[mikegi]

And while you are absolutely correct to say radar can track passive objects, the system everyone is viewing in this thread cannot. It can only see "secondaries".

Is there an actual report of a reflectivity return from this "bottle rocket" or are the conspiracy buffs relying only on transponder signals? Anyway, what do you think the pilots saw? Temperature layers causing refraction?

[concretebob]

The conversation I listened to had the pilot saying it looked like a rocket.

[Rokke]

"Is there an actual report of a reflectivity return from this "bottle rocket" or are the conspiracy buffs relying only on transponder signals?"

No returns at all. No evidence other than the report from AA 612. The discussion on this thread is all about the site referenced by Jack Cashill that shows transponder data on traffic in LAX airspace.

"Anyway, what do you think the pilots saw?"

Who knows. It could have been just about anything or nothing. I've literally ducked in the cockpit to avoid "colliding" with a reflection on the windshield.