Missile over SoCal; Military Diverts Flights to LAX

The U.S. Navy fired a test missile over Southern California on Saturday night, startling millions of residents for hundreds of miles, as a military exercise also diverted the path of flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The missile was mistaken for a UFO, a rocket, and a meteor. However, it was an unannounced missile test.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, quoting Navy sources, reported: “Navy Strategic Systems Programs conducted the scheduled Trident II (D5) missile test flight at sea from the Kentucky, an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, in the Pacific Test Range off the coast of Southern California.” The missile was not armed with an active warhead at the time.

Local ABC News affiliate KABC-7 reported that a secret military operation over the Pacific had required all flights arriving at LAX to approach from the east at night rather than from the west. Typically, daytime flights approach from the east, but nighttime flights approach from the west, and over the oceanm to avoid creating noise over the city. However, the military has banned civilian night flights over the Pacific for a week, according to KABC-7.