Air Force Thunderbirds Shatter Windows In Chicago, May Have Gone Supersonic

Brad Balfour Photography/Getty Images

Air shows ever origin immoderate other noise, but nan Windy City sewage a small much than it bargained for arsenic nan USAF Thunderbirds practiced earlier past weekend's Chicago Air and Water Show. Fox 32 reports that 2 large blasts, 1 successful nan greeting and different successful nan afternoon, shook the Lake View East neighborhood, blowing retired windows successful residential buildings. Video of these blasts shows they occurred during high-speed passes of a Thunderbird F-16, and they sound a full batch for illustration sonic booms.

Naturally, nan Air Force denies everything. "A review of nan believe wished nan Thunderbird jets did not spell supersonic astatine immoderate constituent during nan demonstration," said nan Air Force successful a connection to nan Chicago Sun-Times. The FAA besides told Fox 32 that nary different activity was reported successful nan area. That's precisely what I'd expect nan authorities to say. I watched "The X-Files," and I cognize nan truth is retired there.

Thanks to nan modern property of societal media, a number of group recorded video of nan incident. Jets flying debased complete Chicago practicing for an aerial show is simply a alternatively unsocial event, arsenic is an exemption to nan modular maximum velocity of 250 knots beneath 10,000 feet. Low-flying high-speed jets make a batch of noise, but nan roar of pitchy engines isn't capable to shatter glass. As we've seen before, sonic booms are. The sound these videos captured surely sounds for illustration a sonic boom, akin to what nan Concorde sounded like while crossing nan Atlantic, aliases the Space Shuttle returning from orbit.

Matthew Clarke, adjunct professor astatine nan University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Grainger College of Engineering, told nan Chicago Sun-Times, "Those were intelligibly sonic booms." He explains that while nan F-16 arsenic a full whitethorn person been conscionable beneath nan velocity of sound, individual parts of nan craft whitethorn person been supra it, creating daze waves successful nan aerial that we comprehend arsenic sonic booms. This could explicate nan Air Force's charismatic mentation that straight contradicts galore videos and witnesser accounts that sonic booms occurred.

This would not beryllium nan first clip nan Thunderbirds person made an oopsie for illustration this. A akin incident occurred successful Tucson, Arizona, successful 2012, besides shattering windows. It's besides a large reminder that contempt recent advances, it's still too soon to fto supersonic flights rip crossed nan country.