LOUD NOISE MAY HAVE BEEN JET FLYING OVER AREA

A loud roaring noise heard about 9 p.m. Tuesday by many people in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area may have been a military aircraft, sources said Thursday.

Exactly what kind of military aircraft it was could not be determined, however. The noise was described as a deep, rumbling roar that lasted for one to two minutes

Mark Etherington, control tower manager at the Cape Girardeau Airport, said the sound seemed to be that of a single-engine, high performance military jet fighter.

Etherington, who lives west of Cape Girardeau on Route K, said he was outside his home when the aircraft passed over. He theorized the jet may have been on a routine training flight from the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft plant near Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. But a McDonnell-Douglas spokesman said test flights of their military aircraft normally take place during daylight hours. The spokesman said the aircraft could have come from any one of a number of Air Force bases or military installations in the region.

Steve Compas, a Jackson police officer, said he heard the aircraft as it flew over Jackson. Compas said it sounded to him like a large military helicopter, possibly a twin-rotor Chinook transport helicopter, similar to those based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Etherington said it is not unusual for military aircraft to fly over this area on test flights. "As long as they remain 1,000 feet above a congested area or 500 feet above a rural area they can fly wherever the want," he said. "These aircraft have a very sophisticated radar and navigation system that enables them to see the ground and other aircraft at long distances."