Trailspotter
Senior Member.
Moreover, those double dogleg trails are a very good match to the flight tracks of UAE225 and UAL900. I got both in KML format from Flightaware and displayed them together with previously downloaded KMZ file with Terra satellite image. The corresponding turns in the tracks and the trails are connected with dashed arrows representing the direction of wind. Interestingly, the flight altitudes differed by 2000 ft, UAE225 was at 39,000 ft and UAL900 at 41,000 ft, that may explain the differences in wind directions and speeds. The two flights passed over Redding within two minutes, UAE225 at 19:10 UTC (12:10 PDT) and UAL900 at 19:12 UTC (12:12 PDT):Those double dogleg trails are a good match for routes into SFO
View attachment 12794
View attachment 12792
The estimated wind speed at 39,000 ft was about twice the forecasted at 250 hPa, so the actual time of the OP photo is near 12:10 PDT. I also looked at the flight tracks from the ground from the actual viewpoint - the UAE225 track matches the curved contrail best. The photo probably was taken before or at the beginning of UAL900 turn, its trail probably was obscured by the cloud:
The KMZ file with trails and tracks comparison is attached.
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