The mystery of the twin booms that have startled people from Chattanooga to Huntsville since June has been solved. The culprits are new F/A-22 Raptor fighters and chase planes making supersonic test flights over the region. So far 17 of the futuristic jets have been built at Lockheed Martin's plant in Marietta, and all must show they can break the sound barrier before being handed over to the Air Force. The only problem is that no one let folks in the flight path know the sonic booms were coming. When residents asked the military about the alarming noises, every branch denied having any planes in the area. "Each boom sounds like an explosion," said Jess Hornsby, 61, of Signal Mountain, Tenn., a Chattanooga suburb. He estimates he's heard 10 in the last three months. "There's no rumbling like thunder. It's a loud crack that really rattles the windows. People here have been wondering what in the world was going on."

Hornsby, a self-described aviation buff, said he looked up the first time he heard the booms and saw two white contrails streaking overhead. Each F/A-22 is shadowed by an F-16 chase plane. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) said the first time he heard the twin booms, he thought a coal mine had exploded. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Wamp said. "It was such a high impact."

View: Full Article | Source: ajc.com

Yes, seems strange doesn't it. I can understand that they may have their security regulations, but still, it stands to reason that local residents would want to receive at least some warning if supersonic test flights were going to be performed directly above them. You could actually argue that its a health hazard.