UFO photographed near Tempe, AZ airport

The following is the account submitted in MUFON case #27642 regarding a UFO spotted close to the ground over Tempe, Arizona on January 20, 2011:

Case Number: 27642

Log Number: US-02042011-0004

Submitted Date: 2011-02-04 02:01 GMT

Event Date: 2010-01-20 22:15 GMT

Status: Submitted

City: Tempe

Region: Arizona

Country: US

Longitude: -111.9093095

Latitude: 33.414768

Shape: Unknown

Vallee Index: MA1

Description: I was sitting in my apartment when I noticed the bright lights through my window. My window looks out west, as I am only a few miles away from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. I see planes come and go all day, as they tend to fly right over me. Therefore, when this object caught my eye, my initial reaction was to coordinate the visible object to a plane. Or at least convince myself it was just a very bright street lamp- I also have a lovely view of a freeway. However, it just didn�t look the same. It stood out. I knew in my heart it was neither a light nor a plane, which is why I couldn�t keep my eye off that �thing� in the sky. It was stationary at first and about the same height as the freeway lights- but something made me keep staring. It then descended, which made me alert. I could still barely see it underneath the bridge of the highway. Because it descended in the direction of the airport, I told myself it was a plane. Yet for some reason, I still couldn�t peel my eyes away from the sky. I went to get my cell phone, and when I looked back up- the object was back up in the air! It was then I ran and got my camera- a Canon Powershot SX20. I zoomed in as much as possible. I noticed it gradually going down to the ground again, only this time it was heading (my left) of the airport. Almost as though it knew I was taking pictures so it went to hide, because it was stationary until my photoshoot began. It was then I fully realized this was no plane- for planes cant fly like that! They cant go down, then back up, and then down to the side! Furthermore, it was extremely quiet- too quiet. I only got a few good pictures because my camera couldn�t keep good focus� but the ones I did get� wow. Unlike anything I have ever witnessed. This was real.

Here are the amazing photos submitted with the report.  Have fun debunking this one, skeptics!  Swamp gas?  Not in Arizona!  Click on each photo to see them at full scale.

This is clearly no object or group of objects I've ever seen.  How about you?  Now, this could be a man-made craft.  I want to explicitly state here that I'm not postulating this is an extraterrestrial craft.  I'm not ruling it out, either.  But I know it's not a helicopter.   Pretty sure it's not three helicopters in formation.  Definitely not a plane.  Flares?  In the words of Alan Boyle, "Get real."

One point of particular interest is that the submitter mentions feeling like the intelligence behind the craft knew it was being photographed since it seemed to take evasive measures as soon as photography began.  This is an aspect of these phenomena that has made its way into many a sighting report lately.  UFO observers and MUFON submitters commonly state this opinion.