Mysterious Boom Reported at Jersey Shore: Possible Military Aircraft Cause

Residents in the Cape May area reported a loud boom and shaking on Monday, but no earthquakes were recorded. The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed no seismic activity on the East Coast. A T-38 Talon military aircraft was flying offshore at the time, suggesting it may have caused the noise, though officials had no immediate comment.

On Monday afternoon, residents of the Cape May area reported experiencing a mysterious loud boom accompanied by shaking, although the government indicated no earthquakes occurred on the East Coast. Following the incident, social media posts began circulating shortly after 3 p.m., with inquiries about the strange occurrence.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake tracking website confirmed that there had been no seismic activity recorded on the East Coast within the previous day. Reports indicated that the sound and shaking were felt in areas such as Cape May, Cape May Courthouse, Villas, and Wildwood, with vibrations detected as far north as Lacey Township.

One possible explanation for the disturbances is the flight of a military aircraft. Flightradar24, a flight tracking application, revealed that a T-38 Talon aircraft was operating off the coast of Maryland and Delaware around the time the boom was reported.

Cape May Police Chief Dekon Fashaw acknowledged awareness of the boom but noted that while military jets frequently fly in the region from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and other bases, local police had not received any notifications from military authorities regarding the event. Additionally, Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Virginia had issued a noise warning for training operations scheduled between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on the same day.

The T-38 Talon is a supersonic training aircraft utilized by the Navy and Air Force for pilot training, as per information available on the Air Force’s official website. The Navy and Air Force officials did not provide immediate comments regarding the incident on Monday.

In conclusion, the loud boom and vibrations experienced in the Cape May area on Monday afternoon remain unexplained by local seismic data. While some residents attributed the phenomenon to a military aircraft, officials from the military did not confirm any connection. The presence of the T-38 Talon aircraft during this timeframe suggests a plausible origin, yet further information from military sources is awaited to clarify the situation.

Original Source: www.nj.com