Breaking The Sound Barrier: Can Pilots Hear Sonic Booms?

When a plane, or in fact anything, travels faster than the speed of sound (i.e., breaks the sound barrier), a loud boom is heard, commonly known as a sonic boom. You may have heard that particularly loud, sometimes even painful boom when a military jet flies by. Everyone on the ground can hear it, but what about the people inside the plane?

Short answer: Yes. Pilots of a supersonic jet can still feel the humming of the engines when their plane breaks the sound barrier if the sound is transmitted through the air inside the plane (however, they cannot hear the sounds coming from the outside). But there's more to it. Watch this video and find out!