Within Flare Debate
What the A 10 Flare Mission Actually Explains
The reported disposal of unused A-10 illumination flares closely matches the timing, location and duration of the filmed Phoenix lights.
On this page
- The Maryland unit's reported mission
- Why unused flares were released at altitude
- Which observations match the disposal account
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Introduction
The strongest conventional explanation for the famous 10 p.m. Phoenix Lights display is not simply that military flares existed somewhere in Arizona that night, but that A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the Maryland Air National Guard reportedly disposed of unused illumination flares while returning from a training mission over the Barry M. Goldwater Range. This account is unusually specific: it identifies the aircraft type, the participating unit, the training area, the approximate release altitude, and the reason the flares were released. Those details correspond closely to the timing, location and appearance of the widely filmed lights seen south-west of Phoenix at about 10 p.m., while remaining separate from the earlier reports of a moving V-shaped formation.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
The Maryland unit’s reported mission
The aircraft associated with the 10 p.m. display were reported to be A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the Maryland Air National Guard, operating from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base as part of Operation Snowbird, a temporary winter training deployment. On 13 March 1997 the aircraft had been conducting exercises over the Barry M. Goldwater Range, one of the United States’ largest military training areas.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
Several months after the event, Arizona Air National Guard public affairs personnel traced the later lights to this training activity. Captain Eileen Bienz identified the aircraft as having released illumination flares over the North Tactical Range at approximately 10 p.m., reportedly from about 15,000 feet. Contemporary reporting also quoted Maryland Air National Guard personnel confirming that visiting A-10 crews had been flying on the range that evening.[Phoenix New Times]phoenixnewtimes.comthe phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery | Phoenix New Times…
An important feature of this explanation is that it is tied to a documented military exercise rather than a vague suggestion that “training was occurring somewhere”. Investigators identified a specific visiting unit, a known training area and a flight returning to Davis–Monthan immediately afterwards, making the explanation operationally plausible.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
Why unused flares were released at altitude
Military illumination flares are expensive, pyrotechnic devices carried for training or combat illumination. If aircraft complete a mission with unused flares, crews may be required to dispose of the remaining flares over an approved military range rather than land with unnecessary pyrotechnics still loaded. Such releases occur only within authorised airspace and under established procedures.
According to later accounts from investigators and participants, the 13 March mission was the final evening of the deployment, leaving crews with unused illumination flares that were released before returning to base. Skeptical investigators have noted that this circumstance explains why witnesses observed an unusually large group of bright lights rather than a single flare or a brief training sequence.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
This disposal explanation also fits the behaviour expected from parachute illumination flares. Rather than streaking across the sky like rockets, they descend slowly while suspended beneath parachutes, producing the appearance of bright stationary lights when viewed from many tens of kilometres away. Their apparent lack of motion is enhanced because observers are looking almost directly toward the line of descent rather than across it.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
Which observations match the disposal account
The disposal account aligns with several distinctive features of the 10 p.m. recordings.
- Timing: the reported flare release occurred at approximately the same time as the best-known videos of the stationary lights.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
- Direction: witnesses generally observed the lights toward the south-west, in the direction of the Barry M. Goldwater Range.[Phoenix New Times]phoenixnewtimes.comthe phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery | Phoenix New Times…
- Duration: the lights remained visible for several minutes, matching the burn time expected from military illumination flares.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
- Sequential disappearances: rather than switching off simultaneously, individual lights vanished one after another, consistent with descending behind the distant Sierra Estrella mountains. Image comparisons between daytime and night-time views supported this interpretation.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
- Loose formation: the lights maintained approximate spacing without behaving as though they were rigidly attached to a single object, matching separate flares descending independently.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
These characteristics collectively provide a stronger evidential match than any one feature alone. While each point might admit alternative interpretations individually, together they form a coherent pattern expected from parachute-borne illumination flares released over a distant military range.
What the disposal account does not explain
The principal limitation of the A-10 disposal explanation is also one of its strengths: it is specific.
It was developed to explain the later, stationary 10 p.m. display, not every sighting reported during the evening. Numerous witnesses described an earlier sequence beginning around 8:30 p.m. involving a large moving V-shaped formation crossing Arizona. Even investigators who strongly support the flare explanation generally distinguish these as separate episodes rather than treating one explanation as covering the entire night’s reports.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
This distinction matters because debates over the Phoenix Lights often become confused by combining the earlier moving observations with the later stationary lights captured on video. The flare disposal account closely matches the second event while leaving the first to be evaluated on its own evidence.
Why the disposal mission remains central to the debate
Nearly three decades after the Phoenix Lights, the reported A-10 flare disposal mission remains the leading evidence-based explanation for the famous 10 p.m. display because it links identified aircraft, a documented military exercise, a known training range, an operational reason for releasing unused flares, and observations that closely match the recorded behaviour of the lights.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
The continuing disagreement is therefore less about whether illumination flares can resemble the filmed lights—they demonstrably can—and more about whether the official reconstruction accounts for every reported observation that night. For the specific 10 p.m. display, however, the reported A-10 flare disposal mission remains the most detailed and best-supported conventional explanation currently available.[Skeptical Inquirer]skepticalinquirer.orgOpen source on skepticalinquirer.org.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: skepticalinquirer.org
Link:https://skepticalinquirer.org/2016/11/the-phoenix-lights-become-an-incident/
2.
Source: phoenixnewtimes.com
Title: the phoenix lights are no mystery 6661825
Link:https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts-culture/the-phoenix-lights-are-no-mystery-6661825/
Source snippet
Phoenix New TimesThe 1997 "Phoenix Lights" are no mystery | Phoenix New Times...
3.
Source: skepticalinquirer.org
Link:https://skepticalinquirer.org/2015/03/alien-lights-at-phoenix-stephenville-and-elsewhere-a-postmortem/
4.
Source: phoenixnewtimes.com
Title: Phoenix New Times The Hack and the Quack | Phoenix New Times
Link:https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/the-hack-and-the-quack-6445593/
5.
Source: thisunexplaineduniverse.com
Title: phoenix lights
Link:https://www.thisunexplaineduniverse.com/articles/phoenix-lights
6.
Source: enigmalabs.io
Title: Phoenix Lights | Enigma Labs
Link:https://enigmalabs.io/library/ca2dbe16-51c6-4a89-91c6-007d6f85c011
7.
Source: phoenixnewtimes.com
Title: Phoenix Lights UFO mystery explanations | Phoenix New Times
Link:https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts-culture/phoenix-lights-ufo-mystery-explanations-19105870/
8.
Source: yumpu.com
Title: The Phoenix Lights
Link:https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/51064289/the-phoenix-lights-the-real-investigation-richard-motzer-nicap
9.
Source: ufo-books.com
Title: phoenix lights
Link:https://ufo-books.com/incidents/phoenix-lights
10.
Source: thestatefiles.com
Title: The Phoenix Lights
Link:https://thestatefiles.com/the-phoenix-lights/
11.
Source: kb42.info
Title: Phoenix Lights
Link:https://kb42.info/index.php?title=Phoenix_Lights
Additional References
12.
Source: dm.af.mil
Link:https://www.dm.af.mil/Media/Article-View/Article/4528097/davis-monthan-hosts-final-a-10-range-day/
Source snippet
Air Force Col. Jose Cabrera, 355th Wing Commander, watches an A-10C Thunderbolt II perform a show of force at the Barry M. Goldwater Rang...
13.
Source: esovitae.com
Title: The Phoenix Lights Mystery: What the Public Record Actually Says
Link:https://esovitae.com/the-phoenix-lights-mystery/
Source snippet
May 8, 2026 — THE PHOENIX LIGHTS MYSTERY * May 8, 2026 * Marcus Halloway Image: The Phoenix Lights Mystery By Marcus Halloway · Published...
Published: May 8, 2026
14.
Source: thegalacticmind.com
Title: The later Phoenix lights were likely military flares,
Link:https://www.thegalacticmind.com/case-file-the-phoenix-lights-1997-arizona-nevada/
Source snippet
Phoenix Lights Case File: The 1997 Arizona UFO MysteryApril 3, 2026 — THE PHOENIX LIGHTS: TWO EVENTS, ONE AMERICAN MYSTERY On March 13, 1...
Published: April 3, 2026
15.
Source: uapinvestigations.com
Title: the phoenix lights what thousands saw over arizona in 1997
Link:https://uapinvestigations.com/the-phoenix-lights-what-thousands-saw-over-arizona-in-1997/
Source snippet
On July 25, 1997, Drew Sullins, a spokesman for the Maryland Air National Guard, confirme...
Published: July 25, 1997
16.
Source: wikidisc.org
Title: Phoenix Lights 1997
Link:https://www.wikidisc.org/wiki/Phoenix_Lights_1997
Source snippet
July 2, 2026 — INVESTIGATION[EDIT | EDIT SOURCE] INITIAL OFFICIAL RESPONSE[EDIT | EDIT SOURCE] In the immediate aftermath of the...
Published: July 2, 2026
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Channel 3
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q87RbYkI90
Source snippet
Largest UFO Sighting in History - What Actually Happened?...
18.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Unraveling the Phoenix Lights: UFOs or Military Flares?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH_Upl-WTUU
Source snippet
Channel 3 - Phoenix Lights Military Flare Re-enactment Fails...
19.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Flares over the Goldwater Range outside of Phoenix Arizona
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6fKsDNDLmw
Source snippet
Unraveling the Phoenix Lights: UFOs or Military Flares?...
20.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Mystery of the Phoenix Lights
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnSzWXDK8oA
Source snippet
[Phoenix Lights flares]({{ 'flare-debate/' | relative_url }}) A-10 military flares UFOs or Military Flares Over Arizona...
21.
Source: tonyortega.org
Link:https://tonyortega.org/the-phoenix-lights-20-years-later-still-the-same-set-of-planes-and-flares-over-arizona/