Officials Reveal Cause of Explosion-Like Noise Heard Across DC Area

The U.S. Capitol and the Washington, D.C. skyline are seen in a file photo on May 16, 2005. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

A loud, explosion-like noise that was heard across metropolitan Washington on Sunday was caused by a sonic boom from a Department of Defense-authorized flight, officials confirmed.

“The loud boom that was heard across” the Washington area was “caused by an authorized DOD flight,” said the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management in Annapolis, Maryland, on Twitter. “This flight caused a sonic boom. That is all the information available at this time.”