After hours of speculation and opinions about the loud sound that was witnessed in Bengaluru, the Ministry of Defence finally came out with a statement that the sound was of the IAF Test Flight that involved a supersonic profile. The statement said,
“It was a routine IAF Test Flight involving a supersonic profile which took off from Bengaluru Airport and flew in the allotted airspace well outside the city limits. The aircraft was of ASTE.”
Earlier, the Indian Air Force had released a statement saying none of its aircraft from its training command was airborne during the specified time. However, it also said that the sound may have been a sonic boom and hinted that Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited could have been conducting their routine test flying.
Incidentally, the HAL was the first to respond to the incident as it said although it can be a sonic boom but also denied the source as one of its aircraft. On Wednesday night, the PRO Bengaluru of the Ministry of Defence put out a statement clarifying the mystery.
“The sonic boom was probably heard while the aircraft was decelerating from supersonic to subsonic speed between 36,000 and 40,000 feet altitude. The aircraft was far away from the city limits when this occurred. The sound of a sonic boom can be heard and felt by an observer even when the aircraft is flying as far away as 65 to 80 kilometers away from the person.”
It is a mistake, says a retired pilot
As per the sources, the fighter plane is most likely to be one of the SU-30 fighters that are being tested at the IAF’s Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment. However, a retired pilot believes it to be grossly wrong on the part of the IAF. He said,
“There are parameters of how to do a supersonic test. If it is indeed from a plane, then it’s a mistake. Pilots can go supersonic only after the aircraft has attained a height of more than 11 km. They are disallowed from doing so in populous areas even at those heights.”
On Wednesday afternoon around 1.30 pm, a loud noise was heard across the city of Bengaluru. Soon, many residents posted on the shock of the sheer noise and also confessed to have felt tremors.
Source: Firstpost
