VIRGINIA BEACH — Residents across southeast Virginia Beach and northeast North Carolina heard a loud boom and felt their homes shake around 6 p.m. Sunday.
Spokespeople for both Virginia Beach city government and the U.S. Navy said Monday they were aware of the reports, but neither offered a definitive explanation.
Several Virginia Beach residents posted about hearing the rumble on social media.
“It literally shook our house,” wrote a Lynnhaven area resident on the Nextdoor app.
“We all ran outside. I thought a plane hit our house,” a Foxfire resident responded.
A Virginia Beach city spokesperson said the city is aware of the incident and referred questions to the U.S. Navy.
Katie Hewett, public affairs officer for Naval Air Station Oceana/Dam Neck Annex/NALF Fentress, said the airbase is also aware of the reports.
“While we can’t confirm the source of the noise, we can confirm that all training conducted must follow Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations which prohibit military aircraft from exceeding the speed of sound over land,” Hewitt wrote in an email. “Certain atmospheric conditions, such as heavy cloud cover or temperature inversions can carry sounds from offshore activity farther than normal, sometimes allowing them to be heard or felt onshore.”
Residents living along Virginia Beach’s coastline have experienced similar incidents in recent years. A sonic boom was the suspected explanation for a house-rattling noise heard in 2021.
Military aircraft were flying over the Atlantic Ocean conducting routine operations at that time, according to the Navy.
A sonic boom can occur if aircraft travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Shock waves can be felt and heard on land under certain weather conditions.
Sonic booms have also been heard in central California from SpaceX rocket boosters returning to Earth following a rocket launch.
On Sunday, at 6:11 p.m. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched Northrop Grumman’s NG-23 mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX has not yet responded to an inquiry.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
