UPDATE: Mysterious “Boom” Heard in Caledonia

CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI)- Many WCBI viewers wrote in asking about a mysterious boom Wednesday in Caledonia.

After reaching out to different organizations trying to determine what it could have been, the Columbus Air Force Base says the noise possibly came from a T-38 Talon as it took off for practice take offs and landings.

Master Sgt. Amanda Savannah says, there could have been a sonic boom from a functional check flight. However, it’s unlikely due to the altitude of the flight and it was 40 miles away from Caledonia.

So still no definite answer as to what caused the boom. We’re still looking into it.

A loud mysterious boom was reported by residents in Caledonia on Tuesday Morning.  The noise occurred just before 11:00 AM.  Residents said it shook windows and it caught many by surprise.  WCBI News followed up with local officials and more for answers.

• The Columbus Air Force Base Office of Public Affairs provided a verbal statement saying they did not have any reason to believe their base would have been responsible for the noise.  They planned to look into the issue and were putting together an official written statement for WCBI News.  It has been suggested that a plane could have produced a sonic boom, but testing of supersonic air travel caused lots of damage on the ground in the 1960s and 1970s.  As such, supersonic travel over land is rarely permitted and policy often does not allow pilots to reach supersonic speed over land.
• The Tennessee Valley Authority had no known emergency issues at their Caledonia Combined Cycle Plant yesterday.  TVA Officials were planning to follow up and see if any minor issues could have caused a loud noise, but they had not received any news of such occurring in Caledonia.
• Cindy Lawrence, the Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency Director said she had not received any reports of the boom or of any damage to her office.
• Caledonia Mayor Mitch Wiggins reported that no 911 or emergency calls went out about the boom, but he had seen reports online from local residents.  A City Hall employee confirmed this and reported that she herself had heard the boom.
• The USGS reported no earthquakes in Mississippi or Alabama yesterday, and no seismographs recorded any data.  A seismograph listens for earthquakes and records shaking if it occurs.

We are still looking around to see just what might have occurred.  Numerous reports have come from Northern and Central Alabama over the past few weeks of similar ‘boom’ noises, but no official cause has been determined from those either.  We continue to work with local officials and our partner stations in Alabama to help find a cause of these mysterious noises.

If you hear a mysterious boom noise in your town, please call WCBI News at 662.328.1224 so we can continue collecting reports and find a cause to the noise.