Homes have been left ‘shaking’ after a sonic boom was heard of parts of East London, mainly in the borough of Havering, and across Essex. The ‘bang’ was so loud it reportedly led to people going outside to see what had happened at about 11.45am today (Friday, August 15).
The huge explosion could possibly have been caused by a Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft which has been spotted on flight radars travelling in the area at the time. It is understood the RAF deployed quick reaction alert (QRA) aircraft this morning (August 15).
A RAF spokesperson confirmed: “We can confirm that RAF Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Coningsby were launched today to investigate a civilian aircraft which was not in contact with air traffic control, communications were re-established and the aircraft was safely escorted to Stansted. The Typhoons are returning to base.”
Javelin Sam (@javelinsam) on X posted at 11.46am: “Sonic boom just heard over Hornchurch. Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 went overhead.”
It was also heard in Essex with @losing_focus posting on X at the same time: “Anyone else just hear a sonic boom over South Essex?” Replies included from users who said it “shook my house” and “heard a bang in Braintree. Loud enough for people to go outside to have a look.”
@jsphsilver added: “YES shook my bloody flat. Definitely was the typhoon.”
What exactly is a sonic boom and why does it occur?
A sonic boom is the sound associated with the speed of sound being broken. Shock waves are created when an object, in this case the fighter jets, travels through the air faster than sound.
This creates an enormous amount of sound energy. To the human ear it sounds like an explosion or a thunderclap. Due to the size of the aircraft this can be particularly loud and startling. As a result of the impact aircrafts are prohibited from supersonic flight over land normally.
On top of the initial sound, the boom continues while the object in question is travelling at supersonic speeds. But this will not be constantly heard by the human ear – it only affects observers positioned at a point that intersects a region in the shape of a geometrical cone behind the object.
As the object moves, this conical region also moves behind it and when the cone passes over the observer, they will briefly experience the boom.
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