Folks on both sides of the Delaware Bay reported hearing a loud shaking Monday night.
So many people were shook by the sound that people in New Jersey and Delaware began Googling if an earthquake had struck on Monday, March 17, 2025. It was a top trend by Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes, reported no tremors in either state. That led to the belief that maybe it was something in the sky that caused the shaking.
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Was it a sonic boom? People searched for that too.
After the military initially said it wasn't one of their aircraft that created the loud boom, Naval Air Station Patuxent River later told NBC10 newsgathering partner CoastTV that one of its test flights likely caused the boom.
On Monday, the Maryland navy base located near the Chesapeake Bay had posted to its Facebook page that it was holding test flights from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
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"Communities surrounding NAS Patuxent River and Webster Outlying Field are advised that nighttime noise-generating testing events are scheduled to take place," NAS Patuxent River said.
A naval base spokesperson told CoastTV Tuesday that its flights routinely fly a few miles off the East Coast on a so-called "Test Track."
"The area is located offshore, as to avoid overflight of populated land areas, but close enough for the safety of the aircraft and pilots, and to conserve on jet fuel to and from the test area," the spokesperson told CoastTV. "Although most sonic booms generated in this area are never felt or heard on land occasionally, due to weather conditions or the details of the test flight, a sonic boom will be felt/heard on land."
NBC10 reached out to NAS Patuxent River to confirm that its aircraft were likely behind the loud noise.
In the meantime, residents along the Delaware Bay might want to be prepared for more sonic booms.
The naval air base posted to Facebook that it plans on more test flights from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
Should people hear any of the noise -- despite precautions the Navy takes to prevent issues -- they call contact NAS Patuxent River's Noise Disturbances line at 1-866-819-9028 or by emailing paxnoise@us.navy.mil.
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