The RAF maneuvers in the airspace over London's airport caused a massive sonic boom, prompting panic among passengers and locals, The Express and BBC reported, citing eyewitnesses.
Call me overdramatic BUT I AM NOT joking when I say I genuinely thought it was the end of the world when my whole house shook... went outside looking for a mushroom cloud 😂😬😳 #stansted#sonicboom#essex#explosion#dunmow#stortford
— Harry Larter (@TheHellShield) 22 июня 2019 г.
Sonic Boom woke up Essex. Escorted Ryanair flight to Stansted. Disruptive 25yr old female passenger in custody.
— BakeCo (@koopermann) 22 июня 2019 г.
According to BBC, citing local officials, two Typhoon fighter aircraft were escorting a plane into Stansted because there was a disruptive passenger on board.
Meanwhile, local eyewitnesses and airport passengers who heard a loud explosion and a deafening noise shared on social media flight radar maps showing the flight path of the Typhoon military jets over the Essex and Hertfordshire regions.
Looks like it was a typhoon fighter #Stansted. Jesus that was scary though! 🙄 pic.twitter.com/oaohqU8JAK
— Mat Braddy (@matbraddy) 22 июня 2019 г.
I wonder what is going on at Stansted? pic.twitter.com/3piZG1J6A7
— Paddy (@Pads45N) 22 июня 2019 г.
Some passengers that were on board of the Jet2 flight also took to Twitter to comment on the incident.
I'm currently on the flight at #LondonStanstedAirport that has caused the disruption. It was a drunken passenger and the military was called in a miscommunication. Everything is fine #stansted
— Stew (@StewartBrown82) 22 июня 2019 г.
Local police reportedly received numerous calls about the loud explosion. According to local media, a 25-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of two assaults and endangering an aircraft.
Earlier, media reports claimed, citing the Stansted airport, that the incident occurred with a Ryanair plane however the airport has since confirmed that the unruly passenger was on a Jet2 aircraft.