US fighter jet pilot in hot water over supersonic flight above Welsh town at 800mph that smashed windows and left locals terrified

The F-15E Strike Eagle broke the speed of sound and caused a sonic boom

People in Aberystwth reported the ground shaking and windows breaking



US Air Force chiefs have apologised and said the jet was going too fast

Plane from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk was on an air-to-air training exercise



A US fighter jet pilot was in hot water today over a supersonic flight over a Welsh seaside town at 800mph.

The flight caused a huge sonic boom blast, which smashed windows in Aberystwyth, terrified locals, and caused the ground to shake.

US Air Force chiefs have apologised for the accidental boom, which is a breach of aviation rules, caused by one of its F-15E Strike Eagle jet fighters going too fast during a training exercise.

Boom: A US Air Force pilot was in hot water today over a supersonic flight in an F-15E jet fighter, similar to the one pictured, over a Aberystwyth at 800mph

The jet flew more than 200 miles across Britain from Suffolk to the Welsh coast - but it broke the 761mph speed of sound over Aberystwyth.

The sonic boom was so severe it caused two classroom windows to smash in Penglais High School, and caused ceiling tiles to come crashing down in a Morrisons supermarket.

Housewife Janet Williams, 58, was in the meat aisle when she heard what she thought was an explosion.

'I always do my weekly shop on a Monday because it is much quieter and there aren't so many people about,' she said.

'I was picking up a joint of beef when I heard a huge explosion and the ceiling tiles came down - I thought the world was coming to an end.

Mission: The aircraft had flown from RAF Lakenheath to the Welsh coast for an air-to-air training mission

'The noise just came out of nowhere and made me drop my beef!

'We thought a plane had crashed into the roof it was so loud - it was just shocking.'

People in the coastal town took to Twitter to report feeling a huge tremor which smashed windows and caused roof tiles to fall on Monday afternoon.

University student Daniel McConaghy tweeted: 'Just experienced my first sonic boom whilst sitting innocently in the library trying to work - only in Aberystwyth!'

Night-shift worker Greg Babalicki said: 'I was just falling asleep and the sonic boom happened. Keep it down please!'

University student Daniel McConaghy tweeted: 'Just experienced my first sonic boom whilst sitting innocently in the library trying to work - only in Aberystwyth!'

Shock: Resident Calum Edwards said: 'The entire town had a heart attack at that noise!'

Hannah Whaites almost set her carpet on fire when the massive noise occurred while she was straightening her hair

Resident Calum Edwards said: 'The entire town had a heart attack at that noise!'

Night-shift worker Greg Babalicki said: 'I was just falling asleep and the sonic boom happened. Keep it down please!'

Some thought a bomb had been dropped on the town but others believed an earthquake had struck.

CAPABLE OF 1,650MPH, THE F-15E STRIKE EAGLE'S FLIGHT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE

The F-15E Strike Eagle is an all-weather multirole fighter designed in the 1980s for long-range and high speed missions. The jet's top speed is around 1,650mph - more than twice the speed of sound, and double its speed over Aberystwyth.

Built by Boeing, formerly McDonnell Douglas, it was first flown on December 11, 1986, and introduced in April 1988. The model, which carries a crew of two people, has been deployed for operations in Iraq, including Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Libya, carrying out air strikes and patrols as well as supporting troops on the ground. As well as the US Air Force the jet is also used by the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Israeli Air Force and the Republic of Korea Air Force. The plane is controlled via a central computer, connected to an array of sensors - with the pilot giving instructions to the computer, which can also make adjustments on its own to improve flight performance.



Hannah Whaites almost set her carpet on fire when the massive noise occured while she was straightening her hair.

She tweeted: 'Sonic boom just made me drop my straighteners and burn the carpet.'

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound.

The US Air Force's 48th fighter wing today apologised for the disturbance saying several of its F-15E jets from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk had been training near the coast.

It said one plane inadvertently broke the sound barrier - causing the boom.

A spokesman said: 'We can confirm that an aircraft from RAF Lakenheath is likely to have been responsible for the sonic boom reported over Aberystwyth.

'At that time, several F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft were conducting a challenging air-to-air training mission.

'Typically, this would be carried out over water but the airspace to be used was lost to us and the jets were re-routed to the Wales military training airspace.

'During the course of the training exercise, near the coast and in the vicinity of Aberystwyth, one of the aircraft, already travelling at high speed, inadvertently and briefly went supersonic at around 18,000ft and in the process was likely to have caused the noise that was reported online.

'We offer our sincerest apologies for any disturbance or concern that this may have caused.

'We continue to emphasise airspeed restrictions in our pre-flight briefings to minimise the possibility of inadvertently breaching the sound barrier.'

The sonic boom has prompted renewed calls for the Ministry of Defence to give better warning about low flying jets in the area.

Last year, two trainee RAF fighter pilots in Hawk jets narrowly avoided a disastrous 600mph mid-air collision just off the coast of Aberystwyth.

Councillor Alun Williams said: 'The MoD needs to start liaising with the community about these exercises and giving proper warning each time.

'They need to explain the purpose of the exercises and why they can't be held out at sea.'