The soft X‐ray telescope onYohkohhas observed plasma structures at the top of flare loops which are suggestive of reconnection jets. However, these structures are relatively cool compared to the surrounding plasma, and their location within the dense flare loops is not consistent with the location expected of a reconnection jet. Numerical simulations of field line reconnection in a radiative plasma suggest that the observed structures are instead condensations which are formed below a reconnection jet lying at higher altitude. In the simulations the condensation is caused by the increase in density downstream of the fast‐mode shock which terminates the reconnection jet. The increased density locally enhances the radiative cooling and causes the top of the loop to cool faster than the legs. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.