[meteorite-list] Loud Boom Give Florida Residents The Shakes

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:10 2004
Message-ID: <200202250022.QAA19028_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryA12704A.htm

Mystery noise gives Palm Bay the shakes
By John A. Torres
FLORIDA TODAY
February 22, 2002

PALM BAY -- For now, it is a mystery.

By mid-afternoon, just about everyone had a theory on the explosion-like
boom that rattled windows in Palm Bay and southern Brevard County on Friday
morning.

The boom occurred at about 8:45 a.m., and many described it as being similar
to a sonic boom that occurs when the space shuttle approaches a Kennedy
Space Center landing. There was no reported damage caused by the sound --
just a lot of curious residents.

"I thought something exploded in my back yard," said Palm Bay resident
Cheryl Smith. "I had just stepped out onto my porch when it happened. I
jumped, and my cats jumped."

Smith added her sister, visiting from out of town, came storming out,
worried that a truck had crashed into the house.

"We've already taken 200 calls on it from residents wondering what it was,"
said Lt. Richard Adams of the Palm Bay Police Department. "There was a loud
boom that rattled windows in Palm Bay. We haven't been able to figure out
what it was."

Those sentiments were echoed by Melbourne International Airport officials,
FAA Flight Service Stations in St. Petersburg, Miami and Fort Lauderdale and
even Patrick Air Force Base after speculation centered on a military jet
breaking the sound barrier.

"I checked with our command post, and there was no military air activity in
that area," said Lt. Eric Badger, a spokesman for Patrick Air Force Base.
Indian River County sheriff's officials said they took calls from three
counties about the blast. "We got so many calls that reception had to take
some calls," said dispatcher Adrian Stewart. Morning dispatchers said calls
were made to airports and even to Patrick, but none reported jets in the
area at the time.

But a Fellsmere police officer and two others witnessed a jet overhead at
the time of the noise. "I was at work already. It sounded like a big
explosion, and it moved our building it was so loud," said Maria Sanchez,
administrative secretary for the Fellsmere Police Department. They took six
calls questioning what had happened. "We told them we were pretty sure it
was a jet," she said.

The calls reached all the way south to Vero Beach. Police there said they
received several calls about the boom, but they couldn't find any answers.
Sebastian City Police also looked into the noise after receiving calls.
Received on Sun 24 Feb 2002 07:22:54 PM PST