From the ‘in case you wondered too’ file: Fighter jet’s West Seattle flyby

We’ve seen/heard a few mentions of a loud jet over West Seattle around 5 pm – turns out longtime WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli got a photo of it. He says the jet hit the afterburners “as soon as it turned to the southeast,” adding, “It was too dark to see any markings but based on the longer, twin seat canopy and the wider wing leading edge it appeared to be an F/A-18F Super Hornet.” Some readers noticed something similar last Sunday, and we saw/heard one (which also struck us as F/A-18-esque) while walking along Duwamish Head on Veterans Day morning – tweeted about it for the record. With Boeing‘s presence here and multiple military bases, could be many explanations, but we don’t have a line on one currently.

Yup November 20, 2015 (8:57 pm)

I live across the bridge in the flight path for Boeing field and SeaTac..this is nothing unusual!

Dixie November 20, 2015 (9:35 pm)

We live in the admril area of west Seattle off California street. Our family thought it was a possible bomb or maybe a earthquake ? The whole house shook and the sound was so loud way beyond a typical aircraft sound. Relieved & thankful to know it was nothing serious.

Veloguy November 20, 2015 (9:59 pm)

I live in north admiral and see these types of fighter jets taking off on the reg. They’re all pretty amazing, but this one was different. The speed and the size was unusual. I believe this is what blasted off out of kbfi tonight: https://youtu.be/0qRNZYwsKII
Absolutely incredible.

Frank November 20, 2015 (10:32 pm)

Interesting I sent text to WSB weeks ago regarding two low flying F-18’s flying south over the Fauntleroy ferry dock never heard back. The presence just seemed odd especially how low they were

Margaret November 20, 2015 (11:07 pm)

We also live in Admiral, and while we’ve heard jets before this one was unusual in that it made our entire house shake like an earthquake!

SomeGuy November 21, 2015 (6:05 am)

Pretty sure that was Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by.

Gina November 21, 2015 (7:40 am)

I live in the Admiral district, and was disappointed I couldn’t spot the plane. Thanks Chris, for the photo.

Jeff November 21, 2015 (8:02 am)

Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

Abuseintake November 21, 2015 (8:30 am)

They are Boeing test craft. Boeing isn’t saying what they’re doing with them, but they have been deployed in conjunction with the KC 46 certification program. These are E and F model F-18s with much louder General Electric F414-GE-400 engines, much louder than the F-18 C’s and D’s that used to come into BFI on occasion. Get used to it, they’re gonna be doing this about four times a week during a test program which should last about another 18 months.

newnative November 21, 2015 (8:42 am)

I heard it downtown and couldn’t see it. I also found it unusual too.

nachobeaver November 21, 2015 (9:28 am)

alot of military personal fly into kca for maintenance/layovers/meetings in seattle more than you think there is always some type of activity monthly down there lately its just been a little louder

Adam November 21, 2015 (10:05 am)

I believe this plane was parked right near the museum of flight’s parking lot two weeks ago. For sure there was a lone US marked F/A-18 with a pair of enormous fuel tanks.

Question Mark November 21, 2015 (11:11 am)

Should these unofficial and unannounced air shows, though, be allowed over urban areas? (I *am* a fan of official air shows, by the way.)

Trickycoolj November 21, 2015 (11:21 am)

Agree with the comment above, likely related to flight testing of the KC46 Tanker airplanes based out of KBFI. There was a lot of engine noise coming from the runway when I left work around 16:15 figured there was some kind of test running.

LolaP November 21, 2015 (11:42 am)

Heard it too. It’s always a bit jarring… throwback to the air patrols right after 9/11. An unmistakable sound.

WS Teacher November 21, 2015 (12:09 pm)

Thank you to Abuseintake for the explanation. I’ve heard and seen these jets several times recently and wondered what the deal was. Brings back memories of growing up in WS and hearing the SST sonic booms! :) Lovin’ it!!

SGK November 22, 2015 (8:37 pm)

“Jet City” is a nickname for a reason.

Dawsonst November 23, 2015 (9:46 am)

The F-18s have nothing to do with the KC-46 at this point. The jets come in from naval air station Whidbey to BFI regularly.

Methyl November 24, 2015 (9:59 am)

We saw two jets fly from East to West approximately over downtown Seattle at 1 pm on Sunday 11/22/2015 (we were at Greenlake looking South). Nothing reported in the news …

WSB November 24, 2015 (10:11 am)

Yes, it was in “the news,” of which we are part. Just a Seahawks flyby, turns out – look at our BIG STORIES headline list on the sidebar and you’ll see the link to our story, video included.

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