Case · C-068

Stephenville: lights in the sky, F-16s in training and FAA radar data

Stephenville and Erath County, Texas · United States · Jan 8, 2008

In flight Civilian witnesses Radar

What happened

On the evening of January 8, 2008, dozens of residents of Stephenville and the surrounding area reported very bright lights, stationary or moving rapidly, and military jets that seemed to chase them. The Air Force in Fort Worth first denied the presence of jets, then corrected its version, citing a communication error and confirming F-16 training flights. In 2009 the FAA, responding to a FOIA request, handed over the continuous radar recordings of the Fort Worth control center, specifying that at that time there were several aircraft in the vicinity.

Proposed explanation

After an initial denial, on January 23, 2008, the Air Force stated that about ten F-16s were training in the area that evening; James McGaha and Joe Nickell (Skeptical Inquirer, 2015) attribute the lights to those fighters and to flares. A MUFON report (July 2008), based on the FAA's raw radar data, instead claims to have tracked a large object headed toward President Bush's ranch in Crawford; McGaha disputes the selection of the radar points.

Official investigation

U.S. Air Force (Reserve, Fort Worth); Federal Aviation Administration (FOIA response)

Words of the document

During the period in question, there were several aircraft in the vicinity of Stephenville.

Official documents

1. FAA, risposta alla richiesta FOIA 2009-003019 («Stephenville Lights on January 8, 2008») con dati radar · Federal Aviation Administration, ATO Central Service Center (The Black Vault copy) · Mar 26, 2009
2. Daily Record of Facility Operation – Dyess AFB Control Tower, 8 gennaio 2008 · Dyess Air Force Base control tower (released through FOIA, The Black Vault copy) · Jan 8, 2008

Sources

1. NPR, “Air Force Alters Texas UFO Explanation”, January 24, 2008 (press)
2. James McGaha, Joe Nickell, “Alien Lights? At Phoenix, Stephenville, and Elsewhere: A Postmortem”, Skeptical Inquirer, 2015 (analysis, skeptical)
3. MUFON UFO Journal, August 2008 (“Stephenville Lights: A Radar and Witness Report”; PDF) (analysis, pro-disclosure)
4. The Black Vault – UFO Case: Stephenville, Texas, January 08, 2008 (other)

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