UK & World News
- 13 April 2012, 7:43
'Mystery Explosion' Was Jet's Sonic Boom
A loud bang heard across a large part of England was from a sonic boom caused by a Typhoon jet, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
Police and fire services in the West Midlands were inundated with phone calls shortly after 6pm from concerned members of the public.
Many people on Twitter and other social networking sites confirmed they had also heard the noise, some as far as Swindon and Oxfordshire.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed the bang was caused by a Typhoon fighter aircraft.
The plane was one of two Typhoons that had been launched following an emergency call from a helicopter.
The helicopter had transmitted on the wrong frequency, the MoD spokesman said.
Residents, mainly in the Coventry area, said they had heard a gigantic bang which police initially suggested was down to a minor earth tremor.
However, the British Geological Survey told Sky News it had no seismic records to indicate a tremor had struck.
Theories abounded on Twitter, ranging from bomb blasts to giant earthquakes.
The reports were retweeted by thousands of people and the incident rapidly became one of the site's largest trending subjects.
Update:
Hello, regular commenting on Orange News and Sport pages closes on Thursday 30 May 2013. We will continue to provide a commenting facility on major news and sport events on orangeworld.co.uk. Contact us via http://oran.ge/OWfeedback if you have any further questions. Thanks.
what do you think?
PaulDanks2
This was a Sonic Boom, my nephew who lives in Banbury was is the garden and he saw the low flying military aircraft that caused it.
max cat
I heard this in Swindon - I spoke to someone who heard it in Bath. The MOD says a sonic boom but also reports say an earthquake in the midlands. What a coincidence??? It didn't sound like a sonic boom to me. As far as I'm concerned the jury is out. Nowadays I tend never to believe the official line.
Paul Scott
It flew over my house and i can confirm it was a flying PIG that had eaten to much cabbage thlurp
Andy Brims
personaly i think it was the aliens crash landing a big cover up rosswell comes to britain THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE TRUST NOBODY do do do do dod do
Valerie Wood
No it was my beloved trumping. He does some belters I can tell you!!!
Philomena Liston Was Cooney
It was really frightening, everything shook, I am amazed the fighter Jet could cause such a sound and vibration!! makes you wonder ??? not sure I understand what a Sonic Boom actually is ??? I was in Swindon Town Centre at the time it happened, I made a hasty retreat to my car after that !!!! lol
Mikel roi
A sonic boom, Philomena, is caused when an aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound. As it approaches the SoS - a pressure wave builds up in front of the aircraft and when it forces it's way through that heavy 'barrier' of air - a loud explosion is heard as shockwaves radiate outward from the source. You can get more details (and graphic picture!) here: <a href="http://www.sky-flash.com/boom.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://www.sky-flash.com/boom.htm</a> But all moving things create an air pressure in front of them, including your car - but on a less dramatice scale. It's interesting to note that above 50mph you are spending a dissproportional amount of energy just moving more air out of the way!
Mike Drouin
very well explained Milel , but there are real thick numpties out there
d and d Phillips
I had terrible wind earlier today.....
d and d Phillips
I had terrible wind earlier today..............
fish41
why dont we hear more of these ? are military planes speed restricted.? My guess it was a bit of a panic fearing a hijacked helicopter. Perhaps an olympics terror drill.
Simon Lewis
Supersonic speed in the UK is only permitted over the sea. The sonic boom can be lowed not sure those it creates the problems of todays incident those.
Richard Gould
Military aircraft are not allowed to travel at supersonic speeds over land in peace time. This pilot was obviously a little over-eager due to the distress call.
Jacqui Morrison
Never heard a military jet do a Sonic Boom, but I was in South London a few years ago and Concorde did one over the High Street whilst I was walking up it, it scared me to death and everyone stopped and looked up, but people I spoke to in Kent and Surrey did not hear it! so would these jets have had to be faster than Concorde to create a louder boom? at least one which seems to have been heard from Coventry down to Bath! that is an enormous area and yet I live in Surrey and never heard it!
Richard Gould
The speed of sound does not change. Weather conditions, height of the aircraft and other factors can determine how far the sound carries.
Francis Brownsill
A sonic boom is a continuous sound dragged behind the aircraft like a cone of noise. You hear it as it hits the ground where you are. One minute later people twelve miles doen the flightpath would get their share- and everyone inbetween. by the way the speed of sound is 763.2 MPH at sea level 15degrees c and 1013.mb pressure. It is actually slower at altitude as the air is thinner
Eric Clutterbean
i saw several shiny round objects flying high and fast it must be aliens again
Steve
I think its a case of treat them like mushrooms!
David Butler
Does the Ministry of Defence really think we believe they were responding to a wrongly transmitted helicopter distress signal ASK YOURSELF what use would 2 typhoon jets be if a helicopter was sending out a distress signal as they cant land anywhere, theres more to this than meets the eye some hidden agenda here
Jacqui Morrison
Richard Gould (reply to my post of 10.56 pm) - thank you for that, I knew what a Sonic Boom was, but not that the sound is affected by weather conditions etc, you learn new things every day! David Butler, apparently the Helicoptor was transmitting (accidentally) on the frequency used by victims of Hijacking, so I think that is why the overreaction, this is all according to the MOD so you can take or not with a pinch of salt, I, of course, could n't possibly comment...
james mcbride
tesla technology for earthquakes and seismic/tectonic weapons is suppressed. if i was iran that is what i would be doing instead of above the ground nuclear technology that is far easier to control and monitor via satellites/heat/uranium traces. look at how japan got threatened with an earthquake when it wanted to ditch petro-dollar recycle and run cars on water aka hho systems. then italy when it was about to ditch euro in 2009 got a quake. check out united laws on weather modification.
Stephen Richards
6:25pm on 12/4/2012
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said last week: "The simple fact is that the frequency and severity of disasters will continue to increase..." We need the full facts that are being withheld from us!