Surprise Fighter Jet Rattles Residents and Houses

Residents from New Haven to Simsbury were rattled Thursday when a fighter jet blew past rooftops and treetops in a very unusual and unexpected flyover.

“You could hear the exhaust and the thrust of the engine roaring in our ears. It was like something would happen to us,” Ruth Dionne, of Southington, said.

Reports of the flyover rushed into Meriden and Wallingford police departments around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Calls also flooded the NBC Connecticut newsroom and the Air Force. 

The military said it was just as stumped as the residents whose homes shoot as the jet flew.  At first guess, Air Force officials said it might be a training exercise or have something to do with Sen. Ted Kennedy’s public viewing in Massachusetts.

“It sounded like thunder, and all of a sudden it got very loud and very close, very quickly,” Jeanie Ives, of Meriden, said.

It also set off car alarms. Witnesses said the fighter jet appeared to fly dangerously low, buzzed rooftops and treetops and maneuvered several twists overhead before flying away just as quickly as it appeared.

“You expect to see something like that on the holidays like Veteran’s Day. You don’t expect to see it on Aug. 27!” Tom Vandal, of Meriden, said.

Our calls to the FAA about the incident were not returned.
 

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