exhaust off the coast of southern california. norad issued a statement saying no missile launch has been detected and there was no threat to the u.s. if it wasn t a missile, what was it? martha raddatz has more on the strange story. reporter: it is a remarkable image captured by a local news helicopter just 35 miles west of los angeles. a huge streak arcing across the water north of catalina island. but from the moment the video hit the air waves, the military began scrambling for answers. i have to say i can t really be certain. here you see this little glint of light. that looks as though that s the exhaust from a rocket. reporter: this is tape from an actual ballistic missile launch, and there are similarities. but ulrich says that is not the only possibility. it also could be a jet aircraft contrail, from something you re looking at that s horizontal and it goes long almost to the horizon, it
friday night but nothing since. a vandenburg spokesperson says this appears to be a solid fuel missile, possibly launched from the u.s navy s san nicholas island. but a pentagon official says this was not associated with any navy or department of defense operations. also could be a jet aircraft contrail from something you re looking at that s horizontal, and it goes a long distance, almost to the horizon, it looks to the eye as if it s vertical. reporter: the faa issued a statement saying, the radar replay did not reveal any fast-moving, unidentified targets in that area. the faa also did not receive reports of any unusual sightings from pilots who were flying in the area monday afternoon. the faa did not approve any commercial launches around the area monday. if this were a military missile test, pilots and mariners would usually be warned. there s lots of things that go on in aviation space in southern california. it s always been that way. literally going back to the early d