PHOENIX — Residents were buzzing Tuesday about whether the city had experienced a close encounter of the first kind.
Red lights that formed a square and then a triangle were seen floating over north Phoenix late Monday, a sight reminiscent of an unexplained 1997 sighting that has become part of the area's lore.
There was no immediate word where they came from.
A Police Department helicopter pilot who witnessed the lights said they appeared to be flares possibly hanging from one or more helium balloons, according to a police spokeswoman.
However, police stopped short of officially characterizing the incident since the lights were not affiliated with any department operations and declined further comment.
The Air Force said the lights weren't from any of their flight operations, and officials at Deer Valley Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport could not explain them.
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The lights were visible for about 13 minutes around 8 p.m. Monday.
A Luke Air Force Base official said the base wasn't flying any aircraft in the sky Monday night and the lights are not part of any Air Force activities.
Officials with the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma and Arizona National Guard also said their agencies had not been conducting any air operations.
On March 13, 1997, thousands of residents reported seeing a mile-wide, V-shaped formation of lights over the Phoenix area. In that case, the lights appeared about 7:30 p.m. and lasted until 10:30 p.m.
Tucson astronomer and retired Air Force pilot James McGaha said he investigated two sightings over Phoenix that March night and traced both to A-10 aircraft flying in formation at high altitude.
