UFOs? Nope. They were fighter jets, Air Force says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ten Air Force Reserve F-16 fighter jets were the cause of the lights seen over parts of central Texas earlier this month that many believed to be UFOs, according to an Air Force Reserve news release.

The F-16s were on a nighttime training mission over the Brownwood Military Operating Area on January 8, near Stephenville, Texas, the statement said.

A military operating area is airspace designated for military training, according to Air Force officials.

Several people in the area saw lights moving fast across the night sky. The Air Force reported it had no aircraft flying that night, which left people wondering what they saw.

Wednesday, an Air Force Reserve statement from the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base said it made a mistake in its initial reporting, and that there were planes in the area that night.

"In the interest of public awareness, Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs realized an error was made regarding the reported training activity of military aircraft," the news release said.

A spokesman for the Air Force Reserve fighter wing, Karl Lewis, said the error in the reporting resulted from an internal communications problem between offices at the base.

Lewis said he received the flight information earlier this week, confirmed it with officials on the base and sent the news release out Wednesday.

The release said the planes were in the area between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., about the time many people reported seeing the lights, according to reporting at the time.

Lewis said the planes were from the 457th Fighter Squadron based at the reserve base outside of Fort Worth, Texas. E-mail to a friend

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