A sonic boom shook homes in southeast London and south Essex this morning after the Royal Air Force launched a Quick Reaction Alert Force to intercept a civilian plane which landed at Stansted.
RAF fighter jets caused the loud bang, which was heard at around 11.45am by residents in Chelmsford, Billericay and parts of East London.
An RAF spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that RAF Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Coningsby were launched today to investigate a civilian aircraft which was not in contact with air traffic control, communications were re-established and the aircraft was safely escorted to Stansted.
An RAF Typhoon Jet was deployed at around 11.40am this morning to intercept an unresponsive plane flying from Nice
‘The Typhoons are returning to base.’
The RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft was spotted on flight radars at the time the explosion was heard, and escorted a civilian flight travelling from Nice into Stansted Airport after it lost contact with the ground.
Essex Police said they were called at around 11.40am this morning, and on the ground later found there was ‘nothing of concern’.
Residents across south east England in Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and parts of London reported hearing the sound, which some reported shook their walls and windows.
One resident in Greenhithe, Kent, said she was at her home when she heard a loud ‘vacuum-style’ bang.
Jenny Coxall said: ‘I thought it was someone hitting our garage, but when I went outside, all our neighbours were on the street, wondering what had happened.
‘Everyone thought it was some sort of demolition or a house explosion.’
She added: ‘My daughter was on the phone to her friend in Bexleyheath, who heard it. It was heard all over north Kent, like Greenhithe, Swanley and Bexley, according to others online.
‘I was working in Medway 10 years ago in the office and I remember a similar vacuum-like bang and that’s what made me think ‘oh that’s a sonic boom’.’
The RAF has apologised for any inconvenience caused to the public across south east England after some residents took to social media to express their alarm at the noise.
A ‘sonic boom’ is a loud, explosive noise that happens when the sound barrier is broken by an object travelling faster than the speed of sound.
The RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) jets are a high-readiness unit which are deployed in response to ‘unidentified or unresponsive aircraft approaching or entering UK-controlled airspace’, according to the UK Defence Journal.
This is breaking news, more to follow.
