The witness was on Flight 1379 from Dallas to Tucson and was "looking out over the right wing of the plane" on a clear, moonlit night, when the objects were first seen.
"While the aircraft was descending approximately 60 miles east of Tucson, approximately at or below 18,000 feet, I observed several light objects in the sky," the witness stated. "The location was approximately Mount Graham near Safford, AZ)."
The witness first thought the light was from another plane.
"I first noticed the brightly lit object when it was joined by a second object same size and color light. I first thought it was a plane turning in the sky and was very curious because of the proximity of the second object, then one of the lights turned off and then on again and that is when I knew this was strange."
The witness then noticed more lights in the sky.
"Almost immediately a third, fourth, fifth and sixth light appeared in the sky, not all in a straight line, but somewhat aligned horizontally. I would estimate within a mile separation of each other end to end."
The witness explains his background.
"I am a pilot and engineer. I have much experience identifying aircraft at night. This was absolutely not an aircraft light or flares dropped by military planes. In fact, the amber colored objects did not appear to move and were higher than our plane. I know this because they were well above the horizon, higher in the sky. I would estimate above 20,000 feet."
The lights appeared to be hovering in place.
"The objects were not moving, but turning on and off in short duration like someone flipped a switch. I only saw all six lights on at the same time once, after that it was down to two or three, then only one on and off with a five to 15 second duration over a period of three or four minutes. I was able to call attention to the person sitting next to me and that person also saw the last one illuminate and disappear in the sky over the wing."
No images or videos were included with the MUFON report, which was filed on November 30, 2012. The above quotes were edited for clarity.
In what may be an unrelated case, a second Arizona report was made for the same date - November 29 - and just 12 minutes later - at 8:42 p.m. from Whiteriver, AZ, in Case 44246.
"Looked south, southeast and seen about six to seven lights, reddish-orange glow," the witness stated. "Kept looking, then they were gone. Then headed home from town and seen jets flying around like crazy. Rapidly gaining altitude and decreasing. Then when almost home seen the six to seven lights again for about six seconds. Then before I could try to record it, they disappeared one by one which was weird. Lights were the same color in the same direction south, southeastern Arizona. Unkown how many miles away."
We recently reported on objects following planes in: Unidentified orbs reported following planes in two states.
Arizona is a current UFO ALERT 3 rating, with a high number of UFO sightings nationally. Arizona had 32 reports in October 2012 - the 3rd highest reporting state while California had 69 reports - the highest reporting state in the nation.
You can read more details about other recently reported cases at the UFO Examiner home page.
The following is the unedited report filed with MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If Arizona MUFON State Director Jim Mann investigates and reports back on this case, I will release an update. Please report UFO activity to MUFON.com.
November 29, 2012, 8:30 p.m., AZ - Multiple objects emitting amber light from ~20,000 ft hovering in place. Case 44256.
I was on board American Airlines flight 1379 from Dallas to Tucson, looking out over the right wing of the plane. The sky was clear, moonlit night. While the aircraft was descending approximately 60 miles east of Tucson, approximately at or below 18,000 ft. I observed several light objects in the sky. (location approximately Mount Graham near Safford AZ). I first noticed the brightly lit object when it was joined by a second object same size and color light, I first thought it was a plane turning in the sky and was very curious because of the proximity of the second object, then one of the lights turned off and then on again and that is when I knew this was strange. Almost immediately a third, fourth, fifth and sixth light the light appeared in the sky, not all in a straight line but somewhat aligned horizontally. I would estimate within a mile separation of each other end to end. I am a pilot and engineer, I have much experience identifying aircraft at night, this was absolutely not an aircraft light or flares dropped by military planes. In fact, the amber color objects did not appear to move and were higher than our plane, I know this because they were well above the horizon (higher in the sky) I would estimate above 20,000 ft. The objects were not moving, but turning on and off in short duration like someone flipped a switch. I only saw all 6 lights on at the same time once, after that it was down to 2 or 3, then only 1 on and off (5 to 15 second duration)over a period of 3 or 4 minutes. I was able to call attention to the person sitting next to me and that person also saw the last 1 illuminate and disappear in the sky over the wing.
