baltimore County mystery. Eyewitness News first brought you the exclusive investigation of a mystery bang and flash in Pikesville. Now, police say they have arrested a neighbor for the disturbance.By Derek Valcourt
wjz.com
4-29-08
Derek Valcourt reports police were able to use footage from a surveillance video camera and determine that the light was coming from a window in a condo complex.
Police went to the complex, talked to neighbors and arrested a man.
Deafening blasts accompanied by blinding split-second flashes of light have been rattling residents of the Pikesville neighborhood for months.
"The bedroom actually lights up like day," says Elaine O'Mansky, who lives in the Stevenson Commons condominium building near Beth Tfiloh. "It's instantaneous and wakes us up out of a very deep sleep."
She isn't alone. Barbara Friedman is Homeowner's Association president for the area.
She was up late one night sweeping her back patio when she heard the boom.
"I hit the deck," Friedman explained. "It was so loud, I thought I was being shot. I literally hit the deck."
O'Mansky says she has heard the noise 25 times since September, always between midnight and dawn.
Utility workers found no electrical problems or gas leaks that could explain the noise and flashes.
Police say the arrested man is scheduled for a bail hearing Tuesday afternoon. More information about his arrest will be released then.
Witness Reports 'UFO Crash' in Decatur
UFO sighting in Decatur
By WSFA 12
4-26-08
What was it last night around Decatur that had people talking?By WSFA 12
4-26-08
Friday night and into today, our newsroom has been flooded with people inquiring about a strange sighting in the western sky.
What did people see?
What we do know is that an object was in the sky that night. What it was is the focus of tonight's WAFF 48 Investigators Report.
"I saw it coming thru the sky back that way and it".
Cody Terry was driving by the Aquadome Recreation Center Friday night in Decatur when he happened to look up in the sky and he notice something strange.
When it was coming through the sky, I really thought it was an airplane that lost control so I came to a complete stop on the road. When I got out and looked at it was no sound coming from it."
No sound, and he says it didn't appear to be an aircraft.
"It speed up to maybe two hundred miles per hour it went straight to the ground and disappeared."
Some people say they saw Med-Flight back here but some people say they saw something else.
Cody says he saw three military helicopters in the air and ambulance on the ground.
"We saw what was in the ambulance and to me it looked like what was a giant pearl and it was shiny. It put off kind of like a diamond type reflection on it"."
For now what ever was in the sky will remain a mystery.
WAFF 48 talked to the director of Med-Flight about an hour ago and he did confirm they had one helicopter in the area and no other helicopters were in the air around that time.
He also says one of his pilots saw a meteorite in the sky last night.
Mystery 'Boom & Light' Captured On Video
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By Derek Valcourt
wjz.com
4-29-08
PIKESVILLE, Md. (WJZ) ―wjz.com
4-29-08
Officers Vickie Warehime and J. Posluszny Jr. have solved a lot of mysteries, but this one is over their heads--literally.
In fact, it may be about 30 to 40 feet in the air.
For months, the Baltimore County Community Outreach officers have been investigating a bizarre phenomenon disturbing neighbors in an area of Pikesville near Beth Tfiloh Community School.
Derek Valcourt reports 911 callers complain about a deafening explosion and a bright flash of light in the middle of night.
"The bedroom actually lights up like day," says Elaine O'Mansky, who lives in the Stevenson Commons condominium building near Beth Tfiloh. "It's instantaneous and wakes us up out of a very deep sleep."
She isn't alone. Barbara Friedman is Homeowner's Association president for the area.
She was up late one night sweeping her back patio when she heard the boom.
"I hit the deck," Friedman explained. "It was so loud, I thought I was being shot. I literally hit the deck."
After she realized she hadn't been shot, she started emailing other homeowners to see if they heard it too.
"Then my email got flooded because hundreds of people were hearing these noises and thought it was their imagination," she said.
The noise was so upsetting, Elaine O'Mansky decided it was time to start keeping track of the phenomenon when it occurred.
From late September until now, she's heard it 25 times, always between midnight and 7 a.m. with no consistent pattern.
Convinced something was wrong, Friedman and O'Mansky contacted police, who were skeptical at first.
"We were a little bit concerned that this was maybe a little bit of an exaggeration," said Sgt. Vickie Warehime. "They were saying they could see (the light) through their window blinds."
Police were concerned that if something really was as loud and as bright as neighbors described, it could potentially be dangerous. So they began to investigate.
Like many of the neighbors in the area, police first guessed that the noise could be coming from a hunter's rifle. But O'Mansky reminded them of the bright flash of light.
So police started investigating whether it was an electrical or gas problem.
Experts with BGE began checking all of the power equipment in the area. They climbed on rooftops of the nearby Beth Tfiloh School and nearby condo building to check all of their electrical equipment and air compressors, but found no evidence of problems. There was no electrical charring, burning or malfunctioning equipment.
A BGE spokesman confirms their investigation found no electrical problems or gas leaks in the area.
Then police decided to take the next step and install two cameras hoping to videotape the boom.
Elaine O'Mansky volunteered to wake up every night around midnight to turn on the camera officers had set up in a fifth floor window of her building.
"It wasn't until we caught it on tape that we realized the magnitude of what they were actually talking about," said Sgt. Warehime. "The sound is almost deafening. You can't describe it. Seeing it on tape without hearing the sound doesn't do it justice."
Videotape taken at 3:34 a.m. on April 23 does show a flash of light that lasts a fraction of a second and lights up an area the size of a football field in the middle of the night.
The flash on the tape is accompanied by loud boom that sounds like a crack of electricity or lightning.
WJZ meteorologist Bernadette Woods analyzed the dates, times and weather conditions when the phenomenon occurs.
"There's nothing coming out of the sky," said Woods, who added that weather likely isn't the primary cause of the flash and boom, but it may be a contributing factor. "The atmospheric conditions could be such that they are supporting the event."
Cameras have videotaped the event on two other occasions. Police have used the shadows cast by the light flash to determine an approximate area where they think the light source may be coming from--30 to 40 feet in the air in the parking lot between the Beth Tfiloh Community School and the Stevenson Commons condominiums building.
Officer Posluszny has already repositioned two cameras several times hoping to see the source of the boom and flash.
"So when we get it again, and we will get it again, we should be able to narrow down where it's starting," said Posluszny. "I will not retire until I find out what this is."
Police say they've consulted with many experts and they're running out of options.
"Everything we can rule out, we are ruling out, and we're almost at a loss right now," said Warehime. "We need some help."
"Whatever it is there's a scientific explanation," said Johns Hopkins University Physicist Dr. Peter Armitage, who reviewed the video tape evidence and went to the neighborhood where it's happening to see if he could find any possible causes.
Armitage says more evidence is needed before he can form a scientific conclusion.
"Right now it's hard to say the phenomenon is definitely occurring though," said Armitage. "It's not some people with creative imaginations that's for sure. When there's repeated eyewitnesses, and then there's something on tape like this, you really have to pay attention."
For now, neighbors like Bonnie Friedman and Elaine O'Mansky say their quality of life depends on whether this mystery is solved.
"We would like it to stop," said O'Mansky. "You go to sleep at night just wondering in the back of your mind, 'Is it going to happen again?"
Friedman agrees. "We even said maybe it's aliens. We're at the point where we'll listen to anyone's theory. We just need to stop it because my homeowners need to sleep."
Monday, April 28, 2008
UFO Reported Over Baytown Skies
By khou.com
4-28-08
BAYTOWN, Texas — Lisa Fojt and her aunt, Kathy Boyd, say they saw more than the bright refinery lights of Baytown when they crossed the Fred Hartman Bridge Saturday night.4-28-08
“There’s no explanation. But we know what we saw,” Boyd said.
They saw a UFO. Really.
“It was an extremely bright light, it was a blue-green light,” Boyd said.
The object was seen at about the same level as the top of the bridge, hovering somewhere over Goose Creek.
It’s a story the pair admitted they were reluctant to tell. But they saw it, and they told.
“And I was looking, and I’m like ‘are you watching this?’ And she’s like ‘yes, I’ve been watching it.’ And it kind of verified to both of us that we both saw something,” Fojt said.
Fojt and Boyd took their search for that something online, asking a blog message board if anyone else saw it too.
Several others did, but several more questioned their sanity.
Still others suggested it was a meteor that lit up the Baytown sky that night.
But Fogt and Boyd said, as far as they’ve heard, meteors don’t make hard-banking right turns.
“And then it just kicked in – like, warp speed – and it was gone!” Boyd said. “An extremely sharp turn.”
“It just – poof! – disappeared. It was like a little triangle zap, like you see in the movies. I mean, it just disappeared,” Fojt added.
A recent UFO sighting in Arizona turned out to be a hoax. A man had tied road flares to a series of helium balloons.
But Fojt and Boyd don’t see a hoax at play here, though even that would be a better explanation than the inevitable query:
11 News: “Had you ladies been drinking?”
(laughter)
Fojt: “No, no, no. I kind of wish we had, you know? Maybe it would seem less real.”
The pair swears they saw the real deal – they’d just like help finding out what kind of deal it really was.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Shostak’s 'Phoenix Lights' Faux Pas
By Mike Fortson
© 4-25-08
© 4-25-08
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The article written by, “Seth Shostak” on the April 24, 2008, entitled, “Phoenix Lights”, appears like a ploy often times used by “debunkers” to scoff at the truth of the “Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona, March 13, 1997” otherwise known by most as, The Phoenix Lights.Shostak states that “only two events occurred that night”; one at 8:30 PM of high altitude planes, and another 10 PM, the flare drop.
He accredits the 8:30 PM high altitude planes to an amateur astronomer who looked at the formation with his scope. My guess is that he’s never met this amateur astronomer, but I have; he was a 19-year-old young man by the name of “Mitch Stanley.” He had a 10” Dobsonian telescope and at 8:30 PM or so on March 13, he said to his mother, that he observed high-altitude, fixed-winged aircraft flying in formation, wing tip to wing tip, and it “was no big deal”.
We met at Village Labs in Tempe, Arizona in August of that year (’97), while being filmed for a special by Discovery Channel. There were dozens of witnesses along with young Mitch Stanley; as Mitch spoke before the crowd while being filmed by Discovery Channel, he told the story of his observance of the high-altitude fixed wing craft, flying wing tip to wing tip; he claimed again, “that it was no big deal” and in his own words he only observed the formation for a few seconds and moved on to other things.
But here is where young Mitch struggled (keep in mind he was not the youngest participant present). During the question and answer segment, a couple of pilots and ex-military people responded that at night no pilot would be willing to fly in such formation. Especially wing_tip-to-wing_tip or even in tight formation, it’s just too dangerous . . . and at night this just isn’t done!
Since Shostak is using Stanley’s statement to paint a picture of what occurred that night, and he commends “the work of the astronomers” stating they’re “experienced observers of the sky,” one would think he would give the same esteem to “pilots” as well (assuming he’s even aware of the meeting that took place at Village Labs).
Furthermore, a fact conveniently omitted was almost all the witnesses in the 8:00 hour (to which I am one) recounted seeing a “massive object” at an incredibly low altitude, which did not emit any noise (i.e., engine or any type of propulsion etc)! Not to mention the slow speed of the massive object as it seemed to “glide” by the witnesses.
Some might think that I’m just one of those goofy UFO nut cases who makes wild claims, but, what if I were to say …”I believe there were high altitude aircraft present that night.” Why not? I believe that instead of civilian aircraft, they were military aircraft! Not in a strange formation to attract attention, but to observe the massive unidentified objects below. So Mitch could be right that there were high altitude aircraft, and also wrong, that this was “no big deal”. Why wouldn’t our military be watching below as these massive unknowns paraded thru our state? I mean they couldn’t attack in a populated area. Why wouldn’t they be watching?
Shostak mistakenly claims only “2” events occurred on March 13th, 1997, to offer a clearer picture, there were multiple events beginning at 5:30 PM and well extending thru 2:00 AM March 14, 1997. Please keep in mind that the 5:30 PM sighting was during daylight, with sixteen witnesses and “a telescope certainly wasn’t necessary” as they watched in awe. Moreover, these witnesses claimed that as 2 fighter jets approached from the south, the three massive V shaped craft “pancaked” on top of each other, formed a white ball of light and vanished!
Then at 8:16 PM near Paulden, AZ., more sightings of massive objects began; not just one or two events, but multiple events were in play! Anyone who has been involved with the massive sightings of March 13, 1997, will tell you that dozens of fantastic reports were never told. Any attempt to wash it away as high altitude aircraft is negligent, and or ignorant of the facts in my view.
High altitude aircraft will not stop a little league game; high altitude aircraft will not discourage a police helicopter during search and rescue training from going up and seeing what it is; high altitude aircraft will not stop traffic along the highways and cause the drivers to get out and watch . . . but a massive V shaped craft that’s incredibly low, nearly a mile long and totally quiet will!
I may agree with the notion that in the area southwest of Phoenix an intentional diversionary flare drop did occur. I agree with Dr. Bruce Maccabee that these flares would have to have been ignited around 16,000’ in order to be seen by a few mountainside residents where five videos were shot; by the way, less than 5% of all witnesses are in the 10 PM hour.
In conclusion, anyone choosing to debunk the, “Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona, March 13, 1997” needs do their homework! “In part,” a proper investigation and or analysis of the event requires actually speaking/interviewing witnesses and “listening” to what they have to say.
Cherry picking snippets from “old biased articles” on the Internet to shore-up ones viewpoint, as it seems is the case here is asinine!
Phoenix Lights
By Seth Shostak
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By Seth Shostak
Are We A Blog
4-24-08
Are We A Blog
4-24-08
Editor's Note-The following is a piece written by Seth Shostak, the Public Programs Scientist at the SETI Institute which can also be found at his Blog, "Are We a Blog?" along with a host of his other penscript. For clarity's sake, I have published his piece in toto with my comments (as posted on his Blog) in postscript. See Mike Fortson's rebuttal as well.
Some people are convinced that extraterrestrials are visiting Phoenix, presumably because they like the feel of wide-open spaces or have a penchant for Tex-Mex cuisine.On Monday, April 21, strange lights once again lit up the night sky of this sprawling Arizona burg, and hung in the air for enough time that they were seen by hundreds (and probably thousands) of residents. Most of these Arizonans remembered that more than a decade ago, in March of 1997, there were two incidents of strange luminance in the darkened skies of Arizona, events that some people still think are mysterious -- and possibly due to alien visitation. These were the original "Phoenix Lights" (which sound like a cigarette brand, but aren't.)
Those two long-ago events actually have prosaic explanations, however. The first, a triangular pattern of lights that swept in from southern Nevada, seems to have been a small phalanx of aircraft. To me, the most convincing evidence that this is true is the report of an amateur astronomer who looked at the formation with his scope, and could see that they were planes. Amateur astronomers (unlike the general public) are experienced observers of the sky. They're also clever enough to realize that if they had seen true extraterrestrial craft, nothing could be more interesting. I don't think they'd lie. I don't think this amateur did lie.
The second 1997 event was a string of lights that was visible over the city for quite a while (tens of minutes). This can best be ascribed to flares dropped during a (later announced) military exercise miles from the city. Indeed, there's confirmation that this explanation is correct from some work done by an Arizona State astronomer in which he matched the appearance and disappearance of these lights with their expected obscuration by the Sierra Estrella mountain range southwest of Phoenix. Call me biased (and in this regard I am), but I trust the work of astronomers.
So, putting it bluntly, I don't think there's any reason to believe that the luminous phenomena that were on display on March 13, 1997 were anything other than human activity. This is important, because the Phoenix Lights are frequently cited as one of the most compelling events supporting the contention that Earth is being visited by beings from afar.
As for the Phoenix Lights of this week... well, they seem to have been a "knock off" hoax by someone who set off some helium balloons to which some lit road flares were attached.
It's not impossible, of course, that aliens could come to Earth. It's also not impossible that they would choose to entertain the residents of central Arizona with their light shows. But if you think this is true, then the evidence has to be better than what it is. Ranting about cover-up and closed minds isn't evidence -- it's merely whining.
And one should always consider simple explanations first. If you find a dead raccoon on the side of a road, you might consider that it was killed by aliens. But you should also weigh the possibility that it was hit by a car.
Kudos to you for being one of the few "SETI folk" who compels me to respond when you address the "UFO bailiwick."
You wrote:
"Some people are convinced that extraterrestrials are visiting Phoenix . . ."
This statement (pertaining to the recent balloon/flare hoax) IMHO is akin to saying that the "WOW signal" was a phone call from a galactic neighbor.
Sadly there are most certainly people that hold that mindset in both examples; however, methinks the number is minute.
You wrote:
" . . . in March of 1997, there were two incidents of strange luminance in the darkened skies of Arizona . . ."
I'm afraid that statement is fallacious to be polite; in March of '97 there were multiple "UFO related events" seen from coast to coast in several states; many which described a "huge V-shaped craft"; sightings were predominant in Arizona with witnesses in the tens of thousands (given the fact that eyes were to the skies in anticipation for Hale/Bopp).
You wrote:
"The first, a triangular pattern of lights that swept in from southern Nevada, seems to have been a small phalanx of aircraft. To me, the most convincing evidence that this is true is the report of an amateur astronomer who looked at the formation with his scope, and could see that they were planes."
Most researchers/investigators of the "Phoenix Lights" do not discount the declaration of "Mitch Stanley" (the amateur astronomer you cite) although some have questioned "planes flying wing tip to wing tip" at night.
In general however, his statement(s) is accepted as fact. That said, this certainly doesn't negate the daytime sightings that occurred on that date, as well as the multiple reports of a "huge low flying craft" that evening all throughout the state of Arizona.
You wrote:
"The second 1997 event was a string of lights that was visible over the city for quite a while (tens of minutes). This can best be ascribed to flares dropped during a (later announced) military exercise miles from the city."
Again you are mistaken; first this is one of many events (as stated above), and second this event only lasted minutes as evidenced by several video tapes of this particular happenstance. It is agreed by most however, that the images were of "flares."
You wrote:
"So, putting it bluntly, I don't think there's any reason to believe that the luminous phenomena that were on display on March 13, 1997 were anything other than human activity."
Since you have only cited "two events" that occurred on that date, both of which most researchers/investigators agree with your conclusion, one can only nod in the affirmative; however, to draw a conclusion based on a small portion of the data regarding the "observation of multiple phenomena" with respect, isn't prudent. Moreover, it certainly doesn't conform to scientific methodology, which given your position, title and academic credentials, one would anticipate.
Finally, I am reminded that you have said on more then one occasion that "you are not a Ufologist and you don't research the subject"; this is certainly "apparent" here as evidenced by your missive.
I equate this behavior to condemnation of a book one hasn't read.
Respectfully,
Frank Warren
Friday, April 25, 2008
Authentic Video of UFOs, or More CGI?
By pincerpal
4-16-08
* Special Thanks To Johnny Anonymous
See Also:
More Controversy Over "White Sands UFO Video"
The Truth About Those Weird UFO Videos on YouTube
SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Man Admits Launching Flares Monday Night, Says Phoenix Lights Was Something Similar
By BRIAN WEBB
KTVK-TV
4-23-08
PHOENIX — Many Phoenix-area residents reported seeing mysterious red lights in the sky over the north Valley Monday night. Some said they could be seen for miles, leaving many to wonder what was going on.KTVK-TV
4-23-08
Those who saw the four lights said they appeared randomly. Some said the lights made shapes — a straight line, a square and a triangle. The lights reportedly were visible for between 15 and 30 minutes at about 8 p.m.
An area man who does not wish to be identified claims that he was behind the mysterious phenomenon.
He told KTVK-TV that after the sun went down Monday night, he tied road flares to four large helium-filled balloons using fishing line. Then he released the balloons one-by-one, at one-minute intervals.
"Very impressed," the man said. "Very bright, and something I'd never seen before."
According to Deer Valley Airport and air traffic controllers at Phoenix Sky Harbor, no planes were on the radar, although people at both locations reportedly saw the lights.
Luke Air Force Base said it had no operations in the air at the time the lights were seen. NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) also confirmed no activity on its radar Monday night.
Some Valley residents said the lights might have been a UFO.
"It was really close to the star, and when it would go really close, and then go fast far away," said Annie Braslawsce. "It was just unbelievable. I thought it was the coolest thing. It was pretty intense."
The man who claims to have launched the flares said an aircraft did get near the balloon-borne lights. He figures that the atmospheric disturbance left in the plane's wake caused the flares to move in a pattern.
Monday night's sighting comes about a month after the 11th anniversary of the famed Phoenix Lights, when thousands of people reported seeing several lights in a "V" formation hovering over the city. The Air Force eventually said those lights were flares, but not everybody believes that explanation.
The man who said he launched Monday's sky show said he thinks the 1997 Phoenix Lights could indeed have had a similar, terrestrial origin — but that it wasn't his doing.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Orbs Over Phoenix
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By Mike Fortson
© 4-22-08
© 4-22-08
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I woke up this morning like so many in this great state of Arizona to find out that we had another “visit” last night. By “visit”, I mean sightings of “strange, out of the ordinary lights.” To my knowledge there have been no reports of structure or the word craft used, only red orbs.On every news page in the Valley of the Sun there are photos and videos of the four red “orbs” seen over various parts of the Valley. And of course there are hundreds of postings of what it was or wasn’t. Just now on Channel 3 Phoenix, Dr Lynne, the self-proclaimed guru of the March 13, 1997, massive sightings, claimed the red orbs as intelligent and just by coincidence they appeared the day before the release of her new DVD, The Phoenix Lights Documentary, the 11th anniversary edition. Are you kidding? Yeah right, Doc, that’s why they appeared last night, it’s the new DVD going on sale at a UfO shop near you.
By making this claim, Dr Lynne has left no opening for an intelligent explanation for the lights. What if it were a hoax? After all, we who talk and investigate these lights know very well of known hoaxers in the north valley. Bragging, self-proclaimed hoaxers who intentionally try to get attention just like this. This being said, Dr Lynne, how can you claim on television these lights as “intelligent” and “just so happens the day before my DVD is released!” Now that’s really sticking your neck out there without PROOF!
I agree that the red orbs seen last night were illegal as far as FAA flight standards. There was no port light, no strobe, only the red lights. Thus, this would be a federal violation. I agree also that this could be a secret military project maybe testing the power of observation of the unknowing public. And I also agree that it’s possible that they were “visitors”. I also leave the door open for a possible hoax.
But before I make that claim I want more proof. I want to talk with witnesses. I want to talk to the ones who were under the lights. I want to talk with the ones closest to it before I make a claim, “that they were here because my DVD is being released!” Pleeeeze!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Phoenix man: Neighbor Caused Monday's Mysterious Lights
By azcentral.com
4-22-08
There could be a more down-to-earth explanation behind the strange lights that appeared over Phoenix on Monday night, according to one Phoenix man.4-22-08
Lino Mailo, 44, said he saw his neighbor launch several helium balloons with flares attached to them from the back porch of his north Phoenix home. Mailo said the balloons took off about 8 p.m., right before the mysterious lights were spotted.
“It's pretty tricky, because the higher the balloons get, the harder it is to tell what they are,” Mailo said.
A helicopter pilot with the Phoenix police department who was flying last night also saw the objects and said they appeared to simply be some flares hanging from helium balloons. Mailo said he has no idea why his neighbor released the balloons, but he regrets not filming the act.
“I feel bad for the people freaking out about this,” Mailo said. “I could've put this whole thing to rest.”
Civilian and military aviation organizations said Tuesday they had idea what caused the lights.
An official with the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which monitors the skies for security threats, said Tuesday the organization did not know where the lights came from.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said that though air traffic controllers at Sky Harbor Airport witnessed the lights, they do not know the cause. Nothing appeared on radar and Gregor said the FAA will not be investigating.
“There's nothing to look into,” Gregor said.
Several Valley residents reported seeing the lights in the sky on Monday night and Gregor said the FAA received numerous calls. Witnesses said they saw four lights in a square shape that eventually became a triangular shape. The lights were moving to the east and they disappeared one by one.
Phoenix resident Kent Titze and his wife watched the lights from their house near Loop 101 and Cave Creek Road.
“It was something I've never seen before,” Titze said. “Right away I thought ‘UFO'.”
Titze's wife Fran rushed to take pictures of the lights.
“To me it looked like clusters of red lights - like three or five of them in each bundle,” Kent Titze said.