SEATTLE SONIC BOOM

A sonic boom caused by two fighter jets which broke the sound barrier flying up from Portland, rumbles the whole City of Seattle today, being heard throughout Western Washington.

Some news reported that after the two F-15 jets were launched from the 142nd Air National Guard unit based in Portland, they rattled the Vancouver, WA area and some minutes later they were cleared to speed up to supersonic speed, breaking the no-fly rules during President Barack Obama’s visit in Seattle.

A Sonic Boom is an impulsive noise related with the shock waves generated by an object moving faster than sound, about 750 miles per hour. In the moment when an aircraft surpasses the speed of sound, the air-pressure waves caused by its bow combine and form shock waves, traveling forward from the generation point and generating a sound energy, associated with a powerful sound, like an explosion.

The sonic boom was produced on August 17, 2010 at 20:57 UTC, while the President Barack Obama was in Seattle. The regulations required a 10-mile radius from the center of Seattle, along with 18,000 feet up, where it is no-fly for commercial aircraft. The pilots of the planes have been subjected for inquiry about this incident by the Secret Service, but the most probable explanation is that everything was nothing but a regrettable and unintended mistake.

The topic of Seattle sonic boom was immediately trending on Facebook and Twitter, with speculations about a possible attack targeting the president and linking the event with 911 incidences.

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