The Military Aircraft Broke The Sound Barrier After A Floatplane Strayed Into A Presidential TFR

A pair of F-15 fighter jets scrambled from Portland to intercept a floatplane which violated a Presidential TFR in Seattle on Tuesday got the attention of people living along their route of flight.

Seattle Presidential TFR

The Oregon Air National Guard aircraft went through the sound barrier as they raced north, and the sonic booms were heard across a large portion of the region. People living from Olympia to Edmonds in Washington State flooded 911 centers with calls to report two distinct "explosions" which rattled their windows and shook their homes.

Television station KOMO reports that the floatplane landed safely at Kenmore on the north shore of Lake Washington. The floatplane exited the restricted area before the jets arrived, so there was no intercept. Harbor officials said the two people on board the floatplane were believed to be from Canada. A second plane also reportedly violated the TFR and landed at an airport about eight miles from the President's location just minutes before it was intercepted by fighter jets.

F-15 File Photo

The station reports that Secret Service will interview the floatplane pilot, but the matter appears to be "fairly routine." The Pierce County, WA, Sheriff's Department said the flood of 911 calls about the sonic booms crashed the system across part of the county.

Meanwhile, the Presidential TFR for the Obama's vacation in Martha's Vineyard goes into effect Thursday afternoon, and will be enforced until August 29th.

FMI: www.norad.com, www.142fw.ang.af.mil