So far it's completely unexplained. What caused a mysterious boom that was heard by many over northeast Missouri Tuesday morning? Let's explore some theories.

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My wife messaged me around 10:50 am Central Time this morning about hearing a big boom in our part of northeast Missouri.

Messenger
Messenger
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My first question was if she saw or heard any planes overhead. I did some research and found two possible suspects, but neither is capable (that I know of) of producing a sonic boom.

Flight Radar 24 showed an Air Force KC-135R which is a huge refueling plane.

Infographic, Flight Radar 24
Infographic, Flight Radar 24
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My wife found another military plane that was zooming over Missouri at around the time she and others heard the boom.

Infographic, Flight Aware
Infographic, Flight Aware
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The KC-46A Pegasus is another US Air Force refueling tanker. It's also not capable of producing a sonic boom.

Here's my theory. Since we know that at least 2 military refueling tankers were over northeast Missouri Tuesday morning, my guess is that they were refueling fighters on routine patrols (or I hope just routine patrols) and something along the lines of a F-16 or F-15 caused the boom. At this point, I can only speculate as I can't get confirmation from any aircraft or military people about what really happened.

UPDATE: I had a good friend that I trust reach out to me privately and say he knows for a fact that the Air Force does practice runs over parts of northeast Missouri at least monthly and that there are sometimes even two booms as the planes fly in pairs. Now you know.

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