Typhoon jets scrambled in response to plane that was not answering air traffic control

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

A huge bang heard across London and in Hertfordshire just after 4am on Sunday was caused by RAF jets going supersonic, the Met and the MoD said.

“Two Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Coningsby were scrambled at 0409 this morning, as part of the UK’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) procedures, after an aircraft lost communications in UK airspace,” said the Ministry of Defence. “The aircraft was intercepted and its communications were subsequently re-established. The Typhoons are returning to their base.”

Flight tracking sites showed that two Typhoons took off from RAF Coningsby around the time of the noise.

Mil Radar (@MIL_Radar) At approx 0400z Royal Air Force Typhoons callsign 5EA26 & 5EA27 launched from RAF Coningsby to an unresponsive aircraft

A resident of Forest Gate, east London, told the Guardian he had already been awake and “thought something had fallen down in our house,” while similar experiences were recounted on social media, with posts about windows being rattled and car alarms set off.

Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) The loud bang heard throughout north London and surrounding areas was the result of a sonic boom from RAF planes. There is no cause for concern.



People living in Essex, west London and Stevenage were among those tweeting to say they had been woken by the noise, and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue said it received a “large number” of calls about the incident.