UK's MoD receives four compensation claims for sonic boom damage

July 15, 2019
The Ministry of Defence has received compensation claims from members of the public whose windows were smashed from the sonic boom of RAF jets, which were scrambling to escort a passenger plane, reports The Telegraph.

ESSEX, United Kingdom - The Ministry of Defence has received compensation claims from members of the public whose windows were smashed from the sonic boom of RAF jets, which were scrambling to escort a passenger plane, reports The Telegraph. Continue reading original article

July 15, 2019-The Intelligent Aerospace take: With a top speed around Mach 2, it is certainly no surprise that the RAF's Typhoons would be able to quickly catch up with a passenger aircraft with an unruly passenger. However, a number of Britons reported damage to their homes following a sonic boom as the scrambled jets broke the sound barrier during the June 22 incident aboard a Jet2 flight en route to Turkey.

The MoD does not routinely break the sound barrier above residential areas, "However, this must be balanced against the need to maintain national security in an unpredictable and dangerous world" said the MoD in a statement.

With passenger aircraft possibly going supersonic again - albeit in a much quieter fashion compared to military fighter jets and the Concorde, people on both sides of the pond may soon be dealing with a bit more noise in the future, though hopefully no broken windows.

Related: Study says return of supersonic passenger travel could result in sonic booms every five minutes in parts of Western Europe and North America

Related: Collins to provide avionics for NASA's supersonic X-59

Related: A new engine could bring back supersonic air-travel

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace

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