Inbound Flights Ordered To Approach LAX Over Land Due To Possible Military Activity
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Online speculation continued Monday over a mysterious bright light that flew in the sky over the weekend.
Around 6 p.m. on Saturday, residents reported seeing the strange light, which moved slowly in the sky over the Pacific.
While some feared the incident may have been an attack against the U.S., officials later confirmed the source of the light was from a Navy missile.
The U.S. Coast Guard was the first to report the light was related to an exercise being run by the Navy over Point Mugu.
"Navy Strategic Systems Programs conducted a scheduled Trident II (D5) missile test flight at sea from USS Kentucky, an Ohio Class SSBN, in the Pacific Test Range off the coast of Southern California," Pentagon officials said in a written statement. "The tests were part of a scheduled, on-going system evaluation test. Launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities."
Officials added the missile was not armed.
CBS2's Kara Finnstrom said Los Angeles International Airport has had to make changes to their air traffic as the military may be using air space located west of the airport.
For the next four days, planes that generally approach the airport over land during the day will also have to do so at night instead of flying in over the ocean.
Airport officials could not immediately confirm if the military action was related to the missile that was launched over the weekend.
The missile was reportedly seen as far east as Arizona and Nevada, south to San Diego and up north to San Francisco.
