[meteorite-list] Officials Say Fireball Explosion Over India Was Fighter Jet

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Jan 14 19:26:58 2005
Message-ID: <200501150026.QAA16894_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://ww1.mid-day.com/news/city/2005/january/101372.htm

Sukhoi caused celestial fireball!
Vinod Kumar Menon and Kashif Khusro
mid-day.com (India)
January 13, 2005

Twelve hours after the news of the mysterious "celestial fireball
explosion" that shook villages in the Panvel-Khopoli belt in Raigad
district on Tuesday night.

Officials from the Indian Air Force say the noise was caused due to a
sonic boom from a fighter jet of the IAF.

Wing Commander Tarun Kumar Singha, PRO-Ahmedabad of Indian Air Force
(IAF), said the fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30 MKI had crossed the sound
barrier at a low altitude in the Panvel-Khopoli belt while on a routine
flying exercise.

"We monitored the news on the electronic media. Gradually, when more
coverage started coming in, we felt it was necessary to inform the
masses about the incident," he said.

According to Wing Commander Singha, a Sukhoi-30 MKI took off from the
Lohegaon Air Force station, Pune, a little past 8 pm on a routine flying
exercise in the area around Mumbai.

Though not included in the profile of the exercise, the pilot had
inadvertently gone into supersonic speed (more than the speed of sound)
and because of the change in the pressure pattern in the atmosphere, a
big explosive sound was heard. It is commonly referred to as sonic boom.

"A departmental inquiry will be conducted to know what led the pilot to
increase the speed by going supersonic. Even the pilot does not know the
impact felt on the ground," Singha said.

Light and sound

Fighter aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 MKI travel at speeds higher than
sound. For this they have to break the sound barrier.

When the aircraft wants to cross this barrier, it requires more thrust.
So, 150 per cent more fuel is injected to give an added 75 per cent
thrust to propel it past the sound barrier.

When the aircraft breaks the barrier, a deafening sound is created.
Usually during training, the jets go supersonic at a height of above 10
kms, 12 kms and 16 kms. It is not easy to go supersonic at a low altitude.

Subsequently, the aircraft emits a trail of fire, which is actually the
extra burnt fuel. But it gives the impression of fire behind the
exhaust. For people on the grou nd, the sudden appearance of the
aircraft in a night sky may look like a fireball or any other
unidentified bright flying object.

Today's airplanes, especially military, fly in many different
conditions: subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic (rockets).

Was it the Navy?

Another theory doing the rounds is that the deafening sound heard by the
villagers could actually be of a misfired round from a naval
anti-aircraft gun placed strategically at the Karanja Naval base, near Uran.

"Normally the anti-aircraft guns are practiced by firing with a
trajectory in the Arabian Sea, but in this case the gun could have
misfired.

"And since the impact of the shell is huge, it can actually pierce the
ground," said a naval official. That explains the absence of debris
around the villages, he added.

However, a defence spokesperson debunked the theory, saying that in case
of a firing exercise, notices are given to authorities 15 days in
advance. "Also, the firing is done seawards and not on land," he said.

Sukhoi-30 MKI

o The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a multi-purpose fighter used for interception of
other aircraft as well as for dog fighting (following other aircraft
from behind and attacking)

o It is one of the world's best-known fighter jets. Military experts put
it one step ahead of the famed F-16s owned by the US Air Force

o It is a Russian design aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) under licence production
Received on Fri 14 Jan 2005 07:26:47 PM PST