After 53 Years, US Could Soon Allow Supersonic Flights over Its Skies
The proposal would let aircraft exceed Mach 1 over land if they stay below a noise limit, as the FAA says advances can reduce sonic booms.
- On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a proposed rule replacing the decades-old ban on overland supersonic flight with noise-based certification standards, following President Donald Trump's June 2025 executive order.
- The Federal Aviation Administration imposed the 1973 ban to protect the public from disruptive sonic booms after military test flights in the 1960s generated 15,000 formal complaints and 4,629 damage claims in Oklahoma City.
- NASA's X-59 research aircraft recently completed its first supersonic test flight, reaching Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet while producing only a quiet 'sonic thump' instead of an explosive boom, demonstrating new 'Mach cutoff' noise-reduction technology.
- The FAA plans to finalize the noise-based rule by mid-2027 and will propose a secondary rule later this year establishing landing and takeoff noise standards, giving manufacturers guidance to finalize aircraft designs.
- Companies like Colorado-headquartered Boom Supersonic and Atlanta-based Spike Aerospace are developing next-generation passenger jets designed to carry 60 to 80 passengers at supersonic speeds, with pre-orders from major U.S. and international airlines.
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After 53 years, the FAA wants to bring back civilian supersonic flight
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Regulators proposed a change to the 53-year-old ban on supersonic flight over the continental US. Planes traveling faster than sound cause sonic booms, which can be amazingly loud: Concorde’s distinctive double-bang sound was as deafening for people on the ground as thunder, and supersonic military aircraft shattered windows in the 1960s. The restrictions prevented Concorde from flying transcontinental routes, making it even less economically vi…
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