Profound implications of ‘Phoenix lights’ UFO case explored in film event

By Steve Hammons

Are we ready for the next steps of knowledge and understanding about leading-edge and forward-leaning scientific, psychological and spiritual discovery connected with unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and other unusual topics?

The annual screening of the award-winning documentary film “The Phoenix Lights” in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 16, along with comments by special guests present, provided opportunities for the audience to consider the possibilities involved with the 1997 case and the many apparent connections to it.

People around the world are familiar with the March 13, 1997, sighting of a very large object or craft gliding slowly over the metro Phoenix area that evening. But not everyone realizes that there may have been multiple objects in Phoenix’s skies that night, and that glowing amber orbs have been seen in the Phoenix region in years before and since.

Unconventional flying objects and other unusual situations have also been reported (and often seen and experienced but not reported) throughout Arizona, including Sedona, the Navajo Nation, Hopi lands and the Four Corners area.

These kinds of phenomena may go back years, decades or centuries. Some of them may be a very natural part of life in the American Southwest and elsewhere on Earth.

It seems that we are now getting more educated about many of these discoveries. Yet, there are still mysterious unknowns about what is going on.

PHYSICIAN STEPS UP TO THE PLATE

Lynne Kitei, M.D., writer-producer-director of “The Phoenix Lights” film (based on her book), host of the recent gathering at a Scottsdale movie theater, shared insights with the those present and introduced several guest speakers who made brief comments and responded to questions from the audience. The co-producer of the film, Steve Lantz of Steve Lantz Productions, also participated in the event.

Kitei noted that two years before the 1997 incident, she observed large, glowing amber orbs near the Estrella Mountains on the south side of Phoenix. Other people in the Phoenix and Arizona region have also reported seeing orbs of various sizes and types.

The audience learned that the Spanish word “estrella” means “star” and that local Indians have long-believed that the “star people” come and go in the area of the Estrella Mountains.

When the main Phoenix lights incident occurred in 1997, Kitei also saw the huge object or craft, along with thousands of others in the Phoenix metro area. She and many others came forward and reported what they had witnessed that evening.

Even the governor of the state at the time eventually revealed that he, too, had seen a huge boomerang-shaped craft gliding silently and slowly at a very low altitude over Phoenix.

The lights and/or a boomerang-shaped object were reportedly witnessed earlier that evening northwest of Phoenix in Henderson, Nevada, (metro Las Vegas), then in Kingman in the northwest corner of Arizona, and in Prescott, Arizona, before appearing over the northwest corner of metro Phoenix heading southeast.

Since Kitei had been involved in health-education media production projects and had a background in the performing arts as well as health care, she subsequently made significant public efforts to explore, communicate and educate about what occurred that night.

Her book “The Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone” and the documentary film were part of the results of those efforts.

At the film event, Kitei also shared interesting and funny inside stories about her small role as “Florence Arizona” in the quirky1987 Coen Brothers’ movie “Raising Arizona” starring Nicholas Cage, Holly Hunter and John Goodman. The movie was filmed at locations throughout the Phoenix region.

GUESTS PROVIDE INSIGHT

Other special guests at the annual film screening included Rebecca Hardcastle, Ph.D., proponent of a concept called “exoconsciousness.” Hardcastle explained that exoconsciousness is the study and development of certain communication skills that include awareness about and telepathy with advanced beings of various kinds.

Jim Dilesttoso, a multi-skilled technical expert who was prominently featured in the film, was also present. He had analyzed photos of the Phoenix lights incident using advanced technical equipment. Dilettoso determined that the lights were not military flares dropped during training of A-10 “Warthog” aircraft at the nearby defense gunnery range south of Luke Air Force Base that night.

Dilettoso noted that he has also conducted other interesting research into unusual phenomena in the Four Corners region.

Two law enforcement officers from the Navajo Nation, Navajo Rangers John Dover and Stan Milford, told the audience about several types of unusual situations they have investigated over the years. These incidents included, but were not limited to UFOs, they said.

Their investigations as peace officers indicate to them that modern physics theories are consistent with ancient Navajo oral history indicating that there may be multiple dimensions, some of which are invisible to us at this time.

An elder and medicine man from the Zuni nation in New Mexico, Clifford Mahooty, explained that the “star people” have been around for a long time, in his view. Mahooty also compared the ability to perceive the star people, other anomalous phenomena and the concept of multiple dimensions with tuning a radio to different stations on the AM and FM frequency bands.

Officers of the Arizona Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), State Director Jim Mann and Assistant State Director Stacey Wright, told the audience about the missions, roles and investigations that MUFON carries out. Chief Investigator for Arizona MUFON Dennis Freyermuth was also introduced.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Some people have speculated that there must have been a purpose for the March 13, 1997, flyover. By all accounts, it was a UFO sighting that had special aspects to it. The case remains unique among decades of worldwide UFO sightings due to the large number of witnesses observing the object(s) for a prolonged period of time over a major well-known city.

Why did it occur in the early- and mid-evening hours on a pleasant evening when many Phoenix-area residents were already outside looking to the skies for a view of the much-publicized Hale-Bopp comet that was expected to provide quite a show?

One possible answer that has been put forward: The flyover was a planned show of a different kind, even more spectacular than seeing the Hale-Bopp comet. It may have been a demonstration, a test or a preparation.

This is consistent with theories and accounts that various kinds of acclimation efforts and activities may have been underway since the 1940s, at least in the U.S., to prepare us for new discoveries that could be surprising.

And why Phoenix and Arizona? There are certain demographic factors that may play a part. These include a population of people who have moved to the area from all over the U.S. and other countries to enjoy the sunny skies and warm weather. There is also a rich mixture of different cultures and a large Native American population with several tribes.

Thousands of visitors and tourists from around the U.S. and around the world visit Arizona each year to view the Grand Canyon and the many other beautiful sights in the state.

Another aspect of the area is the unique geography and biodiversity of the southern Arizona Sonoran Desert and the beautiful mountains in the state.

The geology of the Sedona area, a relatively short drive north of metro Phoenix, includes combinations of quartz, iron oxide and volcanic-related structures that reportedly create unique magnetic energy fields and vortexes. Some people speculate that these energy fields may affect human consciousness and could have other significant effects.

Whatever the reasons, it seems wise to be prepared for further developments in Arizona, public or more discreet, that will continue to allow us to discover and learn, and to develop as more advanced beings ourselves.

The general public, news and entertainment media, public health and safety agencies, defense and intelligence personnel, kids and senior citizens, and all of us probably benefit from increased readiness for continuing interesting unconventional developments.

(Related articles “Storytelling affects human biology, beliefs, behavior” and “Reagan’s 1987 UN speech on ‘alien threat’ resonates now” are posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.) 

UFOs over Arizona: Film event planned for ‘Phoenix lights’ anniversary

By Steve Hammons

In the 1977 movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” the character of French researcher Claude Lacombe (based on Jacques Vallee), played by director and actor Francois Truffaut, tries to explain to a U.S. Army Special Forces officer why several civilians were brought to the secret temporary base at Devils Tower, Wyoming.

Lacombe says to the officer, “Major Walsh, it is an event sociologique." That is, it is a “sociological event” and the civilians are somehow part of it, Lacombe tells Walsh.

The same can be said about the situation in the mid-evening hours of March 13, 1997, in the Phoenix, Arizona, region. It also was, and is now, an “event sociologique.” 

Sociology is the study of human social behavior, its origins, development, organizations and institutions.

The appearance of one or multiple very large objects or craft of some kind flying low and slow over the city triggered a sociological event in the Phoenix-area “Valley of the Sun” and throughout the U.S. and the world.

This was because hundreds or thousands of Phoenix-area residents reported witnessing the object(s) and called police, newspapers, local TV and radio stations, and reportedly, the nearby Luke Air Force Base on the west side of metro Phoenix. Local news coverage was gradually picked up by national and international media outlets and “the Phoenix lights” incident joined scores of other significant UFO cases.

READY OR NOT

Now, 17 years later, the award-winning documentary film “The Phoenix Lights” will be shown at a special presentation Sunday, March 16, 1 pm, at the Harkins Shea 14 theatre in Scottsdale, Arizona. The event will also include speakers and discussions about the UFO phenomena and related research and discoveries.

The 2005 film by writer-director-producer Lynne Kitei, MD, in association with Steve Lantz Productions, is based on Kitei’s bestselling book of the same name.

Were the large objects or craft over Phoenix ours, “theirs,” some combination of the two or something even more surprising? If the objects were those of visitors from elsewhere, which visitors are involved? What were the reasons for the apparent flyovers that would clearly and dramatically be seen by so many Arizonans? Was the flyover meant to provide acclimation and orientation for the public?

These kinds of questions are sure to be considered and discussed at the upcoming showing of “The Phoenix Lights” film.

The questions of readiness and preparedness also seem relevant for public health and safety personnel as well as civilian and military pilots and air traffic controllers. 

Many safety-related topics were addressed in the 1992 firefighter training book "Fire Officer's Guide to Disaster Control" by Charles Bahme and William Kramer. Although most of the book addresses conventional firefighter and public safety challenges, the authors also include a fascinating chapter titled “Disaster Control and UFOs."

The authors provide background and insight about the UFO phenomena and focus on safety issues in the section "Adverse Potential of UFOs." According to Bahme and Kramer, the two main dangers associated with UFO encounters include powerful, unusual energy fields and psychological effects.

They say that potential hazards include exposure to radiation as well as other energy fields, rays and beams. Physical injuries have been reported. In some cases, these energy fields are involved in the disruption of communications, vehicle and aircraft functioning, and power grid operations.

Psychological and emotional impacts can include disorientation, anxiety, confusion and a hypnotic or paralyzing state, according to the authors. Some researchers indicate that unusual feelings, perceptions, impressions or perceived communications can be associated with these kinds of situations.

In addition, we might consider that human neurological functioning could be affected. This could be intentional by use of some technology or inadvertently due to our proximity to quantum or anomalous natural energies associated with UFOs and certain other unusual phenomena.

SPECIAL OPERATIONS

There have been other significant UFO incidents before and since that evening of March 13, 1997, in the Phoenix area. Yet, the Phoenix lights case still stands out because of the large number of witnesses in a major city who reported clearly seeing a low-flying large object over an extended period of time.

In the Phoenix incident and beyond, the coordination of the UFO situation, along with other remarkable discoveries, probably involves extensive activities of many kinds. Among these activities, key goals probably include improving preparedness and readiness of the general public, news media, and public health and safety officials.

There has been reasonable speculation over the years that certain elements of the U.S. government and/or organizations related to the federal government may have been tasked with handling aspects of various unconventional phenomena, including UFOs.

In “Close Encounters,” the character of Major Walsh and other U.S. Army personnel are portrayed as being Army Special Forces (Green Berets) from the 5^th Special Forces Group, as noted by the unit patches worn in the movie.

As many military history buffs know, Army Special Forces traces its roots back to the World War II-era Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

And, in a publicity photo from the set of the movie, Steven Spielberg (a Phoenix resident himself during his teenage years) is seen talking with Francois Truffaut while Spielberg is wearing a Vietnam War-era camouflage Army shirt with Army Special Forces shoulder patches clearly visible.

To some observers, these subtle factors raise questions about the involvement of Army Special Forces in unconventional activities associated with UFOs, assuming Spielberg had inside information. 

In fact, the mysterious red-suited 12-person team in “Close Encounters” has even been linked to reports of a real-life exchange program.

And like the successful outcome of the special operation in “Close Encounters,” maybe the Phoenix lights incident and our continuing examination of it will also lead to similar important and helpful developments, and to a positive “event sociologique” for the human race.

Arizonans attending the special showing of “The Phoenix Lights” film will be doing their part by learning more and sharing viewpoints about one of the most amazing UFO cases in recent years, and helping us prepare for what comes next.

About the event: The annual screening of the award-winning documentary film “The Phoenix Lights” is on Sunday, March 16, at 1 pm, at the Scottsdale Harkins Shea 14 Cinema, 7354 E. Shea Blvd. Tickets are available at the normal prices. Included in the event are special guests, Q&A sessions and book-signing. For more information, visit The Phoenix Lights website.


(Related articles “Storytelling affects human biology, beliefs, behavior” and “Reagan’s 1987 UN speech on ‘alien threat’ resonates now” are posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.)