Sonic boom from fighter jet sparks panic in Paris

Millions living in Paris and surrounding regions were startled by a huge sonic boom caused by a French military jet breaking the sound barrier above the city.

The loud bang rattled residents of the French capital and neighbouring suburbs. The military said the jet had been scrambled to go to the aid of another aircraft that had lost radio contact, and was authorised to travel at supersonic speed.

“The noise would have come as a surprise and that is why there is an investigation,” local media outlets quoted a Defence Ministry source as saying that. “The fighter jet was returning from a mission and may have been travelling too fast. The pilot will be spoken to.”

A local police spokesman said: “A very loud noise was heard in Paris and in the Paris region.”

“It was not an explosion, it was a fighter jet crossing the sound barrier. People should stop making emergency calls.”

The sound of French Airforce fighter jets breaking the sound barrier at approximately 767mph is common in areas such as Brittany but Paris is a no-fly-zone.

Tennis players in the French Open were also seen alarmed by the thunderous sound.

?? #RG20 (🎥@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/DFljsHm0DR

— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 30, 2020

Among those troubled by the loud bang were tennis players at the French Roland Garros Open in Paris.

The sound was clearly heard at Roland Garros, where star player Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland and his German opponent Dominik Koepfer paused in astonishment and apparent worry as the noise echoed around the stadium.

The plane involved was a Rafale fighter, which had taken off from the Saint-Dizer base, east of Paris.

“A Rafale took off from the Saint-Dizer base to respond to the loss of radio contact with another aircraft,” a French Airforce spokesman said.

“Its mission was to accompany the aircraft and make sure that everything was OK. The Rafale caused a supersonic boom in the east of Paris.”