Victorians were left scratching their heads after an unusually loud jet aircraft flew over the city on Sunday night.
Victorians were left scratching their heads after an unusually loud jet aircraft flew over the city on Sunday night.
Turns out it was a Canadian CF-18 fighter jet.
It started around 6pm, when people heard the roar of a jet over parts of Victoria, Oak Bay, and Saanich. Some people saw the red lights on the wings. Those areas aren't usually on the path of commercial jet traffic and the airport confirmed it wasn't a commercial flight.
Initial speculation pointed to an American Growler jet from Whidbey Island in Washington State. Those jets are notoriously loud and are usually the cause of mysterious rumblings across the water. But U.S. Navy officials confirmed Monday morning that "there were no aircraft out of NAS Whidbey Island operating at that time last night."
Finally, a Canadian official was able to confirm a CF-18, on a flight from Boise, Idaho, made a scheduled landing at Victoria International Airport. The jet apparently made a rapid descent to 5,000 feet around the time it was over the city, which made a lot of noise.