Aircraft downwash consists initially of a vortex pair descending with its accompanying fluid through the atmosphere. Condensation trails are formed in exhaust emitted into the accompanying fluid and the shapes of them and their evolution depend on the positions of the engines in relation to the wing tip vortices.

The atmosphere is stably stratified and so the descending accompanying fluid acquires upward buoyancy. Consequently vorticity is generated at the outside of the accompanying fluid and the flow pattern in the vortex pair is altered so as to produce detrainment of its exterior part. So long as any air which is a mixture of accompanying fluid and exterior air is detrained, the vortices remain stable, but the width of the pair decreases and its downward velocity increases with time as a result of the buoyancy. Eventually the upper stagnation point in the motion relative to the vortices begins to move upwards relative to the vortices so that some mixed fluid is entrained into the circulation and the vortices immediately become unstable, mixing occurs, the pressure in the core rises, and any vortex core trails that may exist appear to burst.

The motion produces downward-thrust blobs in trails from centrally placed engines, which correspond to the holes sometimes seen in cloud when distrails are formed.