Perhaps you too were shocked by the booming sound of jets flying over DC around 11:10 AM Friday morning. The planes were participating in a flyover during a ceremony commemorating the opening of the National World War I Memorial in Pershing Park.
The pilots performing the fly-by through northwest DC are members of the 94th Fighter Squadron, a unit recognized for their success during WWI. Joe Lowry, who serves as the House of Representatives’ director of emergency preparedness, tweeted that the two planes were F-22 Raptors.
Heads up for those in DC along the Mall later today. At 11:10AM, two F-22 Raptors will conduct a flyover for the dedication of the new World War I Memorial in the area of 14th Street (Freedom Plaza/Pershing Park). Free airshow! @HelicoptersofDC pic.twitter.com/znJQqmJiJf
— Joe Lowry (@PreparednessJoe) April 16, 2021
Twitter had a lot to say about the sudden, surprising noise. Even White House press secretary Jen Psaki interrupted her briefing to remark on it.
Well, that was discombobulating.#JetsScrambled
— Dacha DC (@DachaDC) April 16, 2021
was that the aliens
— Brittany Shepherd (@brittanys) April 16, 2021
Fun to live in DC where suddenly random planes fly right over the buildings with no warning and you get to turn to Twitter to find out if it’s for a memorial or you’re all about to die!!!
— Nick Morrow (@NRMorrow) April 16, 2021
"Wow, there is a plane right overhead." — WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki interrupted during today's daily briefing. pic.twitter.com/UDxCur54ip
— The Recount (@therecount) April 16, 2021
random DC flyover thing reminds me of one of my last favorite memories there, when they had a procession of WWII-era planes fly over the mall in the middle of a workday. that was a fun day!
— Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy) April 16, 2021
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
