Amaya 🌹Heard a loud rumble from an unknown aircraft
On Tuesday, 16 April 2024 at about 20:12 PDT I heard an unusually loud rumble from outside my home. I rushed to the backyard, wanting to see if I could spot the aircraft, but to no avail. It was a prolonged loud rumble with a low pitch and deep bass. It wasn't loud enough to shake anything but it was one of the loudest rumbles I'd ever heard. It grew fainter before stabilizing at a low volume with no change in pitch. It then gradually faded away. It was very difficult to determine which direction it was coming from but my hunch was to the north, across the Sierra Pelona.
I honestly couldn't tell which direction the plane was coming from. I looked up Flightradar24 within minutes to see if any aircraft even vaguely near me fit the bill, but none seemed to match up. Either the planes were far too small or were familiar enough to me so as to rule them out. No large aircraft were anywhere near me, regardless of altitude. The only aircraft of significant size anywhere near me was a Southwest Boeing 737 flying from Burbank up north a long distance off. If it was that I'd never heard a 737 that loud before.
If the conditions are right you might hear the faintest rumble of a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base that hits with a significant delay after seeing it streak up into the heavens, but no launches occurred that day. It was far too loud to be a launch anyway.
My only conclusion is that it was the USAF testing aircraft in the Antelope Valley. What that aircraft was I can't say, as I checked FlightAware24 and came up empty handed. This isn't the first time I've heard a rumble like this, though it's a very rare occurrence.