Curiosity, Questions Linger Over KCBS ‘Missile’ Video

By Andrew Gauthier 

The New York Times

Gil Leyvas has been a photojournalist on board a television news helicopter for more than a decade. He has seen countless airplanes and their wispy contrails. What he saw–and recorded–near Los Angeles on Nov. 4 and 8 looked nothing like the trail from an airplane. It looked, to him, like the launching of a missile.

The first time, it looked like a far-off plume of smoke somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The second, it appeared to be rising into the air, a large vertical column set against the bright orange sky at sunset. It was spectacular.

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The sunset video piqued the attention of KCBS, the TV station Mr. Leyvas works for, and by dawn the next day, last Tuesday, news anchors were speaking of a “mystery missile” More…

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