Mysterious contrail just a plane

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics told Warren Olney last night that the media can call off the missile search. The mysterious contrail that some surmised resulted from an errant or secret missile launch was mostly likely a jet liner (US Airways Flight 808 from Honolulu to Phoenix, to be precise) flying across the horizon on an unusually clear day. WWLA

Mysterious contrail has people looking for missile

A news helicopter got video of an unknown object rising over the Western horizon and leaving a long contrail behind. Some surmise this is a missile launch, either planned or accidental, while others think it's just an airplane seen from an odd angle. Military and aviation officials have yet to figure it out.

Via the LA Times:

"We are aware of the unexplained contrail reported off the coast of Southern California yesterday evening," according to a statement Tuesday from the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command, which operates the U.S. and Canadian missile warning system. "At this time, we are unable to provide specific details but we are working to determine the exact nature of this event.

"We can confirm that there is no indication of any threat to our nation and we will provide more information as it becomes available," the statement said.

Thomas Pynchon must be proud.