Loud noises caused panic in Argeș and Vâlcea, and in some houses the windows cracked. What is the explanation of the authorities
Moments of panic for the residents of Argeș and Vâlcea counties, Thursday evening, around 10:00 p.m., after two extremely loud noises were heard in the municipality of Curtea de Argeș and in the surrounding areas.
The shock waves were intense. PHOTO: Facebook video capture/Dumitrascu Cosmin
Witnesses reported that the shock waves were so intense that “beds shook all over town,” and in some houses the windows have cracked, reports the local press from Argeș. Similar phenomena were later reported by residents of Petroșani.
the explosion-like sounds would have been caused by the supersonic air exercises conducted during this period by the Allied forces. Aircraft belonging to the Romanian, German, Spanish and United States Air Forces participate in training missions carried out throughout Romania.
The Romanian Air Force provided explanations in a message published on its official page, stating that, between March 9-16, 2026, Romanian and allied aircraft – technical deployed at the 57 Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base – perform training flights at low altitudes, as well as in supersonic mode.
“The training flights will be carried out taking all air safety measures and reducing the noise impact on the population. These exercises are intended to contribute to improving the reaction capacity of the aeronautical personnel in any situation”, Air Force officials said.
Local media reported that the two explosions were allegedly caused by two Eurofighter 2000 Typhoon fighter jets. At 22:01, they would have flown over the Curtea de Argeș area at an altitude of over 10,000 meters, breaking the sound barrier, approximately 1,225 km/h.
The phenomenon is known as “sonic boom” and occurs when an aircraft flies at supersonic speed, generating shock waves that compress and propagate through the atmosphere. They can produce a strong wave felt over a radius of about 20 kilometers.
The effects were also reported in other localities in Argeș and Vâlcea. On social networks, some residents of Pitesti reported that, after the loud noises, they felt an unusual smell in the air, similar to that of fireworks.
“If you didn't know what a SONIC BANG sounds like, well you heard it this evening in Argeș and Vâlcea counties… There were no drones, there was no meteor, there were no lights, nothing, …. some pilots exceeded the limit of common sense, that is 340m/second or 1224km/h, causing a continuous shock wave followed by very strong booms extremely similar to thunder hey, this happens for a few seconds until the plane slows down below 1200 km/h.” wrote a resident from Argeș on Facebook, along with a video where the sound created can be heard.
