Fighter jets flying over Queens caused a boom Wednesday afternoon that alarmed people across the area, according to the NYPD — but the military disputed that claim.
The noise, which sounded similar to an explosion, occurred at about 2:20 p.m. and sounded loudest near John F. Kennedy Airport in south Queens, according to WABC-TV. It could also be heard at Belmont Park and in southwestern Nassau County.
In a tweet, the NYPD indicated that the boom was caused by two F-22 military jets flying over the area. There was no evidence of any actual explosion in Queens. Reportedly, the jets were escorting President Obama on board Air Force One.
However, NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defense Command based in Colorado — disputed the explanation in a report that The New York Times published later in the day.
“I can tell you, we checked in with the folks in our command center and first of all we don’t have F-22s who are flying for the enforcement of the F.A.A. temporary flight restriction that exists over New York and part of New Jersey right now for the [United Nations General Assembly],” NORAD spokesperson Michael Kucharek told the Times. He went on to note that “a couple of airborne fighters” were flying over the city, “but they are flying at such an altitude and such an airspeed that it would not have caused this.”
“So at this time there is no indication that it was a NORAD asset that caused this noise or sonic boom, as people are calling it,” Kucharek further stated.
The U.S. Air Combat Command seemed to confirm the report in a tweet, in which it stated that there were F-15 fighters over the city as part of the General Assembly.
The boom, which occurred days after the explosion in Chelsea, rattled the nerves of some Queens residents who took to social media to find out what happened.
LOUD explosion in Queens, hope it wasn’t another bomb.
— REL (@kxngREL) September 21, 2016
#BREAKING: Reports of an explosion near JFK airport in Queens #NYC
— Nasser Rahman (@rah622) September 21, 2016
Breaking: NYPD reporting numerous 911 calls for an explosion in Queens area,105 & 113 pcts. Tremor felt in N.Woodmere Situation developing.
— Chaskel Bennett (@ChaskelBennett) September 21, 2016
Who else in South Jamaica Queens heard that giant explosion???
— Fiyah♥️Angelou (@SweetKixx) September 21, 2016
