Bruce Maccabee, Frances Barwood, and Mike Fortson join guest host Frank Warren on The Joiner Report
This month marks the 13th anniversary of what has erroneously been labeled The Phoenix Lights. The name in part stuck because the media feels the need to use “visual aids” at any opportunity; henceforth, the lights that were captured on video at around 10:00 p.m. were melded together with eyewitness accounts of a large craft(s) seen in the eight o’clock hour.
Unfortunately, while the video images were gaining traction, and became a media frenzy, the official reports (MUFON), which determined that the 10:00 p.m. videos were, in fact, flares, got thrown by the way-side.
It was MUFON investigator Richard Motzer who not only was the recipient of the flare videos early on, it was he that initially discovered the discrepancy between the witnesses to the 10:00 p.m. flare shots and the accounts in the eight o’clock hour. Point of fact is there were thousands of witnesses to the huge craft in the eight o’clock hour and only a handful at 10:00 p.m. (who happened to capture the lights [flares] on video).
This precipitated an investigation by Motzer, which would entail going to the locations of the videographers and triangulating all the pertinent videos. Stills were shot during the day at each relevant location, and he determined that the lights were above and beyond the “Estrellas,” in the airspace of the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range—not over South Mountain as initially thought. He then ascertained the time and days of military exercises, which included flare drops, and discovered that the days and times corresponded to previous video and or witness accounts of “orange lights” in that vicinity. His report was completed by mid May of ’97, just two months after the events of March 13th. This clearly explained why people on the valley floor didn’t see the flares, as it was impossible, unless one was at a higher elevation, like the videographers.
Not long after that report was made, the Air Force came clean and made an official statement admitting that the visiting Maryland Air National Guard (MANG) did eject their remaining flares before returning to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Regrettably, this has been a bone of contention and source of confusion ever since!
In part, because the media often interviewed eight o’clock witnesses, while showing the 10:00 p.m. flare videos, the former was adamant that “flares” is not what they witnessed—and this, of course, is correct. Separating, and being cognizant of the two (and other) events, is in fact the actual problem.
As time went by, there would be other investigations and scientific analyses confirming Motzer’s conclusions. One of the most in-depth analyses done, was performed by Dr. Bruce Maccabee, recently retired as an optical physicist from the Naval Surface Warfare Center and long time respected Ufologist.
Dr. Maccabee, along with direct eyewitness Mike Fortson and former Phoenix city council member Frances Emma Barwood will join Frank Warren as guest host for this Friday’s Joiner Report.
Together, they will sort out the events of March 13, 1997, which includes one of the most significant events in UFO history as well as the distraction caused by the flare footage.
