Stephenville lights
- Date
- 8 Jan 2008
- Place
- Stephenville and Dublin, Erath County, Texas, United States
- Record
- Curated case
- Assessment
- Contested
- Evidence strength
What was reported
Dozens of residents, including a private pilot and a local constable, reported large, fast, silent lights, sometimes described as an object a mile long, followed by jets. The Air Force first said no aircraft were in the area, then said ten F-16s of the 457th Fighter Squadron had been training there. MUFON obtained FAA radar data through FOIA and reported primary returns without transponders, including one heading toward the President's ranch at Crawford; critics say radar data of this kind include clutter and tracking artifacts and that the mapping between returns and witness reports is unproven. No public record establishes an anomalous craft.
What officials concluded
Tentative explanation
USAF (revised statement): ten F-16s were training in the area
Strongest ordinary reading
Military aircraft and flares, with ambiguous radar returns
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- Yes: Radar
- Yes: Video
- Yes: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- Yes: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- Yes: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- Yes: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- Yes: Silent
Outside sources
- Wikipedia: Stephenville, Texasen.wikipedia.org
On the map
32.22° N, 98.20° W, plotted at the town or city
Show on the map