A sudden, loud boom startled residents in the south-west of France on February 4 – prompting them to theorise on social media that an elusive jet was responsible.
The sonic booms were reported across a swathe of the Lot-et-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne departments, from Lauzerte and the Garonne valley to Nérac, Mézin, Temple-sur-Lot, Clairac, Monclar and Montagnac-sur-Lède at around 15:55.
The event was first reported by guest house owner Maria Hall in Temple-sur-Lot, who said the blast was so loud that it shook the house and sent birds into “emergency flight mode.”
A few seconds later, a jet was heard roaring overhead, suggesting that a supersonic military aircraft had broken the sound barrier.
Her husband Richard shared the story on Facebook, noting that “the shockwave clearly went sightseeing across the countryside,” reaching friends and neighbours many miles away.
Crucially, hardly anybody saw a plane – indeed the photo circulating on social media is an AI image that Mr Hall made to invite puzzled locals to untangle the mystery.
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Social media posts from other residents supported concurred that it was a military jet, with booms reported along a diagonal line across the area, consistent with an aircraft following training routes along river valleys.
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The Dassault Rafale or Dassault Mirage 2000 jets were singled out as possible culprits.
No damage was reported locally, and calm returned quickly to the normally peaceful area.
An official notice from the Monsempron-Libos mairie confirms that military training exercises are scheduled to take place in the region from February 8 to 28, involving day and night flights that may explain the heightened activity and sonic disturbances.
