2010 California contrail incident

Aviation and aerial phenomenon-related incident February 2025February 2025 Frame from November 8, 2010 KCBS news helicopter video.jpg Frame from the November 8, 2010 KCBS news helicopter video, which began media coverage of the story November 8, 2010 Airspace approximately 35miles (35 miles km out) west of Los Angeles, California and north of Catalina Island "Mystery missile""Mystery contrail" November 10, 2010 Mystery contrail leaves US military stumped https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/10/mystery-contrail-leaves-us-military-stumped 2024-02-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20251006033249/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/10/mystery-contrail-leaves-us-military-stumped 6 October 2025 The Guardian en-GB Associated Press Aviation-related incident Speculated to be a contrail from U.S. Airways flight 808Matson John Out to Launch?: "Mystery Missile" off California Coast Was Probably Just an Airliner, Pentagon Says https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mystery-missile/ 2024-02-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20180831083446/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mystery-missile/ 31 August 2018 Scientific American en or an RIM-161 Standard Missile Department of DefenseFederal Aviation AdministrationKCBS On the evening of Monday, November 8, 2010, an unusually conspicuous contrail appeared about 35miles (35 miles km out) west of Los Angeles, California, in the vicinity of Catalina Island. News footageNovember 9, 2010 CBS coverage of the event of the event from a KCBS helicopter led to intense media coverage and speculation about a potential military missile launch, with many reporters and experts discussing the vapor trail and theorizing about its source.Stelter Brian Broad William J. November 14, 2010 How Smoky Plume in Sky Drew the Eyes of the World https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/us/15contrail.html https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060029/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/us/15contrail.html February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 The New York Times en-US Media discussion of the incident: November 9, 2010 Mystery Missile: Launch of Unknown Missile Caught on Tape in California https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mystery-missile-launched-missile-off-california-coast/story?id=12097155 https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060031/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mystery-missile-launched-missile-off-california-coast/story?id=12097155 February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 ABC News enNovember 9, 2010 RAW VIDEO: Mysterious Contrail Off Calif. - CBS Los Angeles https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/exclusive-raw-video-mysterious-missile-launch-off-california-coast/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060030/https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/exclusive-raw-video-mysterious-missile-launch-off-california-coast/ February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 CBS News en-US CBS/AP November 9, 2010 Mystery of the California contrail https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/09/california-contrail-defence-department-missile https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060031/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/09/california-contrail-defence-department-missile February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 The Guardian en-GB 0261-3077 APBryner Jeanna November 9, 2010 Mystery Missile Launches Off California Coast https://www.space.com/9490-mystery-missile-launches-california-coast.html https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060032/https://www.space.com/9490-mystery-missile-launches-california-coast.html February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 Space.com enLee Marcella November 8, 2010 Mysterious missile lights up the sky over the Pacific https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/mysterious-missile-lights-up-the-sky-over-the-pacific/509-34da28c8-1ed4-49cb-807c-bc2f332aa8b3 https://archive.today/20250208153055/https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/mysterious-missile-lights-up-the-sky-over-the-pacific/509-34da28c8-1ed4-49cb-807c-bc2f332aa8b3 8 Feb 2025 2024-02-18 CBS 8 en-US Coverage continued for several days. The Pentagon released a statement on November 9 that it could not identify the source of the vapor trail, November 10, 2010 California: Vapor Trail Stumps Experts https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/us/10brfs-VAPORTRAILST_BRF.html https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060030/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/us/10brfs-VAPORTRAILST_BRF.html February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 The New York Times en-US AP but both the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command stated that it was not a foreign military launch. On November 9, the FAA also issued a statement that it had not approved any commercial space launches in the area for the prior day.2010-11-10 Pentagon: Mystery Contrail Spotted Off Calif. Coast Was No Missile https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40109935 https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060038/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40109935 February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 NBC News en On November 10, some 30 hours after the "mystery missile" first gained press attention, a Pentagon spokesman stated there was "no evidence to suggest" that the plume was anything but an aircraft contrail.Cloud David S. Barboza Tony November 11, 2010 Pentagon says no evidence vapor trail came from anything but an aircraft https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-11-la-me-1111-mystery-missile-20101111-story.html https://web.archive.org/web/20240221020316/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-11-la-me-1111-mystery-missile-20101111-story.html February 21, 2024 2024-02-21 Los Angeles Times en-US Some experts, however, held that the vapor trail could not be conclusively identified as an aircraft contrail, and others stated it was a missile. Although some question persisted about the vapor trail's origin, the incident came to be seen as an example of news outlets being "captives of their sources" and irresponsibly pushing unverified theses; it was also interpreted as a lesson in the importance of exploring alternative hypotheses that fit available data. U.S. federal and military authorities also faced criticism for what were described as "inconclusive" answers and for allowing the issue, in the words of one commentator, to "fester for days" without a clear resolution. Background left|thumb|Contrail created by a KLM Boeing 777 over London, England at sunset in 2012 Contrails, short for "condensation trails," are linear cloud formations produced by aircraft exhaust, air pressure changes, or rocket emissions,Voigt Ch. Schumann U. Graf K. M. L. S. L. O. Calabro Deluca Frolov Galfetti Haidn 2016-07-01 Contrail formation in the tropopause region caused by emissions from an Ariane 5 rocket https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016EUCAS...8..183V/abstract EUCASS Proceedings Series 8 183–196 10.1051/eucass/201608183 2016EUCAS...8..183V 978-5-94588-191-4 usually at commercial cruising altitudes several miles above the ground.Aircraft Contrails Factsheet https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/policy_guidance/envir_policy/contrails.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20060928114935/http://www2.faa.gov/regulations_policies/policy_guidance/envir_policy/media/contrails.pdf 2006-09-28 10 September 2023 FAA.Gov Contrails often only last for minutes, but can last for hours and expand to several miles across, coming to resemble naturally formed cirrus or altocumulus clouds.thumb|Vapor trail of an Atlas V 421 launch at Cape Canaveral in 2022 A contrail from an airplane flying towards an observer can create the illusion of a vertically moving object, as happened with a contrail off the coast of San Clemente, California on December 31, 2009, which some observers mistook for a missile launch.McKee Maggie 9 November 2010 Mystery 'missile' likely a jet contrail, says expert https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19704-mystery-missile-likely-a-jet-contrail-says-expert.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20101110210639/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19704-mystery-missile-likely-a-jet-contrail-says-expert.html 10 November 2010 10 November 2010 New ScientistWest Mick 10 November 2010 A Problem of Perspective – New Year's Eve Contrail http://contrailscience.com/a-problem-of-perspective-in-the-oc-new-years-eve-contrail/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20101112192207/http://contrailscience.com/a-problem-of-perspective-in-the-oc-new-years-eve-contrail/ 12 November 2010 10 November 2010 The San Clemente "New Year's Eve Contrail" was a horizontal trail at about 32,000 feet, or six miles, in altitude, that appeared to be oriented vertically due to the ground-level perspective from which it was observed and photographed. There are also historic examples of observers mistaking aircraft contrails for other phenomena, especially when contrails were still uncommon, including incidents in Galveston, Texas on October 27, 1951; in several areas of Iowa on April 15, 1950; and throughout the San Francisco Peninsula on January 11, 1950, when a B-50 Superfortress bomber flying at 35,000 feet caused many residents to call police stations to report a "burning plane," "meteors," and "flying saucers."May 6, 2007 Contrail Confusion is Nothing New https://contrailscience.com/contrail-confusion-is-nothing-new/ https://web.archive.org/web/20101116044026/http://contrailscience.com/contrail-confusion-is-nothing-new 2010-11-16 2024-02-17 Contrail Science en-US While a number of experts concluded that the 2010 "mystery missile" was simply a common aircraft contrail, other experts held that while an airplane was the most likely source a missile launch could not be entirely ruled out based on existing evidence. San Nicolas Island, approximately 75 miles west of Los Angeles and the site of a U.S. military installation, has hosted a number of secret operations. The 2010 incident occurred not far from San Nicolas, leading some experts to speculate about a connection between the vapor trail and activity on the island. On Friday, November 5, 2010, several days prior to the contrail incident, Vandenberg Air Force Base launched a Delta II rocket carrying a Thales Alenia Space-Italia COSMO SkyMed satellite, but a sergeant from Vandenberg informed CBS News 8 that there had been no subsequent launches. Incident and response thumb|A Boeing 757-200 similar to U.S. Airways flight 808,Online record of flight AWE808 which was theorized to be the source of the contrail At around 5:15p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, November 8, 2010,Barboza Tony November 9, 2010 Cameraman who filmed “mystery missile” describes spectacular sight https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/ https://web.archive.org/web/20101111105725/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/cameraman-who-filmed-mystery-missile-describes-spectacular-sight.html November 11, 2010 Los Angeles Times en-US a helicopter from the KCBS news station recorded the vapor trail of what was described as a "missile" about 35miles (35 miles km out) west of Los Angeles, California, and somewhat north of Catalina Island.2010-11-10 Pentagon: 'Mystery Missile' Contrail Was Probably Airplane - CBS Los Angeles https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/pentagon-mystery-missile-contrail-was-probably-airplane/ 2024-02-17 CBS News en-USMckee Maggie November 9, 2010 Mystery 'missile' likely a jet contrail, says expert https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19704-mystery-missile-likely-a-jet-contrail-says-expert/ 2024-02-17 New Scientist en-US It was later characterized as a "large vertical column set against the bright orange sky at sunset" and was clearly visible from the Los Angeles area.Peralta Eyder November 9, 2010 'Mystery Missile Launch' Leaves California Scratching Its Head https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/11/09/131187504/-mystery-missile-launch-leaves-california-scratching-its-head 2023-02-17 NPR Scott Diener, the news director at KCBS, stated that the experts interviewed by his station on "Tuesday night and Wednesday morning had leaned toward the missile theory" to explain the vapor plume. Cameraman Gil Leyvas, who took the KCBS footage and had more than a decade of news helicopter experience, felt that "there was no comparison at all" between the trail he filmed and an airplane contrail, stating that it looked like a missile launch and was several times larger than a jetliner contrail. News anchors continued to cover the event and, by the end of Tuesday, it had attracted international press attention, being described as a "mystery missile"Charafeddine Nouzha November 9, 2010 Mystery Missile Shot Off The Coast of California https://www.wsj.com/video/mystery-missile-shot-off-the-coast-of-california/0A9122B7-8B6C-4760-A40E-A70887771593 2024-02-17 The Wall Street Journal en-US https://web.archive.org/web/20251006035051/https://www.wsj.com/video/mystery-missile-shot-off-the-coast-of-california/0A9122B7-8B6C-4760-A40E-A70887771593 6 October 2025November 10, 2010 It's not one of ours. Everybody denies knowledge of the mystery missile https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/its-not-one-of-ours-everybody-denies-knowledge-of-the-mystery-missile-lkwg3n7k9bx https://web.archive.org/web/20251230151655/https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/its-not-one-of-ours-everybody-denies-knowledge-of-the-mystery-missile-lkwg3n7k9bx 30 December 2025 2024-02-26 The London Times en or "vapor trail reminiscent of a missile launch."November 9, 2010 Mystery vapor trail not likely from missile: Pentagon https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-politics/mystery-vapor-trail-not-likely-from-missile-pentagon-idUSTRE6A83Z8/ Reuters Alexander David Eastham Todd Analysis and public statements Several experts argued that the plume was simply a jet contrail, yet others disagreed, and U.S. government authorities did not immediately reach a public conclusion about the vapor trail or its source. Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan said that any missile test in the area was "implausible" due to the close proximity of the sighting to Los Angeles International Airport.November 9, 2010 Pentagon stumped by mystery missile trail https://nationalpost.com/news/pentagon-has-no-idea-where-mystery-missile-trail-came-from 2024-02-17 National Post Agence France-Presse Col. Lapan also stated that were no known airspace closures or notifications to mariners at the time of the incident as would be expected for a missile test. Robert Ellsworth, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and former Deputy Secretary of Defense, stated to CBS News 8 that it did not appear to be a Tomahawk missile but, stressing it was only a theory, also remarked: "It could be a test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile from an underwater submarine, to demonstrate mainly to Asia, that we can do that."Ellsworth was referring to the United States military, theorizing it could be an American missile launch Ellsworth further said of the vapor trail: "It's spectacular...It takes people's breath away," and described the projectile as "a big missile."Pomfret John November 10, 2010 Mystery vapor trail over California was left by plane, not missile, experts say https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110903136.html?hpid=topnews https://web.archive.org/web/20210827072604/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110903136.html?hpid=topnews August 27, 2021 The Washington Post Doug Richardson, editor of Jane's Missiles and Rockets, said, "It's a solid propellant missile, you can tell from the efflux [smoke] but they're not showing enough of the tape to show whether it's staging [jettisoning its sections]."Bloxham Andy November 10, 2010 Mystery 'missile' launch in US: the theories https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8122177/Mystery-missile-launch-in-US-the-theories.html https://web.archive.org/web/20101112023117/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8122177/Mystery-missile-launch-in-US-the-theories.html November 12, 2010 2024-02-26 The Daily Telegraph en Richardson theorized it might be a standard interceptor missile of the type used by U.S. Navy Aegis guided-missile cruisers. left|thumb|An RIM-161 Standard Missile was also theorized to be the cause The United States Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command released a statement that "At this time, we can confirm that there is no threat to our nation and from all indications this was not a launch by a foreign military."'Mystery missile' has conspiracies firing https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/mystery-missile-has-conspiracies-firing/w2xcm7sv0 2024-02-18 SBS News November 10, 2010 en The Pentagon released a statement on November 9 declaring that it could not identify the source of the vapor trail. Col. Lapan stated that officials were "still trying to find out what the contrail off the coast of southern California was caused by," but that "all indications are that it was not a DoD activity." The Pentagon determined that there was no "scheduled or inadvertent" missile launches off the coast of California on the night of November 8. Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, stated to The Washington Post that it "wasn't a Navy missile," yet declined to offer more detail. The website ContrailScience.com produced a widely circulated report that explained how an airplane contrail moving directly toward a viewer has the appearance of rising vertically. The website referenced the December 31, 2009, San Clemente "New Year's Eve Contrail," a horizontal contrail which some observers thought was a vertical missile launch. John E. Pike, the director of GlobalSecurity.org, stated that the flying object producing the vapor trail was not a missile because it was too slow, and described it as "obviously an airplane contrail." On Tuesday, Pike said that what the KCBS crew recorded was "clearly an airplane contrail. It's an optical illusion that looks like it's going up, whereas in reality it's going towards the camera. The tip of the contrail is moving far too slowly to be a rocket. When it's illuminated by the sunset, you can see hundreds of miles of it...all the way to the horizon."Pentagon: Evidence indicates mystery plume was a plane contrail http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/10/california.contrails/index.html 2024-02-18 www.cnn.com en Light at the head of the contrail that was initially speculated to be an exhaust "flame" was later interpreted as sun reflecting from an aircraft exterior.Shachtman Noah November 9, 2010 Video Catches Mystery 'Missile' Launch Near L.A. [Updated Once More] https://www.wired.com/2010/11/video-catches-mystery-missile-launching-near-l-a/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060036/https://www.wired.com/2010/11/video-catches-mystery-missile-launching-near-l-a/ February 18, 2024 2024-02-17 Wired en-US 1059-1028thumb|A UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11 similar to UPS flight 902,Online record of flight UPS902 which was also theorized to be the sourceAs reported on November 10 by CNN, an unnamed official from the U.S. Northern Command stated that the vapor trail may have been caused by a plane, and likened it to observers mistaking the New Year's Eve contrail for a missile.Martinez Michael Wian Casey November 10, 2010 Pentagon can't explain apparent mystery plume off California coast http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/09/california.contrails/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060029/http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/09/california.contrails/index.html February 18, 2024 2024-02-18 CNN en FAA spokesman Ian Gregor stated: "The FAA ran radar replays of a large area west of Los Angeles based on media reports of the possible missile launch at approximately 5 p.m. (PT) on Monday. The radar replays did not reveal any fast moving, unidentified targets in that area...The FAA did not receive reports...of unusual sightings from pilots who were flying in the area on Monday afternoon." Eventually, on November 10, about 30 hours after the contrail first gained press attention, a Pentagon spokesman stated “there is no evidence to suggest that this is anything else other than a condensation trail from an aircraft.” U.S. Airways flight 808 from Honolulu, Hawaii—a Boeing 757-200—emerged as a candidate for the contrail's source.Online record of flight AWE808 UPS flight 902—a McDonnell Douglas/Boeing MD-11—was also raised as a possibility.West Mick November 13, 2010 Los Angeles Missile Contrail Explained in Pictures https://contrailscience.com/los-angeles-missile-contrail-explained-in-pictures/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240218060038/https://contrailscience.com/los-angeles-missile-contrail-explained-in-pictures/ 2024-02-18 2024-02-19 Contrail Science en-USOnline record of flight UPS902 Eventually, several news outlets came to report that the vapor trail was simply an airplane contrail or optical illusion, as some experts had stated. The public and news reaction to the event was characterized by CNN as the "mystery missile mania."CNN: Mystery missile mania 11 November 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SEOvf4d5zI 2024-02-17 en November 12, 2010 Nonetheless, other experts continued to argue that the plume could not be conclusively identified. In a November 14, 2010, article, the New York Times quoted Theodore A. Postol, a former Pentagon science adviser and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who stated that while he inclined to the jet explanation, he could not "rule out a missile launch." thumb|Image captured by the NASA/NOAA GOES 11 satellite on November 8, 2010, reported to show the contrail2010-11-17 Infamous Contrail (aka the 'Mystery Missile') Spotted in Satellite Image https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40233151 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20220812101145/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40233151 August 12, 2022 2024-02-17 NBC News enSpace.com staff 2010-11-16 Infamous Contrail (aka the 'Mystery Missile') Spotted in Satellite Image https://www.space.com/9543-infamous-contrail-aka-mystery-missile-spotted-satellite-image.html https://web.archive.org/web/20251112120719/https://www.space.com/9543-infamous-contrail-aka-mystery-missile-spotted-satellite-image.html 12 November 2025 2024-02-17 Space.com en Satellite imagery On November 16, Space.com published an article discussing an image taken by the NASA/NOAA GOES 11 satellite on November 8 that reportedly showed the "mystery" contrail visible as a "horizontal white streak." NASA's own website also discussed the GOES 11 imagery in an article.Finneran Michael November 16, 2010 It's a Bird, It's a Missile... It's an Airplane! https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/mystery-contrail.html https://web.archive.org/web/20101117092533/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/mystery-contrail.html November 17, 2010 NASA Patrick Minnis, a contrail expert in the Science Directorate at the NASA Langley Research Center, said he first "assumed it was a missile" but after research concluded that an aircraft was the "most likely" source of the contrail. Doug Spangenberg, part of the Science Systems and Applications Inc. (SSAI) contract at Langley, sequenced imagery from the GOES 11 satellite and helped Minnis with his research. Aftermath The November 14 New York Times article, published several days after the event, considered it an example of news outlets being "captives of their sources" and irresponsibly pushing unproven theses; it was also described as a lesson in the importance of exploring alternative hypotheses. U.S. federal and military authorities were criticized after the incident, particularly for what were called "inconclusive" answers and a perceived delay in resolving the issue. Time magazine ranked the incident second on its "Top 10 Oddball News Stories" list for 2010, remarking how "within hours, the footage had been picked up by every major news network," but also observing that "as quickly as the mystery missile arrived on the scene...it was set aside."Gray Madison December 9, 2010 The Mystery Missile that Wasn't https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2035319_2033711_2033709,00.html https://web.archive.org/web/20231003035248/https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2035319_2033711_2033709,00.html October 3, 2023 2024-09-19 Time en-US 0040-781X ABC News also mentioned the incident in a 2012 story about test missile launches from Fort Wingate and the White Sands Missile Range, recalling the 2010 "'mystery missile'...spotted off the coast of Southern California by a TV news helicopter."Sandell Clayton September 13, 2012 Morning Missile Mystery Lights Up Western Skies https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/morning-missile-mystery-lights-up-western-skies https://web.archive.org/web/20240205214843/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/morning-missile-mystery-lights-up-western-skies/ February 5, 2024 2024-09-19 ABC News en The Telegraph referred to the incident in a July 2017 article, stating how, in "November 2010, The Pentagon was left baffled by what was reported to be a 'mystery missile launch' off the coast of California."Smith Oliver 4 July 2017 Incredible contrail made by Boeing 787 – what causes them, and are they part of a global conspiracy? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/chemtrails-contrails-and-other-aviation-conspiracy-theories/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240728114443/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/chemtrails-contrails-and-other-aviation-conspiracy-theories/ July 28, 2024 2024-09-19 The Telegraph en-GB 0307-1235 Live Science also mentioned the event in a 2017 article.Radford Benjamin December 20, 2017 UFO Sightings & News https://www.livescience.com/20645-ufo-sightings.html https://web.archive.org/web/20240721070444/https://www.livescience.com/20645-ufo-sightings.html July 21, 2024 2024-09-19 Live Science en Uzi Rubin, former Director of Israel Missile Defense, cited the incident in a September 2014 briefing on Israeli Air Defense held in Washington, D.C. and broadcast by C-SPAN.September 12, 2014 Israeli Air Defense https://www.c-span.org/video/?321453-1/israeli-air-defense# 2024-09-20 www.c-span.org C-SPAN Aviation Week Network reported on the briefing, describing how Rubin used "the November 2010 'mystery missile launch' seen from California" as an example of foreshortened perspective, to illustrate how observers can mistake the direction that a rocket is traveling.September 12, 2014 A Matter Of Perspective https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/matter-perspective https://web.archive.org/web/20240920182441/https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/matter-perspective September 20, 2024 2024-09-20 Aviation Week Network See also Contrail Twilight phenomenon Channel Islands (California) Robert Ellsworth Battle of Los Angeles Notes References External links Wall Street Journal video of the "Mystery Missile" Photos sent to ABC News, taken by Richard Warren Contrail Science page, with raw download of Warren’s ABC photos Fox News coverage of the "mystery missile" November 10, 2010 "Missile Launched Off Calif. Coast" CBS video "Mystery Missile, Not A Missile" CBS video "Who fired the 'mystery missile?" Channel 4 video "Mystery missile launch caught on camera off California coast" WMAR-2 ABC video "Mystery Missile" News 5 Cleveland ABC video Michio Kaku on ABC News: "Professor Explains Mystery Plume" November 10, 2010 Wikinews article on the incident Category:2010 in aviation Category:2010 in California Category:Santa Catalina Island (California) Category:Atmospheric optical phenomena Category:November 2010 in the United States Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2010 Category:2010 in American politics Category:Los Angeles Category:Boeing 757 Category:North American Aerospace Defense Command Category:US Airways Group Category:Channel Islands of California Category:Honolulu Category:Los Angeles International Airport