Loud bang across UK - MOD investigates.

Originally posted by Regenstorm
No way it was a sonic boom. I heard lots of them when I was a kid growing up in the Netherlands.
Impossible for a sonic boom to travel 40 Miles or 60 Kilometers.

It isn't impossible. RAF Lightnings were used during trials for Concorde during the late 1960s. These test were conducted to test the public reaction to supersonic airliners and Concorde in particular. Lightnings interceptors out in the Bristol Channel would produce sonic booms that were heard inland over those distances.

Originally posted by theabsolutetruth

I am aware of QRA procedure and where the jets were sent from, I am also aware of ATC response and the first is to establish certain things BEFORE QRA are actioned. In this instance it appears sending QRA was unnecessary and avoidable, therefore should have been recognised as such way before going supersonic across more than 4 counties. The RESPONSE wasn't the correct response and having felt an dheard the ''boom'' it didn't sound or feel like any NORMAL sonic boom, it felt more earth based and the reports heard as far afield as West Midlands to North Devon which if you do not know the UK is a far scope for a sonic boom to be heard. Additionally, there are regular RAF traffic here, I live near to a few bases, and know the drill, and this WASN'T standard. How many reports are there covering such a vast area of sonic booms in the UK...answer very few and none that fit this supposed scenario.

Whilst there are many that may try making conspiracys out of anything, plenty of people are on ATS for the TRUTH. If this is difficult for you to understand then don't read the posts.

The Truth The response was correct. If the pilot that caused the emergency was transmitting the hijack code then what reaction do you expect the authorities to take? Do you want them to simply ignore it? It was exactly standard in response to the transmission from the helicopter. Again go over to Fighter Control website and see the reference from the intercepted communications of the Mach 1.2 speed registered. Your response is exactly the type of die-hard conspiracy response that I come to expect. Is it any wonder that aircraft enthusiasts simply shake their head in disbelief at conspiracy driven peoples misconceptions and misinterpretations of aviation? You obviously don't know the drill, but it makes a great conspiracy story and many die-hards will get a warm fuzzy feeling that they are on to the gooberment covering up some sort of mysterious incident. How will this one develop? The mind simply boggles. I look forward to the ramblings. Sometimes ATS poster are better entertainment than the Comedy Channel!

No way would they send super sonic crafts in that type of situation. How many times before either in the UK or the US, have you heard of these loud bangs caused by a response to an aircraft in trouble?

This would happen at least a few times a year. This is the first I'm hearing about this type of response.

Originally posted by Daughter2
No way would they send super sonic crafts in that type of situation. How many times before either in the UK or the US, have you heard of these loud bangs caused by a response to an aircraft in trouble?

This would happen at least a few times a year. This is the first I'm hearing about this type of response.

Seriously? What would they send? Currently the UK Quick Reaction Alert is maintained at two bases in the UK. RAF Leuchars in Fife, Scotland and RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England. That alert covers all aviation in the UK. Everything from loss of communications and assistance to pilots through to interception of aircraft approaching the 12 nautical mile national limit around the coast.

What would you like them to scramble from RAF Coningsby? How about a Spitfire or Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight? Under certain emergency circumstances the controllers will permit the Typhoons to go supersonic in order to get to the area of the emergency situation. Do you not think that the quicker the response to the emergency then the quicker it can be resolved?

UK PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH AIRBORNE SECURITY EVENTS

reply to post by tommyjo


The role of QRA isn't the odd thing in this scenario it is the fact that this wasn't dealt with before being escalated to QRA as it should have done.

Also, the fact that QRA Typhoon booms aren't heard and reported regularly. Pretty certain if two supersonic jets race across the UK at a helicopter pilot error, that such daily errors, as I am certain there are, from whichever pilots of the thousands of aircraft flying across the UK daily aren't treated the same.

Basically, in easy terms, these jets would be going supersonic EVERY DAY and we would all be well aware of it.

Additionally, keep your personal opinions of me to yourself your derogatory comments are unnecessary and offensive. Read the T&C.

reply to post by tommyjo


You still avoided answering why aren't these sounds heard more frequently if this is such a routine practice?

I used to fly all the time. I've been on two flights that lost some type of communication abilities, one before 9/11 and one after, and no jets appeared.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the timing of this sound and the North Korea rocket launch. Could this have been some type of automatic response taken when a rocket is launched?

Originally posted by theabsolutetruth
reply to post by tommyjo

 

The role of QRA isn't the odd thing in this scenario it is the fact that this wasn't dealt with before being escalated to QRA as it should have done.

Also, the fact that QRA Typhoon booms aren't heard and reported regularly. Pretty certain if two supersonic jets race across the UK at a helicopter pilot error, that such daily errors, as I am certain there are, from whichever pilots of the thousands of aircraft flying across the UK daily aren't treated the same.

Basically, in easy terms, these jets would be going supersonic EVERY DAY and we would all be well aware of it.

How do you know the circumstances surrounding the event? It is up to the controlling authority to order how he or she sees fit to deploy the QRA. Put yourself in their shoes when making that very important decision? According to the intercepted communications from Fighter Control website it was the controller that ordered the use of a supersonic dash in order to get the assets under his/her command there as quickly as possible. Amazing how people can interpret it as something mysterious when the authorisation is available if deemed necessary.

Originally posted by Daughter2
reply to post by tommyjo

 

You still avoided answering why aren't these sounds heard more frequently if this is such a routine practice?

Nobody is avoiding the question. It is up to the controlling authority on how he or she deploys those assets to react to the emergency. In this case clearance was given to travel at Mach 1.2. Of course not every Quick Reaction Alert controller gives permission for a supersonic dash. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the person controlling the scramble and how he or she wants it conducted.

reply to post by tommyjo


The quote in the Telegraph from the MOD is ''idiot pilot'' and how many errors do you think London ATC has to respond to daily?

Do you think this is the ONLY QRA response? If so wouldn't you think this odd? If not then aren't those other responses also supersonic? If not do you think this is odd? If so do you not think people would hear them? If so then wouldn't you think people would be used to their sound already?

These are very obvious questions.

Funny how some just believe an ''intercepted transmission'' on a flight enthusiast forum.

Pffft, no way would a sonic boom cover such a large swath of land like that.

It may have been a magnitude 1.5 earthquake, though. The Wisconsin Boomtowners know what I'm talking about.

Originally posted by tommyjo

Originally posted by rigel4

Ok so what the hell was so important that a typhoon scrambled and went supersonic over land?

That's the question here.......

To get to the area as quickly as possible to assist. That is their tasking. It is standard procedure conducted by Eurofighter Typhoons - Nothern QRA at RAF Leuchars and Southern QRA at RAF Coningsby have the tasking to cover the UK. It is in the title 'Quick Reaction Alert'. What did you expect for the Typhoons to take off and go as slow as possible to the area where the emergency tasking is required? Radio enthusiasts monitored one of the pilots of the Typhoon, call sign 5KG41, referencing Mach 1.2.

"What did you expect for the Typhoons to take off and go as slow as possible to the area where the emergency tasking is required?" Well, yes! That is what happened on 911, even after a building was hit. What? That's not SOP. Go on! Your pulling my leg!

P

Originally posted by CX

Originally posted by sitchin
ya i'm going down the sonic boom theory ..a jet going faster than 750 miles an hour would continuously produce air-pressure waves ....continually generating shock waves, dropping sonic booms along its flight path

Question from an aviation thicky here....when a plane produces a sonic boom, does it, as you imply in your comment, make booms throught the journey that it is doing 750 mph for? For some stupid reason i though it just did one.

Just never heard of a jet making numerous booms.

CX.

Let me guess, as a kid you watched THE THUNDERBIRDS.

P

Oh, so thats what it was.

I was in the bath around 6.30 enjoying a nice cold beer, a hot soak, anda good book, when I heard this almighty "thump" and the dog went haywire. I thought the cat had knocked something over, so got out, looked around, and everything was normal. I shrugged, and got back into the bath (and fell asleep and ruined the book, but thats another story).

I live in a town called retford in the trent valley and i heard it come from the east to a sort of north west.

reply to post by tommyjo


Hi there. I have a quick question for you. I'm going to play devils advocate here and step into the fantastical.

If the MOD knows that all their radio chatter is being listened to by the public and quite possibly foreign military, wouldn't it be possible, that they could use encrypted channels to communicate whilst still maintaining ' cover stories' on the regular channels ?

It seems ludicrous to me that a fair few million quids worth of military assets are entirely wide open to anyone who wants to tune into them.

There's room for conspiracy in this issue surely ?

Wonder what that was then?

I know when somethings not right when all the news channels jump on the story that it was just a distress call....One was hanging around the chopper as a distraction but the keen eyes of people on the ground were watching the second typhoon which was more interested in a silver object 35k up!

www.thisisbath.co.uk...

Originally posted by Daughter2
No way would they send super sonic crafts in that type of situation. How many times before either in the UK or the US, have you heard of these loud bangs caused by a response to an aircraft in trouble?

This would happen at least a few times a year. This is the first I'm hearing about this type of response.

Depends on the situation I would think ,however if I thought someone had hijacked an aircraft and was possible going to crash it into a populated area .I would send the fastest aircraft I have and tell them to blow it out of the sky if they had to....Typhoon seems to fit that MO

I know there are other videos in this thread but this is what a sonic bang sounds like when an aircraft is at altitude
www.youtube.com...

And this is a typhoon first slow flying

www.youtube.com...

and now giving it some beans

www.youtube.com...

Never heard a thing in Staffs, I was out digging the garden with nipper at the time.

Im sorry if this has already be said I havent gone through all the posts.
But last night I checked the netweather.tv website to see if anyone had seen or heard this event!
I came accross a thread about it but the op of the thread reported the sound at 17.25 GMT!
So what I want to know is, the MoD are saying the distress signal was heard at 18.10 GMT, so I'm confused as to how this person hear the sound before the "incident" even happened!