'Missile' like object launched over SoCal sky can’t be explained
News helicopter captures footage
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Military and aviation officials were still trying today to determine who launched a rocket-like object into the sky off the Southland coast, but they insisted the object did not present a threat to national security.
A KCBS news helicopter crew captured footage late Monday of what appeared to be a missile in the sky northwest of Catalina Island. The video shows a point of light moving through the sky followed by a contrail, similar to a missile being launched.
"We're looking into it,'' said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration. "We did not approve of any commercial launches in that area Monday.''
The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Northern Command issued a statement saying federal authorities were aware of the "unexplained contrail.''
"At this time, we are unable to provide specific details, but we are working to determine the exact nature of this event,'' according to the statement. "We can confirm that there is no threat to our nation and from all indications this was not a launch by a foreign military. We will provide more
information as it becomes available."
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Point Mugu told the Los Angeles Times they were not responsible for the launch.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Delays were reported at airports in the Southland and around the nation today as a result of the furloughing of air traffic controllers under federal sequestration budget cuts.
The average delay Sunday night was three hours in the Southern California Terminal Radius Approach Control (TRACON), according to National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman Doug Church.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Airport traffic control towers in Pacoima, Fullerton, Riverside and San Diego will close starting April 7 under the Federal Aviation Administration’s forced spending cuts, the agency announced today.
Control towers are scheduled to close at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, Fullerton Municipal Airport, Riverside Municipal Airport, Brown Field and Ramona Airport in San Diego County, according to the FAA.
WASHINGTON—In one of the most immediate consequences of the pending spending cuts, the Federal Aviation Administration has informed contractors that—lacking any last-minute agreement—the agency will move Monday to close some 168 contractor-staffed air traffic control towers nationwide on April 1, and another 21 towers by Sept. 30, industry officials tell CNN.
Rising about 132 feet above the tarmac, the new Tom Bradley terminal at Los Angeles International Airport—or el-a-ex (LAX), as it is more popularly known—evokes thoughts of a cresting wave breaking to the west. The new terminal is part of a $4.11 billion upgrade of one of the world’s busiest airports.
It could easily be symbolic of the great wave of prosperity and growth that swept over the city during Bradley’s 20-year term as mayor, from 1973 to 1993.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called on Congress today to quickly reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration’s financial authority, saying inaction jeopardizes funding for critical improvement projects and threatens jobs.
The suspension of the FAA’s ability to spend money and raise taxes means 206 FAA employees who work in Southern California have been furloughed indefinitely, and $5.1 million in FAA grant money for runway improvements at Los Angeles International Airport has been suspended.
