BREAKING: The Navy confirmed Tuesday afternoon that an F-18 Super Hornet training about 32 miles off the coast of Virginia caused Monday night’s sonic boom.
The jet is based at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. Commander Dave Hecht with Naval Air Force Atlantic says the confirmation came after analysis of data from various sources.
Stay with WAVY.com for more details on this breaking news.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Multiple reports came in Monday night after a loud boom was heard around the area.
WAVY viewers have reported hearing the noise from southern Virginia Beach into Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk around 6:30 p.m.
Several viewers say they had hanging photos fall off the walls after their houses shook. No damage or injuries were reported.
The National Weather in Wakefield said in a tweet Tuesday morning the loud noise heard across the area appears to have been a sonic boom that was “perhaps ducted/augmented by a temperature inversion due to persistent low cloud cover yesterday.”
This was an explanation that Chief Meteorologist Don Slater shared with viewers on Monday night.
10 On Your Side reached out to the Navy to figure out if it was a sonic boom from a jet, and Cmdr. Dave Hecht says an F-18 Super Hornet was operating in the area at the time, but he could not confirm whether it was the cause of the noise.
Hecht was originally unaware that jets were operating in the area at the time.
NAS Oceana and Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress are both in the area of where many of the callers are located. Many viewers say they saw and heard jets operating around Fentress between 6 and 7 p.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey also says no earthquakes were recorded, and there are no major power outages. Dominion says no transformers or power poles are on fire, despite rumors that something exploded in Sandbridge.
Check back to WAVY.com for updates on this developing news.
