Not An Earthquake: Some South Jersey Residents Felt Potential Sonic Boom During Military Test Flight
NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- What some South Jersey residents thought might have been an earthquake Thursday afternoon, turned out to be a potential sonic boom during a military test flight.
Patrick Gordon, the public affairs officer at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, told CBS 3 that a Joint Strike Fighter F35 out of the naval station was part of a test flight around 4 p.m. on Dec. 1 off the coast of southern New Jersey.
The aircraft was cleared to go supersonic. Gordon stated that a confirmation of a sonic boom may not be available until Monday.
The Department of Defense manages an airspace that begins nearly three miles offshore over the Atlantic Ocean called the Atlantic Warning Area. A portion of the airspace, referred to as the "Test Track," runs parallel to the Delmarva Peninsula and is designated for the performance of specific test flights, including those that require supersonic speeds.
The "Test Track" is routinely used to fly supersonic.
Although most sonic booms are never felt or heard on land occasionally, sometimes due to weather conditions or the details of the test flight, a sonic boom can be felt or heard on land.