Sonic boom videos from Washington, D.C., fighter jet on Twitter. What caused it, things to know
A sonic boom caused an uproar on social media.
The loud, unexpected thunderous noise heard in the Washington, D.C., area on Sunday afternoon was a sonic boom from a fighter jet. The jet was scrambled because of an unresponsive business plane, which was owned by a Melbourne, Florida, business (see below). The plane, a Cessna Citation, was heading to New York, turned and flew over Washington, D.C. It crashed in a mountainous area near Montebello, Virginia. Rescue crews reached the crash site, but police said no survivors were found.
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Users took to social media to post doorbell videos of the sonic boom from D.C. and neighboring states.
Here are things to know about the plane crash and the sonic boom.
What causes a sonic boom?
Sonic booms are the thunderous noise produced by aircraft vehicles traveling at super sonic speed. According to NASA, a "sonic boom is caused by shockwaves or rapid changes in pressure that occur when an object travels faster than sound. Simply put, the air doesn't know what hits it, and it reacts abruptly."
That noise can be very disturbing if heard regularly. While the boom is disturbing, it is important to know that's all it really is.
What happened Sunday, June 4? Plane owned by Florida business crashes after flying over Washington, D.C.
"No-fly." Florida only has one restricted 'no-fly zone,' and it might not be where you expected
What happened in Washington, D.C.?
On Sunday, June 4, a private airplane flew into restricted airspace over the nation's capital before crashing in Virginia. It was registered to a business based out of Melbourne, Florida.
NORAD scrambled jets to intercept the plane but despite repeated attempts to get the pilot's attention, including flares, there was no response.
People flooded social media with posts speculating the source of the ground-shaking sound, with several users reporting the boom shook their homes and rattled their windows.
"The loud boom that was heard across the DMV area was caused by an authorized DOD flight. This flight caused a sonic boom," the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said on Twitter.
Florida family linked to crashed plane that strayed into restricted airspace over capital
What do we know about the business plane that crashed in Virginia?
The plane was registered to Encore Motors of Melbourne Inc., which is owned by Barbara Rumpel. Barbara and John Rumpel are prominent in Brevard County business and social life.
John Rumpel, who runs the company, told The New York Times and The Washington Post that his "entire family" were on the plane, including his daughter, 2-year-old granddaughter, her nanny, and the pilot.
Rumpel also told the newspapers that they were returning to their home in East Hampton in Long Island, New York, after visiting him in North Carolina.
In response to condolences on an earlier Facebook post about a National Rifle Association-related event, Barbara Rumpel wrote, "My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter."
Sonic boom heard in Bowie, Maryland
from Bowie, MD pic.twitter.com/09BTxqbc8f
— Jeremy (@jerbrown) June 4, 2023
Sonic boom heard in Edgewater, Maryland
Shook our entire house in Edgewater MD. I thought the house was coming down. In this video you can see it even popped up my attic access panelhttps://t.co/A7lwXiu9ht#boom #explosion
— BlitzKryg (@JudginNGrudgin) June 4, 2023
Sonic boom recorded in Forestville, Maryland
In one instance, the sonic boom from the fighter jet caused a flash in the sky, according to one user's Ring Doorbell: "I felt it here in Forestville, MD and happened to catch a sky flash at 2:58 pm. Don't laugh at my Ring video."
I felt it here in Forestville, MD and happened to catch a sky flash at 2:58 pm. Don't laugh at my Ring video. pic.twitter.com/3ovX2wUXV0
— Forestvil_Lee (@Forestvillee) June 4, 2023
Sonic boom heard in Burke, Virginia
From my back deck camera in Burke VA pic.twitter.com/X06FLZFVDi
— CJ (@cj_persad) June 4, 2023
Sonic boom in Fairfax, Virginia
My pond camera captured the sonic boom that happened in the DC area today. The audio quality isn’t the greatest, but you can hear the boom a few seconds into the clip and possibly its echo. You can also see the fish scramble after it happens. #DCSonicBoom https://t.co/XWnl3FIsGR pic.twitter.com/vNUCBXekHT
— Andrew P. (@WMTribe99) June 5, 2023
Sonic boom in Fairfax Station, Virginia
Sonic Boom as heard by my dog Rocket in Fairfax Station. Shook the house. #sonicboom pic.twitter.com/WudmPif7uB
— Jared McQueen (@goodguyguybrush) June 4, 2023
Sonic boom videos posted on Twitter
Ring camera footage from our front door. You can hear the boom at 3:09:43@wusa9 @dougkammerer https://t.co/kFnmRG86uY pic.twitter.com/mMmSBAVXvd
— Jake Zatzkin (@MrJDZ) June 4, 2023
#sonicboom That was scary. watch till the end. pic.twitter.com/cPsc0hxwJn
— Sveatoslav M (@Sveatoslove) June 5, 2023
Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network-Florida; Thao Nguyen, Tom Vanden Brook, David Jackson, USA TODAY; Jeff Schwaner, Staunton News Leader; Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Ring, Nest videos get sonic boom in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia