Another mysterious 'bang'

[PD31]

Looks like its our (Warwickshire, Coventry etc) turn to wonder what the loud bang was over the area just after 6 o'clock....facebook/twitter/local radio all in a frenzy... Seems as though the MOD are investigating.

Anyone else local notice it?

[Global Ranger]

Yes, heard in Rugby and did not sound like thunder. Jets could also be heard in the vicinity as well at the same time (and not the sort that approach/depart BHX or COV).

[PD31]

Well GR, I'm in Hillmorton....though it was a truck crashing over the speed bumps.

[PD31]

Nice rebuttal from BHX in this report...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17697328

[PD31]

Updated now. 'Twas a Typhoon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17697328

[riatfuels]

Quote from a man in Bath on the BBC website:

"We watched for a while and then we saw this aircraft appear and it was a Typhoon but it was flying amazingly slow and we thought it was going to come down.

"It was doing really tight slow circles and it suddenly put on full power and the noise was unbelievable, it was really blasting it out, and then it moved a bit further on and it did another slow turn.

"My impression was that it was struggling to stay up but then he put on full power again and you just couldn't hear anything.

"The noise was terrific, I imagine you could hear it for miles."

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I find that quite hard to believe that this was the same aircraft, I live on the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border which is 65 miles away from Bath and the sound I heard in my garden felt much closer.

I thought something had come down close to the village, the quick double-bang was one of the loudest things I've ever heard (and that includes 20 IATs!).

Can a sonic boom travel 65 miles?

Cheers, Ian

[the fairford mole]

I heard it in Swindon, was quite surprised to find out it was a sonic boom tho....bearing in mind the scope its been heard from

[FGR2]

I would think a sonic boom could travel that distance.

My parents were in Cornwal about 10 years ago and on a clear sunny afternoon, and two days in a row they heard a rumble like thunder.

Could only think it was Concorde coming in over the Bristol channel, and perhaps leaving it a bit later to slow down. Concorde was due into Heathrow about 30-45mins later.

I would imagine with the right weather conditions, it could travel for many miles.

[RoverDriver]

m

[phreakf4]

Quote from a man in Bath on the BBC website:

"We watched for a while and then we saw this aircraft appear and it was a Typhoon but it was flying amazingly slow and we thought it was going to come down.

"It was doing really tight slow circles and it suddenly put on full power and the noise was unbelievable, it was really blasting it out, and then it moved a bit further on and it did another slow turn.

"My impression was that it was struggling to stay up but then he put on full power again and you just couldn't hear anything.

"The noise was terrific, I imagine you could hear it for miles."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I find that quite hard to believe that this was the same aircraft, I live on the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border which is 65 miles away from Bath and the sound I heard in my garden felt much closer.

I thought something had come down close to the village, the quick double-bang was one of the loudest things I've ever heard (and that includes 20 IATs!).

Can a sonic boom travel 65 miles?

Cheers, Ian

In the 1960s Lightnings were used to generate sonic booms over the Bristol Channel in support of the Concorde programme. These were heard at least as far inland as Cheltenham, as I can attest.

[riatfuels]

Fair enough re the distnace a sonic boom being heard over such a large distance.

But is it MOD policy to launch Typhoon's to a civilian helicopter broadcasting on the emergency channel?

I guess that maybe at the time they didn't know it was a small civilian helicopter and just knew it was an aircraft in trouble.

[Tangoringo]

Mysterious bang - a pilot dropped his wallet?

No bang...just the faint flapping of moths wings....

[x1x]

Mysterious bang - a pilot dropped his wallet?

Well done you found it!
Can i have it back please.

[Dorset64]

Seems more than a coincidence, especially when you look at the times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7692225.stm

[PD31]

Seems more than a coincidence, especially when you look at the times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7692225.stm

Time is right...alas, the date isn't.

[Dorset64]

I thought I was onto something there.

[GertrudetheMerciless]

But is it MOD policy to launch Typhoon's to a civilian helicopter broadcasting on the emergency channel?

I guess that maybe at the time they didn't know it was a small civilian helicopter and just knew it was an aircraft in trouble.

Reading between the lines of what's in the press, there are 3 emergency transponder codes (7500 - hijack, 7600 - radio, 7700 - other), and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to guess which one he may accidentally have selected to cause a supersonic QRA reaction if he was operating in the home counties area.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9201259/RAF-sonic-boom-jets-spark-resident-alarm-after-helicopter-emergency.html

[boff180]

Quote from a man in Bath on the BBC website:

"We watched for a while and then we saw this aircraft appear and it was a Typhoon but it was flying amazingly slow and we thought it was going to come down.

"It was doing really tight slow circles and it suddenly put on full power and the noise was unbelievable, it was really blasting it out, and then it moved a bit further on and it did another slow turn.

"My impression was that it was struggling to stay up but then he put on full power again and you just couldn't hear anything.

"The noise was terrific, I imagine you could hear it for miles."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I find that quite hard to believe that this was the same aircraft, I live on the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border which is 65 miles away from Bath and the sound I heard in my garden felt much closer.

I thought something had come down close to the village, the quick double-bang was one of the loudest things I've ever heard (and that includes 20 IATs!).

Can a sonic boom travel 65 miles?

Cheers, Ian

You do realise they were intercepting a helicopter, most likely a slow Robinson type? Witnesses report the typhoon circling the chopper at close range and keeping station. Unless the chopper is going flat out it is going to be very close to stall speed.

Hence why choppers are also being used during the Olympics to intercept slower threats.

The sonic boom was the Typhoon punching it to cross the country to reach the "threat" as quickly as possible.

Andy

[craig.mason]

They had the story on bbc breakfast earlier and in typical bbc style they had a picture of the wrong aircraft they had a picture of a tornado .

[cosmicpop]

Regarding the distance a sonic boom can travel.

When I was a child living in Neath, South Wales, most evenings we could hear the sonic boom of Concorde as it broke the sound barrier off the Cornish coast. Just had a quick look on Google Maps - that's a distance of around 160 miles.

It was a faint double-boom, and occurred at the same time most evenings. I can't remember the time it would occur, but I think it was around 10-past or 10-to 8pm

[T_J]

Helicopter reported on Fighter Control as

G-IBNH is a Gazelle HT2 ex XW853

Image of the helo and Typhoon on the following.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ignal.html

Link to image of G-IBNH

http://www.planepictures.net/show.php?id=1123221

[Thumper]

"Mysterious silver object"... damn UFO's causing trouble again

[Seahornet]

I love the idea that the Typhoons were sent to 'aid' the helicopter.

I've always thought what a helpful little missile ASRAAM is...

[Rory76]

I love the idea that the Typhoons were sent to 'aid' the helicopter.

I've always thought what a helpful little missile ASRAAM is...

[Mixed grill]

The comments area on the daily mail story is intresting as usual, this one made me laugh,

Thats all hear about nowadays, planes breaking the sound barrier all the time. Why does it break so easily ? This wouldnt have happened in the 50's when things were made much stronger than they are now.
- peter mail, milton keynes, 13/4/2012 11:08


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1rxB0CYM9