Sonic boom in Washington DC caused by military jets responding to airspace violation, say officials

A sonic boom heard in Washington, DC on Sunday was caused by military jets responding to an airspace violation, officials said.

Residents of Washington, DC reported on Twitter that they had heard a large boom or explosion, with some saying it had shaken walls. Some people said they heard the noise as far away as northern Virginia and Maryland.

Fire department and homeland security officials in Washington said they had no reports of any incidents.

“There is no threat at this time,” the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management said on Twitter.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a Cessna aircraft had crashed into mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia around the time the sonic boom was heard in the capital.

Reuters was not able to immediately confirm whether the sonic boom and the crash of the light aircraft were related.

Cessna’s Citation carries seven to 12 passengers and has a range of up to 3,500 nautical miles, depending on the model, according to the Cessna website. – Reuters

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023