The Air Force’s Thunderbirds are known for precise flying maneuvers at high speeds. But last week, Chicago residents said that the demonstration team’s jets broke windows on some local skyscrapers by breaking Mach 1 during practice flights for an airshow.
The Air Force insists the F-16s flown by the Thunderbirds did not go supersonic during their flights, and therefore could not have created window-shattering sonic booms.
“Regarding the [August 15] practice, the team and embedded higher wing leadership reviewed avionics data and official flight documentation,” said Air Force Maj. Krystal Jimenez, a Thunderbirds spokesperson. “Data show the speed, path, and elevation were consistent with the previous two practices at the same show location. All data confirm the aircraft did not go supersonic, meaning the aircraft did not break the sound barrier.”
However, one local resident has posted a video in which loud booms can be heard during the flights, and local media reported on similar accounts from many residents.
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The Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday that residents in the city’s Lake View neighborhood heard the booms in the morning and afternoon while the Thunderbirds were practicing on Aug. 15. Bennett Lawson, an elected city official, told the newspaper that windows in four buildings were damaged.
Ari Barjesteh of Chicago said he is confident that he heard sonic booms while he captured the Thunderbirds practicing on video. Posted on social media, the video shows a group of four military aircraft flying in formation over Lake Michigan on two separate occasions. During both passes, a loud noise can be heard as the planes fly by.
Barjesteh told Task & Purpose on Tuesday that he did not add sound or make any other edits to the video.
“The booms you hear are exactly as they were recorded,” Barjesteh said.
He speculated that a fifth jet that was not seen in his video might have broken the sound barrier on both occasions, not the four aircraft flying formation. He added that he assumed the fifth plane was also with the Thunderbirds demonstration team.
Barjesteh said that when he heard the first boom that morning, he thought the Thunderbirds had accidentally gone supersonic, creating a sonic boom. But then the same thing happened again in the afternoon, and he was surprised.
He also said that he loves the military, jets, and the Thunderbirds and he often sees their shows.
“I know what a loud jet is versus, like I said, that ‘pop, pop’ of a sonic boom,” Barjesteh said. “I’m pretty confident from what I know that they were sonic booms. Am I an expert in this field? No. Was it just the sound of regular jets flying by? No, it definitely wasn’t.”
