March 13, 1997 — Arizona/Nevada/New Mexico. Estimated 10% of Arizona’s population witnessed the event — one of the most-observed UAP incidents in US history. TWO DISTINCT EVENTS: EVENT A (8:00-9:00pm MST): A massive, silent V-shaped or boomerang-shaped formation of 5-9 lights traveled 300 miles from Henderson, Nevada through Phoenix to Tucson at low altitude. Witnesses estimate the craft was 1 to 1.5 miles wide — “bigger than anything I’ve ever seen.” The formation blocked out background stars as it passed overhead. No engine noise. No prop wash. No wing movement. Witnesses included: Gov. Fife Symington (Air Force veteran, pilot), commercial pilot Kurt Russell (who reported it to air traffic control on approach into Phoenix), police officers across multiple cities, commercial pilots, and hundreds of ordinary citizens. Councilwoman Frances Barwood called for an investigation — was ridiculed by colleagues (one put a UFO cartoon on her door). Radar data from Luke AFB showed anomalous signatures — deleted before review. EVENT B (10:00pm MST): A row of bright, stationary lights SW of Phoenix. Widely filmed. Arizona Air National Guard confirmed 4 months later: A-10 Warthogs dropped LUU-2B flares during Operation Snowbird. Flare analysis: luminosity and behavior consistent with this explanation. GOVERNOR SYMINGTON’S PRESS CONFERENCE (June 19, 1997): Brought his Chief of Staff onstage in an alien costume and handcuffs. Called witnesses “entirely too serious.” A decade later, Symington recanted in CNN op-ed: “It was absolutely breathtaking… This is definitely a UFO. I have never seen anything like it in my life.” Referenced in November 2023 congressional hearings as a documented pre-2000 UAP case requiring systematic review. Congressional researchers note: “The government never interviewed even one witness.”