Is it illegal to go supersonic over a town?

Currently, U.S. law prohibits flight in excess of Mach 1 over land unless specifically authorized by the FAA for purposes stated in the regulations. The two supersonic rulemaking activities would not rescind the prohibition of flight in excess of Mach 1 over land.



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Current rules prohibit commercial airplanes from flying at supersonic speeds over land because of the noise levels associated with sonic booms and the negative impacts to humans and animals.

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Current rules prohibit commercial airplanes from flying at supersonic speeds over land because of the noise levels associated with sonic booms and the negative impacts to humans and animals. Despite this, supersonic travel is intriguing to airplane companies, because of the time it would save people on long flights.

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Currently, U.S. law prohibits flight in excess of Mach 1 over land unless specifically authorized by the FAA for purposes stated in the regulations.

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If you're WONDERing about how pilots handle sonic booms, they actually don't hear them. They can see the pressure waves around the plane, but people on board the airplane can't hear the sonic boom. Like the wake of a ship, the boom carpet unrolls behind the airplane.

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