[link|http://www.washingtontimes.com/business/20020221-17826037.htm|They missed]

Excerpt:

An Alexandria woman said she saw a "flare or rocket" ascending toward a US Airways flight landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last month, similar to a report from a Southwest Airlines pilot landing at Baltimore-Washington International Airport Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a report by the pilot of Southwest Flight 454 that he saw what looked like a model rocket pass on the left side of his aircraft Sunday evening.
The FAA says it has no reports of the rocket sighting by the Alexandria resident, Joyce Mucci.
The trade association public relations coordinator said she observed the incident while driving home from work Jan. 20 at sunset near Reagan Airport.
"It was like a rocket, kind of a reddish thing that came up from the river bank," Mrs. Mucci said. "It was aimed toward the back of the jet. Maybe the pilot didn't see it."
Mrs. Mucci said she doubted it was a model rocket.
"It did not look like any model rocket I've ever seen," she said. Her son used to play with model rockets when he was a child.
"When he was a kid, we used to make model rockets, and they don't look like that. It was right toward the back of the jet, right behind the engine. It went at an angle like it was aimed at the jet."
She added, however, that the object did not get close enough that it could have brought down the airplane.