A military aircraft flying over Columbus apparently broke the sound barrier Tuesday afternoon with a thunderous boom, setting off cars alarms and sending people out into the streets.

The loudest sound ever heard by some residents rocked the city shortly before 5 p.m. It was heard at the airport, north to Midland, west to Phenix City and east to the Fort Benning reservation.

A sonic boom is created when an object is traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Breaking the sound barrier is only possible with a military aircraft.


Comment: One would think after the amount of media coverage given to the Russian meteor in 2013 that reporters and people would realize another possible source of objects breaking the sound barrier!

This was an extreme boom and it is doubtful the boom was caused by a sonic boom from aircraft given the information provided in this article. A reader of another article about the boom commented:
I don't buy the 'routine testing' soundbyte either. We have lived here for many years, and we've never heard anything like that since we came to Columbus. Even an M1A1 Abrams, or a Paladin aren't as loud as what we heard today, ubless you're very close to them. I also thought there was an FAA regulation against making sonic booms like that over cities...unless there was a darn good reason. GA Air Nat'. Guard routine testing should normally not be done over cities-whatever their website says.
Looks like the military aircraft sonic boom excuse is being given in this case as a means to cover-up the increasing frequency of meteors entering and exploding in the atmosphere. Can't have people waking up and realizing their leaders are powerless to protect them.

Here is a video of the Russian meteor as a reminder:




Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said there were some military flights in the area but not supersonic. "We are aware that military flight activity was underway over the area, but we don't know about any supersonic flights," she said.

Shortly after the boom, a Columbus patrolman near the airport said two aircraft flying over broke the sound barrier, but Police Lt. J.F. Ross said nothing had been confirmed in connection with the loud noise.

At Fort Benning, public affairs spokesman Rick Rosado said training at the Maneuver Center of Excellence amounted to firing 50-caliber machine guns and 25mm weapons on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. "There is no heavy weapons firing," he said. "The only thing that flew over was a C-130 in the area. We don't know where the loud bang is coming from."

The big boom sent customers inside downtown shops and restaurants scurrying outside to get a glimpse of what might have happened. Alarm systems in vehicles parked along Front Avenue were blaring loudly after the noise.

Some Facebook readers reacted to the loud noise with their own speculation. Popular ones included Columbus being under attack, a building collapsing, a plane crash, or a bomb exploding.


Comment: How about something cosmic in origin, such as a overhead meteor explosion?


A favorite theory? The aliens arrived.

In all seriousness, people across the area immediately clogged up the 911 centers. Those that didn't call authorities went outside to see what happened.