A civilian aircraft flying to Nairobi from Iceland was on Saturday, March 4, diverted to London Stansted Airport after it lost communication because of an equipment malfunction.
The plane had to be escorted by two Royal Air Force (RAF) jets at a supersonic speed that caused a sonic boom catching the attention of many.
A sonic boom is a loud sound caused when planes fly faster than the speed of sound.
When traveling at this speed, also known as Mach 1, the aircraft displaces the air, creating pressure waves that compress and are then released as shock waves.
In response, the London Leicestershire police issued a statement noting that they had received numerous calls in relation to a large explosion sound heard from various parts of the city and country.
“We would like to reassure you that there is no concern however thank you for your immediate response to us,” Leicestershire police in London stated.
The plane which was flying from Iceland to Nairobi via Southend lost contact prompting the UK’s Ministry of Defence to send Typhoon jets from RAF.
“The civilian aircraft flying from Iceland to Kenya was diverted to London Stansted Airport when it lost contact.
“The RAF jets scrambled to escort the aircraft to Stansted that landed safely shortly before 1:00 PM,” the UK’s Ministry of Defence stated.
Additionally, the authorities revealed that the aircraft had two people on board, the pilot and the co-pilot when it lost contact and both were safe when the plane landed at Stansted Airport.
According to a UK-based news outlet Evening Standard, at one point the aircraft was being tracked by at least 1,440 people on an online real-time aircraft tracker known as Flightradar24.
The Ministry of Defence noted that it always has jets under a quick reaction alert that respond to any aircraft that cannot be identified or is not communicating with either civilian or military air traffic control.
