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Officials: ‘Sonic boom’ caused by military jets flying around MacArthur

A loud noise described by some as a “sonic boom” was reported in the area — from Ridge to Mattituck — Thursday morning, setting off worries that a major explosion had occurred at Brookhaven National Lab.

But lab officials said the ground-shaking sound was caused by military jets flying around MacArthur Airport.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters later confirmed that an F-15 military fighter aircraft flying at an altitude of 14,000 and 17,000 feet experienced a pressurization problem and had to make a rapid descent about 8:45 a.m.

“The noise that people heard was probably due to the rapid descent,” he said, adding he couldn’t confirm the specific location of where the air craft was when it made its decent.

Lab spokeswoman Kay Cordtz said the lab was contacted by airport officials Thursday morning and was told the noise was caused by military jets.

MacArthur Airport spokeswoman Catherine Green said while the aircraft was reported flying east over the airport, it did not depart from there.

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