[Reeses]

It's unlikely it was a toy rocket because they don't go up that high, maybe 1,000 feet. The jet was likely way too high to even notice a toy rocket in the air. A hobbyist with a more powerful rocket wouldn't likely be so irresponsible to launch it in a populated area. This was no minor incident.

[driftdiver]

The story says the pilot say the smoke trail. That would indicate to me the rocket was still under power. Amateur rockets will easily go this high. 8 miles from the airport is a decent distance and would be adequate for most rockets.

Something doesn’t add up though. We are supposed to believe a commercial jet was at 5000 feet of altitude 8 miles from the runway. The plane had taken off and should have been gaining altitude.

Do any pilots on here know what altitude the jet should have been at?

IMO it seems more likely a govt attempt to squash amateur rockets than anything else. A ground launched missile would have went for the engines and not the cockpit.