Pentagon, NASA experts say mystery plume was plane (Well, there you have it. Move along, Folks.)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/11/10 | John Antczak - AP

[NormsRevenge]

LOS ANGELES – The Pentagon and NASA experts have determined that a billowing contrail seen streaking into the skies above Southern California was likely caused by an airliner and not a missile.

The phenomenon recorded Monday evening by a TV news helicopter created a media sensation and a vapor trail of commentary across the Internet about the possibility of a secret missile firing. But the military insisted it knew of no rockets launched in the area.

Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Wednesday that officials were satisfied it was an airplane contrail distorted by camera angle, winds and other environmental factors including a setting sun.

Military experts studied the video and talked to all government agencies that might have been involved in a missile launch and none reported having launched one, Lapan said.

[BenLurkin]

Of course — you’ll note that the rocket launched off L.A. hasn’t come down anywhere yet.

[Mr. K]

Don’t believe your lying eyes...

[mbynack]

It looks like a jet's contrail to me.

That's what the aliens want you to think.

[LibLieSlayer]

nasa eggspurts say we are all going to die from man-made globull warming... great track record guys!

LLS

[D-fendr]

Flight 808, Honolulu to Phoenix is a very likely candidate:

The Mysterious Whatever:

Flight 808, the next day:

[NormsRevenge]

and the crowd went.. OOOOooo....

probably the size of a Jetta..

Chopper 2 HD captured images of a red-hot streak ripping through the NYC sky nearing dusk on Nov. 10, 2010. (Photo: CBS 2)

[DonaldC]

I’ve seen strange jet contrails when a plane is viewed as being on the observers horizon, but at the angle the photo showed, I’m not sure. I’m thinking some gov project they don’t want to talk about.

[RetSignman]

Are your eyes still lyin' to you?

[paul in cape]

Contrails are never that close to the horizon. They form only because the ultra hot exhaust meets the ultra cool air high up in the sky. If the plane was near the ground, you might get a little smog, if you're lucky.

My guess, it was the ChiComs launching from a sub off our Pacific coast to show O-Zero who's boss.

After all, Barack is Muslim for "He Who Can Be Rolled."

[SF_Redux]

not seen the confirmation on that, only more speculation, as in “ very likely candidate “

[McGruff]

Yeah. An airliner with afterburners.

[bkepley]

OK - so it was a chicom missle launched off the coast of California and all the experts here declare it’s heading North-West...where did it go?

[D-fendr]

This is as close to confirmation as I can imagine. Same time, same place, same thing - plane.

Somehow, I don’t think an “official” confirmation would change the minds of those who think it was a missile.

[plain talk]

Yep. Plane contrail. Preety clear to me as well.

[DonaldC]

Yea, on the non-zoomed in image, it makes more sense as a contrail. But an alien spin is more fun...hehe

[Ben Mugged]

The sun reflecting off the aluminum skin of the airliner. Seen it lots of times. Seen it off satellites too.

[SF_Redux]

I had read earlier somewhere that that was a guess by a blogger that went viral, can’t seem to find out much about that blogger

as in, does he work in the State Office

[D-fendr]

That's a sun reflection, same color as sun, and it's small and only there briefly. Missile fire is a lot bigger:

[SF_Redux]

I guess they could have shooting a pack of obambi’s favorite cigs over to him, he wouldn’t think twice about asking them to do it

[raygun]

Are ya shure? How do you know? Have you conclusively ruled out a common, average, run-of-the-mill, garden variety methane hydrate ejecta-bolide?

Why do you insist on jumping to the conclusion of such technical, far-fetched, complicated explanation rather than simple ordinary natural phenomena? As a student of the Sherlock Holmes school of Occam's Razor, I prefer the MHEB theory. You know what his attitude on criminolgoy is: once you've ruled out the most complicated conclusions in decending order, the simplest explanation, however likely it may be, MUST be the truth.