Incident: Sonic Boom
Location: Oregon to Washington State
RvTm#98-0508
Narrative: On Tuesday, February 4th, 1997, at approximately 18:15 hrs. PST. A Sonic Boom was heard in southern Oregon and also reported as far north as Port Townsend, Washington, located on Puget Sound.
At 18:15 hrs 02/04/97, Observers in Cave Junction, Oregon, spotted a bright object or meteor “shooting across the sky.” The object first appeared south of Pearsoll Peak (elevation 5091 feet) and flew in a northeasterly direction, across the Illinois river toward Kerby Butte (elevation 5555).
The boom and resulting shockwave was felt in Cave junction, Kerby, Selma and the City of Grants Pass (pop. 15,000). The Josephine County Sheriff’s Dispatcher was immediately overwhelmed by numerous 911 calls reporting a explosion all across the county by residents in the area. Law enforcement officers in the area also requested information on the “Boom”. A call was made by dispatch to Portland FAA, the dispatcher was told that the Oregon Air National Guard was involved in a exercise in the area.
Witness John E. Mingo reported, “ The sonic boom was before 7 p.m. I have heard sonic boom before but this one rocked everything. The boom shook windows from one end of the city (Grants Pass) to the other. Local radio reported that it was a routine military flight up the coast. They say that the boom was felt from southern Oregon all they way to Seattle.” That is a distance of about 500 miles (800 kilometers).
I personally was a witness to this event as I was on duty, in a fully marked unit. I heard the sonic boom and then heard two aircraft increase power and go supersonic from the south west moving to the northeast. This was immediately after the sonic boom. These two aircraft were marked with anti-collision lights that went out as I watched them move to the north east. As I answered alarms in the area that were set off by the sonic boom I overheard dispatch giving out the information above. I have had previous military experience and am familiar with aircraft going supersonic. This was much louder but could be due to a lower altitude of the vehicle going supersonic.
Later in the evening, I heard on the (FM) radio that a news report from Seattle, Washington along with the 11 PM news stations on TV in that area were reporting that this was a training flight. The aircraft involved was a SR-71 out of Edward’s Air Force Base in California. They also stated that it landed at the Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington.
Mark of Whidbey Island, Washington. Disputed the news reports that the Boom was caused by a SR-71 aircraft pointing out that only three are still in service and none are known to be in the Pacific Northwest. Mark said he believes the “supersonics” to be F/A-18 interceptors from Bremerton, Washington.
Investigation Results:
Taking this report by paragraph, The initial report was at 18:15 hrs. on Tuesday the 4th, 1997. The latest time reported for the Seattle, Washington area sonic boom is 8 minutes later. This works out to approximately .96 miles a second or 3,456 miles an hour.
The witness reports have been verified by Raven Team interviews in person. The only thing consistent on reports in the area of Josephine County Oregon was the sonic boom. The description of a bright object or meteor came from one witness only and is not being considered in this investigation.
The dispatch tape was analyzed. The FAA office in Portland, Oregon did state that the Oregon National Air Guard did say that they were on a exercise in southern Oregon (names deleted). NOTE: There is a regulation in the U.S. Air Force that military aircraft are not to go supersonic below 50,000 feet A.G.L. (above ground level) except in emergencies! This is to avoid complaints and damage.
The witness from Whidbey Island, Washington. Stated that he did not see or hear a SR-71 at Whidbey N.A.S.
Contact was made with individuals at Edward’s A.F.B. and the following information was gained. There are currently 4 SR-71 aircraft at the time of the event, a fifth is soon to be operational. All aircraft were at Edward’s A.F.B. on 02/04/97. The tower logs were also checked and no entrys for launch or retrieval of SR-71’s were noted. A check of aviation fuel issues was done (SR-71 uses special fuel), none was issued for a mission. Air operations was checked and no flight plans were filed.
Beale A.F.B. was contacted through official channels and the Public Relations Officer for the 9th recconasaince squadron stated that this was a normal training flight for a SR-71 mission. Un-official checks were made on other squadron aircraft. NOTE: Where ever the SR-71 goes a support in flight refueling aircraft from Beale A.F.B. goes with it. None were launched from Beale A.F.B and no issue of the fuel required by the SR-71 was done there either. Checks were done the same as at Edward’s A.F.B.
Conclusion: The event in question is either a flight vehicle not seen or known by the public, or a unidentified flying object. All the facts lead away from the SR-71, First the speed involved 3456 miles per hour, though capable of this speed the airframe is a old one and one would not think that you would push it on a training mission. All SR-71’s were reported on the ground along with the support aircraft and no fuel was issued for that type. None of the aircraft currently in the U.S. inventory are capable of the above speeds other than the SR-71. There is the possibility that the “AURORA” a new vehicle was involved.
The other aircraft in the Josephine county area were possibly involved in a attempted intercept along with Mark’s report of F/A-18’s in the Bremerton, Washington area. This leads one to believe that the event was not planned by U.S. Forces BUT that they were aware of the flight path of the object prior to it arriving in the area due to the placement of military assets.
Disposition of report: Un-explained, Investigation ongoing. Possible Aurora Sighting!
Raven Team Leader RvTm205