As much as I love a good UFO story, and as a huge UFO buff I really
wanted this to be legit. But I'm afraid I've got the real scoop on
this latest sighting Monday night here in Phoenix: it was a complete
hoax.
This looked damn real and it as now cast a shadow in my mind on the
1997 Phoenix Lights.
The guys who pulled it off made a fatal error when they launched the
device: their neighbors saw them do it.
This UFO was made from large helium balloons with flares hanging from
them. The balloons were 'tied together' in such a manner that the
flares didn't drift apart and stayed together, thus it appeared to be
a solid object.
We can thank good old 'black art' for completing the object in the
minds of those who saw it.
I've seen all kinds of photos of the object and it definately looked
like a solid object with 3 or 4 bright red lights shining down off of
it. Most of those who saw it swear it was a massive solid triangle
shaped object.
The object was seen for approximately 13 minutes before the lights
went out one by one. I lit a road flare I bought from Checker Auto
and timed it, that's exactly how long it lasted before burning itself
out.
From neighbor accounts the authroities found the exact house where
this device was launched. The fire marshall may bring charges against
them as this could be very dangerous if it fell to the ground while
the flares were still ignited. It's very, very dry here in Phoenix
and they won't even allow us to have sparklers for the 4th of July.
Ah well, another myth goes up in flames...how appropriate for a city
named Phoenix.
-Leary-
