Supernatural phenomena rarely happen on a daily basis, and actor Kurt Russell might be one of the lucky people who were able to witness one up close. The MCU star claimed he had a sighting of an unidentified flying object or UFO back in 1997. At the time, he did not know what it was until years later.
Thousands of people reported the incident that took place in Phoenix, Arizona on March 13, 1997. To this day, it remains to be the most widely reported UFO sighting in history. There was only one pilot who made a report about the incident, and that was Russell.
Kurt Russell Reveals Bizarre Encounter With UFOs
Sharing this incredible experience on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Marvel actor Kurt Russell explained what transpired during his flight to Phoenix:
“One time, Oliver, he wanted to go to Phoenix to see a friend, and I said ‘Sure, I’ll fly you there.’ So we’re going into Phoenix, I think Sky Harbor and there’s this bank of lights, six lights, in the shape of a triangle going back right over the airport, and I’m looking at them as I’m coming in on the horn talking to them and I’m not saying anything about it because I’m confused by it.”
Russell called the tower to inquire if any aerial performances are happening that night, and they responded in the negative. They asked him what he was seeing and if he wanted to report it to the authority. Russell continued:
“There’s six lights in a row. I can’t identify it. It’s flying, and it’s six objects.”
Two years later, this strange incident haunted Russell’s memory again after watching a show about UFOs. He recollected the experience and tried to tally the details he heard from the television with his own record. Russell further added:
“I said, ‘Wait a minute, that’s the night Ollie and I were landing in Phoenix. I remember that. I’ve got it in my logbook.’ So I went to my logbook. I didn’t mention anything about reporting the UFO, but my flight was logged. On the show, they talked about 20,000 people reporting it and only one general aviation pilot, and I said, ‘That’s me!’”
The actor admitted that the strangest part of the experience was he never thought about the bizarre sighting from the day he landed until he saw it again on the television.
The Phoenix Lights Mystery Explained
The rare sighting of these reported unidentified flying objects known as the Phoenix Lights remains a favorite subject of conspiracy theories. While it is tempting to believe that such a supernatural phenomenon exists, it seems that there is a concrete explanation for this incident.
An excerpt from a 1998 New Times story by Tony Ortega finally uncovered the mystery (via Phoenix New Times):
“Tucson Weekly broke the news that the Maryland Air National Guard, in Arizona for winter training, had a squad of A-10 fighters over the gunnery range that night, and they had dropped flares.”
The lights that Kurt Russell saw during his flight were no other than flares coming from a military operation. It’s definitely more exciting to believe that the actor almost had an encounter with an alien spacecraft, right?
Sources: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Phoenix New Times
