The mysterious vapor trail spotted off the southern coast of California was “more likely caused by an airplane than anything else,” a senior military official told Fox News Channel Tuesday, though another official said authorities continue to investigate to rule out a possible missile launch.
The contrail caught on video by a news helicopter “was more likely caused by an airplane than anything else, because the other possibilities of rockets or missile are turning up negative,” the senior military official said.
But a US Defense Department official told Fox News that a missile has not been ruled out, saying US Strategic Command (Stratcom) and US Northern Command (Northcom) have both been asked to “count noses,” or ensure all missiles are in their arsenals.
The official did not rule out the possibility that a missile could have been launched as part of a covert operation.
Earlier Tuesday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed that the incident was not a threat to the US.
“NORAD and U.S. Northcom are aware of the unexplained contrail reported off the coast of southern California yesterday evening,” NORAD said in a statement, according to Fox News Channel. “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.”
A spokesman for NORAD and Northcom also told Fox News the US was “confident this was not fired from foreign military.”
Meanwhile, the US Navy confirmed to Fox News Channel that the incident “was not associated with any Navy operation,” while a NASA spokesman said the apparent missile launch was not a satellite launch or a satellite re-entry. NASA also said it was investigating whether the incident was a meteorite but said that was unlikely.
Separately, a military official told Fox the US was getting close to determining the cause and would have an explanation for the bizarre incident soon.
The Pentagon had said the incident remained “unexplained” and that its mysterious origins meant that it was not possible to rule out any threat to the homeland, Fox News Channel reported.
Pentagon Spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said the incident did not appear to be a regularly scheduled test, since no warnings to mariners or airmen appeared to be issued ahead of its launch.
The contrail was caught on camera by a KCBS news helicopter at around sunset Monday evening, approximately 35 miles out to sea and west of Los Angeles.
ContrailScience.com, a website that debunks conspiracy theories linked to contrails, suggested the sighting was an optical illusion, AFP reported.
It said a contrail streaming horizontally from the exhaust of an approaching aircraft can look like a vertical missile shot if the end of the plume is hidden by the curvature of the earth.