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Yes, a video captured a sonic boom caused by fighter jets being scrambled in the Washington D.C. area on June 6, 2023. The video, which was posted to social media, shows a loud boom followed by a trail of smoke in the sky. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the boom was caused by two F-16 fighter jets that were scrambled to investigate an unresponsive aircraft. The aircraft, a Cessna Citation jet, crashed in a rural area of Virginia shortly after the sonic boom was heard. There were no survivors.
The sonic boom was caused by the F-16 jets breaking the sound barrier. When an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, it creates a shock wave that can be heard as a loud boom. The speed of sound is about 767 miles per hour (1,235 kilometers per hour) at sea level.
The FAA said that the F-16 jets were scrambled because the Cessna Citation jet was unresponsive and had lost altitude. The jets were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds in order to reach the aircraft as quickly as possible.
The crash of the Cessna Citation jet is still under investigation. The FAA is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the crash.The sonic boom was heard in several states, including Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia.
