The Phoenix Lights (sometimes referred to as the "lights over Phoenix") were a series of widely-sighted optical phenomena (generally unidentified flying objects) that occurred in the skies over the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, and the Mexican state of Sonora on March 13, 1997. A similar incident occurred April 21, 2008, although this incident was later reported to be a prank–flares attached to helium balloons, but that report was later disproved.
Lights of varying descriptions were seen by thousands of people between 19:30 and 22:30 MST, in a space of about 300 miles, from the Nevada line, through Phoenix, to the edge of Tucson. There were two distinct events involved in the incident: a triangular formation of lights seen to pass over the state, and a series of stationary lights seen in the Phoenix area. The United States Air Force (USAF) identified the second group of lights as flares dropped by A-10 Warthog aircraft which were on training exercises at the Barry Goldwater Range in southwest Arizona. Notable among those who reported they had observed a huge carpenter's square-shaped UFO, having lights or light emitting engines, is Arizona Republican governor at the time of the incident, Fife Symington