Two US Air Force fighter jets have intercepted an unresponsive aircraft that flew near West Palm Beach, South Florida, during a stay by President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. To catch up to the plane violating restrictions related to Trump’s visit, F-15s caused a sonic boom on Friday evening that shook homes, rattled cars and scared residents, reports said.
The sonic boom was created because the two fighters flew at supersonic speeds, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement.
The jets finally established communication with the plane, but no further details of the incident were provided by the authorities.
"The intent of military intercepts is to have the identified aircraft re-establish communications with local FAA air traffic controllers and instruct the pilot to follow air traffic controllers' instructions to land safely for follow-on action," the NORAD statement read.
The incident occurred at about 7:00 PM local time. Within an hour, law enforcement began pointing to the military. The Broward Sheriff’s Office explained that “the “booming sound heard in Weston and nearby cities was from military planes headed to Palm Beach County.”
Pnicked residents called 911 when the loud boom was heard throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties. The "loud explosion," said Coral Springs police said. “I was in Delray Beach and I heard it,” said Sgt. Carla Kmiotek.
Earlier this month, a private aircraft got within 2 nautical miles of Air Force One while flying over Florida. Authorities are investigating the incident.
