Kurt Russell Comes Forward as Civil Pilot Who Reported Phoenix Lights

Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Image credit: YouTube)

Kurt Russell, co-star of the recent interstellar superhero movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, recently came forward as the civil pilot who reported the famous Phoenix Lights to ground control.  

The Phoenix Lights were a mass UFO sighting that occurred on Thursday, March 13th, 1997, and stretched from Phoenix, Arizona to Sonora, Mexico.  Witnesses reported a triangular formation of lights that passed over the state, and a series of stationary lights in the Phoenix area.  The events were witnessed by thousands of people between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. that evening.

In an interview with the BBC to promote the film, Russell said "I saw six lights over the airport in absolute uniform, in a 'V' shape, and...I was just looking at them."

The 66 year-old film star said he was flying his son Oliver to see his girlfriend, and that they both witnessed the lights.

"We're maybe a half a mile out, and Oliver said, 'Pa, do you, what are those lights?'"

Russell said that he reported the lights to ground control, but they responded that they weren't showing anything on radar.

"Well, okay, I'm going to declare it's unidentified, it's flying, and it's six objects," responded Russell.

He further claimed that he had completely forgotten the incident until coming home one day, two years later, to find his wife, actress Goldie Hawn, watching a show on UFOs that featured the incident.

:"The fascinating part of that to me is that it just went literally out of my head, and Oliver never mentioned it.  If I hadn't have seen that show, I'd have never thought of it again," said Russell of the incident.