Rocket Fired At American Airliner In Texas?

A commercial airliner pilot, once a military pilot, reported what he thought was a missile or rocket passing roughly 150' beneath his aircraft, which was traveling at 13,000-feet near Liberty County, Texas on Friday, May 29th at 8:15 PM.

As you can see by the map, this area is generally northeast of Houston, west of Beaumont, and north of the Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico.

From the Houston Chronicle on Monday:

Liberty County Sheriff’s officials are expected to meet with the FAA on Tuesday to discuss what a Continental Express pilot reported as a “missile or rocket” flying near his airplane.

At first blush, examined by those with no inclination towards an inquiring mind whatsoever -- like most so-called "journalists" these days, to include the staff of the Houston Chronicle -- this is a seemingly inconsequential story best shuffled off to page B9, far back in the newspaper.

I should care to tear apart this story and reveal to you why it is a story with much implication, and why someone apparently did fire a missile at a domestic airliner on domestic and sovereign United States soil.

First, some persons may be thinking the so-called "missile" or "rocket" may have been someone's idea of a prank; that is, perhaps, a type of "hobby rocket" fired by kids or enthusiasts having come near a commercial craft.

Wrong. Read the article. The incident occurred at an elevation of 13,000 feet. The missile streaked under the aircraft, missing by about 150-feet. This is not "hobby missile" territory.

Second, where did this occur? What's near the area?

Oh, only the Texas portion of The Chemical Coast. The area is packed with various refineries and railroad tracks servicing said industries, to include numerous plants in Port Arthur, Houston, Texas City, Pasadena.

Third, information now indicates that Air France received a bomb threat in Rio de Janeiro a few days before the Airbus A-330-200 departed for Paris.

One commenter in the original article wrote:

Do you really expect Homeland Security to divert resources from the "Great Tea Party Investigation" to check on a possible missile being fired at an airplane? Are you kidding? Didn't you hear how those radical right wingers want the government to be more responsible with our money? I'm sorry, but if Homeland Security needs to make a choice between tracking down possible missile launches or trailing minivans with a Jesus fish and a FairTax.org bumper sticker, I'm going to have to say the minivans are the priority.

Is no one in the media possessive of a curious mind anymore? Did our government learn nothing post-9/11?

BZ