Norwich sonic boom pilot grounded

The pilot of the F-15C Eagle which created the "sonic event" has been suspended from flying

A USAF pilot responsible for a "sonic event" has been suspended from flying after breaking the sound barrier over Norwich, RAF Lakenheath has confirmed.

The sonic boom, which occurs when an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, happened at 13:40 GMT.

A spokesman for the airbase said the aircraft involved was an F-15C Eagle, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing.

He said there will be an investigation into the incident and the pilot will complete further training.

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"We will conduct an investigation and develop mitigation measures.

"The pilot will receive additional training to prevent this in the future, and will not fly again until this training is complete.

"We offer our sincerest apologies for any disturbance this may have caused, and we will continue to emphasize airspeed restrictions in flight briefings," the spokesman added.

RAF Lakenheath said there were speed restrictions for flying over populated areas.

It said pilots are supposed to stay below Mach .95 (about 728mph/1173km/h) to prevent them from flying over Mach 1 (approximately 767mph/1235km/h), which is the speed of sound.