A sonic boom shook the Negev town of Arad yesterday, shattering windows,dislodging marble slabs from walls and sending solar heaters crashing from rooftops onto the streets below.
Residents said that a dozen fighter planes made a low pass over the town. Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Lapidot and the commander of the flight rushed to the area when they received reports of the sonic boom.
They indicated that the pilots might have deviated from their authorized flight pattern and promised that an investigation to ensure it will not happen again. Some changes are expected to be made in Air Force flight routes over the country.
The incident is in part the consequence of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty which seriously restricted Israeli air space when the Sinai and its major airfields were abandoned and new airfields were built closer to Israel’s populated centers. One of these new airfields is at Bir Mal Ata, between Beersheba and Arad, from which yesterday’s flight apparently originated.
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