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FiledALT-2026-1055FAA · Federal Aviation Administration

FAA radar data, controller voice recordings, facility logs and inquiry files for Phoenix-area airspace, 13–14 March 1997

Sent to the agency. Awaiting acknowledgement.

Part of a multi-agency investigation

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The shared question produced 4 tailored filings. Each has its own route, statutory clock, correspondence and outcome.

Statutory clock

33 of 20 business days left

Filed Sep 9, 2026

20 business days allowed · 5 U.S.C. § 552

20 business days from perfection to determination; 10-day extension for unusual circumstances. Expedited processing determination within 10 calendar days.

The records sought

Records of the Air Traffic Organization and its 1997 predecessor (Air Traffic Services / Western-Pacific Region, AWP) concerning the evening of 13 March 1997 and the early hours of 14 March 1997, specifically: (a) any continuous data recording, NTAP or equivalent radar target history for Phoenix TRACON (P50), Phoenix Sky Harbor tower and Albuquerque ARTCC (ZAB) sectors covering the Phoenix metropolitan area and the corridor south toward the Barry M. Goldwater Range, 0200Z–0600Z on 14 March 1997; (b) any controller voice recordings, transcripts or reduced-tape transcriptions for those positions in the same window; (c) daily records of facility operation and position/watch logs (FAA Form 7230-4 or successor) for P50, PHX tower and ZAB for 13–14 March 1997; (d) any pilot report, UFO or unidentified-traffic report, or flight-assist record generated at those facilities on those dates, and any transmittal of such a report to another agency; (e) records showing whether any radar or voice media for that period were impounded, retained, copied or transferred, and if not, the records-retention schedule and destruction authority applied to them; (f) correspondence, congressional and public inquiry files, and public-affairs talking points held by the Western-Pacific Regional Office or the Administrator's office concerning the 13 March 1997 Arizona sightings, 13 March 1997 through 31 December 1998. If any category no longer exists, we request the retention schedule, the destruction certification if one exists, and a description of the record systems searched.

Date range: 1997-03-01 – 2026-08-21

Why it was asked

The FAA is the only civil custodian of the radar returns and controller audio for the airspace over Phoenix that night, and the only body that can establish whether that evidence was preserved or destroyed on schedule. Its facility logs and inquiry correspondence have far longer retention than the tapes and are the most likely surviving contemporaneous record.

Timeline

  1. Commission submitted for route and filing review

    Drafting

  2. Letter cleared review

    Drafting

  3. Commission payment settled

    Money

  4. Letter drafted

    Drafting

  5. Letter cleared review

    Drafting

  6. Letter finalised

    Drafting

  7. Submission queued

    Dispatch

  8. Sent by fax

    Dispatch

Public milestones summarize progress and outcomes. Contact details, message content and operational evidence remain private to the requester and authorized staff.

Correspondence

  • SentfaxSep 9, 20262 pages

    Request correspondence sent

    Aletheca → Agency

    Contact information, message content and delivery evidence are private.