Susan Guidry
The booms have been described by Carrollton residents from the river to South Claiborne as loud enough to shake houses, and some have said they saw a red flash in the night sky at the same time. Following repeated complaints from Carrollton residents, City Councilwoman Susan Guidry sent a letter to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans asking if they had any information on the source of the “booms.”
“We had no aircraft in the area specified, and flight paths would not typically place our aircraft in the vicinity of the uptown area,” replied Andrew F. Thomas, public affairs officer for the base.
Guidry said she personally followed up with Thomas, and was assured that the base had “researched this thoroughly and that the noises absolutely did not come from any aircraft associated with the base,” she said in an email to Uptown Messenger.
Guidry also sent the letter to the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, who said their investigations also ruled out other aircraft and have yet to find a cause for the sounds.
“We’ve consulted with the FAA Operations Manager at the New Orleans Airport who said that the commercial aircraft in the area specified were not capable of supersonic flight and that they received no reports of unusual activity from pilots in the area,” said Aaron Miller with the mayor’s office. “We continue to try and identify the source of the noises, but so far have been unable to do so.”
Another massive boom was reported Friday, Jan. 13, drawing 100 comments on the Nextdoor social media site for Carrollton.
“For those that heard the booms, It cannot be explained by a dumpster, garbage truck, transformer blowing, or truck backfiring. It’s a shake your house and feel it in your bones type of boom. Like an explosion,” wrote a Neron Street resident. “I was outside walking the dog for the first boom and it felt like someone threw a lot match at a gas leak you were standing in front of.”
Police and fire officials have said they are unable to find any cause for the loud sounds, as have officials with the Port of New Orleans — leaving Guidry with the same conclusion as Carrollton residents.
“It remains a mystery,” concluded Guidry.
We heard three of the same booms last night (1/17/17) – all occurring between 9:00 and 9:30. Each lit up the sky like an explosion would, and was loud and strong enough to rattle the windows. We are by Touro Hospital, significantly far from the Carrollton reports.
I heard something similar too, but it sounded like a great distance away from my house here in the Carrollton boom zone. I’ve also seen some social media posts about it from residents near the Napoleon/Louisiana corridors. Don’t know if it’s the same thing since the area is farther away, but it definitely seems possible.
Heard those too! Figured they were blown transformers, but this is all so mysterious!
I heard these as well. We live right by Louisiana and St. Charles. I actually saw a flash from upstairs window. Looked like a bright white light. Definitely was not lightning.
I have two eye witnesses who place the bright whitish flash near Amelia St. and St. Charles Avenue, about five stories up in the air. Definitely NOT fireworks, said one; the light was too instantaneous. Yet bright enough to light up buildings 3 blocks away.
I blame Obama
My wife and I used to live near Leake Ave and this is how the trains sounded when they linked and unlinked cars (I think that’s what it was?). Our little house would shake, and it was enough in the middle of the night. Luckily we were raised around trains, so it didn’t really bother us.
I cannot imagine how that sound and feeling could extend so far, though. Maybe people are conflating more than one source?
No, I’m not conflating or exaggerating. And I doubt trains linking and unlinking would illuminate the sky.