"Mystery Missile" Was a Plane, Pentagon Says
The Defense Department is now saying that it was an airplane, not a missile, that left a mysterious vapor trail off the coast of Southern California.
"There is no evidence to suggest that this is anything else other than a condensation trail from an aircraft," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan, who reiterated that there was no threat to America.
The video of what looks for all the world like the contrail of a missile was shot Monday evening by KCBS cameraman Gil Leyvas from a news helicopter over Los Angeles.
"I saw a big plume coming up, rising from looked like beyond the horizon and it continued to grow," Leyvas said.
Meanwhile, an FAA official told CBS News: "We don't know the exact location, trajectory or altitude of the contrail, so we can't determine if it belonged to a specific aircraft."
Civilian experts agreed that the trail was left by an airplane, the Washington Post reports.
"This thing is so obviously an airplane contrail, and yet apparently all the king's horses and all the king's men can't find someone to stand up and say it," said John Pike, a defense and aerospace expert who runs GlobalSecurity.org.
The object, Pike told the Post, was moving too slowly to be a missile, adding: "There's a reason that they're called rockets."
He said the vapor trail was an optical illusion: The contrail appeared to start on the ground and but in reality, he said, the contrail began on the horizon and ran parallel to the ground.
Expert Thinks "Mystery Missile" an Illusion
Missile Mystery and More: Strange Sky Sightings
Because it was "an unusually clear day," he told the Post that what looked like a missile launch 35 miles off the coast was actually the contrail of a jet that stretched 300 miles into the distance.
"At the end of the day, you really have to go with the simplest explanation," he added.
The Post reports that ContrailScience pointed to several similar incidents in the past in which jets were mistaken for missiles.
CBS/AP "There is no evidence to suggest that this is anything else other than a condensation trail from an aircraft," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan, who reiterated that there was no threat to America.
The video of what looks for all the world like the contrail of a missile was shot Monday evening by KCBS cameraman Gil Leyvas from a news helicopter over Los Angeles.
"I saw a big plume coming up, rising from looked like beyond the horizon and it continued to grow," Leyvas said.
Meanwhile, an FAA official told CBS News: "We don't know the exact location, trajectory or altitude of the contrail, so we can't determine if it belonged to a specific aircraft."
Civilian experts agreed that the trail was left by an airplane, the Washington Post reports.
"This thing is so obviously an airplane contrail, and yet apparently all the king's horses and all the king's men can't find someone to stand up and say it," said John Pike, a defense and aerospace expert who runs GlobalSecurity.org.
The object, Pike told the Post, was moving too slowly to be a missile, adding: "There's a reason that they're called rockets."
He said the vapor trail was an optical illusion: The contrail appeared to start on the ground and but in reality, he said, the contrail began on the horizon and ran parallel to the ground.
Expert Thinks "Mystery Missile" an Illusion
Missile Mystery and More: Strange Sky Sightings
Because it was "an unusually clear day," he told the Post that what looked like a missile launch 35 miles off the coast was actually the contrail of a jet that stretched 300 miles into the distance.
"At the end of the day, you really have to go with the simplest explanation," he added.
The Post reports that ContrailScience pointed to several similar incidents in the past in which jets were mistaken for missiles.
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A great commentary, and I'm glad you're thinking hard about this, but you got nearly everything wrong.
Look, even CBS is apologizing for airing the false story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20022447-503544.html
Are they controlled by the government too now?
It's funny you say that because I do teach rocket trajectory software to both government and civilian contractors.
When this first hit the news I was on NPR, saying the same stuff I'm saying now. It's a beautiful picture of a contrail, and to a layperson I can see how it looks like a rocket. But it's not. Just an optical illusion for the particular spot where the helicopter was. That's why, of the 4 million Los Angeles residents, and of the hundreds of tourists every night on the beach taking pictures of the sunset, no one else saw this.
That's because from every other angle except where the optical illusion works, it looks like what it is -- a typical plane contrail.
"please take the time to better define the "optical illusion" you are referencing."
HEL, I'm surprised that someone who has clearly put so much thought into this has not come across the details of the jet explanation.
Here it is in short:
Imagine you have infinite visibility to the horizon. Now imagine what it would look like if a plane, flying straight and level, comes from beyond the horizon to fly directly over you. Because the Earth is round, from your perspective, it would start at the horizon and look like it was lifting off the ocean straight up. After rising up, it would basically stay in the same place for a LONG time, until it got close and flew over you.
If it's leaving a condensation trail this entire time, it looks like a rocket launch. This has happened before many times. For example, this picture is from December, 2009, and is a known jet: http://consci.s3.amazonaws.com//skitch/Preview-20100119-154110.jpg
Looks like a rocket too, doesn't it?
What looks like a rocket from the front looks like this from the side: http://consci.s3.amazonaws.com//skitch/Flickr_Photo_Download__Santa_Monica_Sunset-20100121-135847.jpg
That's a picture of the exact same contrail. Looks pretty normal from the side, doesn't it?
That's why the helicopter pilot, directly in line with the jet, saw a "rocket" and thousands of other people on the beaches snapping pictures of each other in front of the sunset saw nothing.
So what's more likely?
- A rocket launch in broad daylight (meant as a show of force) is recorded by only one individual and doesn't show up on any radar, with no government response to the threat, or
- A fairly common optical illusion is seen by one individual, the government correctly states "There were no rockets on radar" and promptly stops caring about it, and the internet is now the only place where the story still lives (just like 9/11 truthers, Obama Birthers, JFK 2nd gunmen-ers, Moon Hoaxers, Princess-Di-was-murdered-instead-of-crashed-ers, and every other silly conspiracy theory that flies in the face of easily verifiable facts.)
Damn yes it is a missile....the only other explanation for not being able to determine the so called aircraft is incompetence since it was only 35 miles from L.A. and was recorded by a helicopter over the city.
"The primary purpose of govt is to protect the people, not run thier lives" Ronald Reagan
Yep, the nucular powered space plane really should have been launched at night when no snoopy civilians could see the trail. Thata way there wouldn't be all these nasty truth seeking questions.
Hyper Skunk appropriatly named ....the whole thing stinks of secrets and lies.
Page 55
434/10(18).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
CALIFORNIA.
MISSILES.
1. INTERMITTENT MISSILE FIRING OPERATIONS 0001Z TO 2359Z
DAILY MONDAY THRU SUNDAY IN THE NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER
SEA RANGE. THE MAJORITY OF MISSILE FIRINGS TAKE PLACE
1400Z TO 2359Z AND 0001Z TO 0200Z DAILY MONDAY THRU FRIDAY
Wonder why they would need to say that it's an airplane??
IF THEY WILL TRANSIT VIA THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL AND WITHIN
NINE MILES OFFSHORE VICINITY OF POINT MUGU OR CROSS THE AREA
SOUTHWEST OF SAN NICOLAS ISLAND BETWEEN SUNSET AND SUNRISE.
4. CANCEL NAVAREA XII 427/10.
(251001Z OCT 2010)
For what its worth, your source states that the testing was to conclude Oct. 25, 2010.
Why tell the truth when you can lie?