NORAD: No missile crash in Colorado
Possible optical illusion
(Photo courtesy: Ronnie Salazar)
Posted: 09/13/2012
Last Updated:
247 days ago
DENVER - NORAD tells 7NEWS that nothing crashed in Colorado Thursday morning, despite an earlier report from State Patrol that a missile crashed near Saguache County.
A hunter called 911 to report what they thought was a plane crash around 6:40 a.m., said Colorado State Patrol spokesman Trooper Josh Lewis.
Lewis said officials at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico told them it was a test missile.
Public Affairs Specialist Cammy Montoya at White Sands said the Army launched a target missile out of Fort Wingate, near Gallup, Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m. The booster landed in the Cibola National Forest.
She said they also launched an interceptor from White Sands. It is supposed to hit the target missile and the debris is supposed to land on White Sands property.
Trooper Lewis said White Sands told State Patrol to "stand down" from their initial response to the reported crash.
Contrails of the missiles were visible in many states because of atmospheric conditions, Montoya said.
“I’ve verified it was not us,” Montoya reiterated in a second, later call with 7NEWS. “Ours went as planned.”
NORAD told 7NEWS the crash report could have been a mistake due to an optical illusion.
7NEWS is working to update this story. Refresh this page for more details.
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