The only difference between adventure and disaster is preparedness.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Did you hear the boom?

Washington State Patrol has confirmed that a sonic boom resulted from an authorized military exercise sometime before 2:00 p.m. today. Several residents in the Coal Creek, Stella and Eufala Heights areas felt their homes shake. A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by the supersonic flight of an aircraft. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion. The crack of a supersonic bullet passing overhead is an example of a sonic boom in miniature. So, in short, no...it wasn't your neighbor Daryl's various illegal hobbies that finally exploded. Maybe next time. Updated 2:13pm from Katu.com:

Authorities report two very loud "booms" in the region were caused by two fighter jets scrambled out of Portland to investigate an aircraft that got into restricted air space near Air Force One today. More details soon.

2:19 from Komo 4

SEATTLE -- F-15 fighter jets scrambled from Portland to deal with an unknown aircraft that had entered restricted air space over Western Washington caused two sonic booms that were heard across a wide swath of the region, the FAA reported Tuesday.

Several calls from worried residents from Olympia to Seattle flooded emergency dispatchers and the KOMO Newsroom reporting two distinct explosions that rattled windows and shook homes.

The FAA had restricted a large area to aircraft over Seattle due to President Obama's visit.

A spokesman with the Oregon Air National Guard said two F-15s from their 142nd Fighter Wing were scrambled on a "real world mission" from their base at Portland International Airport but could not elaborate on what the mission entailed.

1 comment:

Linda said...

was wondering what that "loud" noise was...