POV: you’re trying to watch a movie and relax on a transatlantic flight when the commercial plane accelerates and you’re suddenly flying faster than the speed of sound.
Nightmare fuel, but that’s what happened to the anxious passengers in this video.
And their terror is evident as screams and shouts were heard as jostled passengers clung to the seats.
READ MORE! Breathtaking one-of-a-kind photo emerges of Concorde breaking Mach 2 barrier
Freak winds in the Atlantic jet stream pushed passenger airplanes to supersonic speeds of over 1,300 km/h (800 mph) over the weekend.
And this video shared by Frankman on X shows what it was really like for passengers.
That’s faster than the speed of sound, meaning the commercial plane hit supersonic speeds without warning.
It’s also similar to the speeds reached by Concorde – Mach 2.04 (2,170 km/h; 1,350 mph) – the first and last commercial plane to break the sound barrier.
One of the commercial planes was a Virgin Atlantic flight from Washington to London.
According to the US National Weather Service, the passenger jet was pushed to nearly 1,300 km/h, which is faster than the speed of sound.
If you’re wondering how, apparently near record-breaking wind over the mid-Atlantic region pushed east-bound commercial plans to supersonic speeds.
“This evening’s weather balloon launch detected the 2nd strongest upper-level wind recorded in local history going back to the mid 20th century,” the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington posted on X.
“Around 34,000-35,000ft, winds peaked around 230 knots (265mph!). For those flying eastbound in this jet, there will be quite a tailwind,” the weather service said.
Apparently, two other aircraft, including one from New Jersey’s Newark Airport to Lisbon, Portugal, reached speeds of 1,344 km/h (835 mph).
But while the planes were pushed to speeds higher than that of sound, they didn’t break the sound barrier.
The reason – they weren’t traveling faster than sound relative to the air around them in the jet stream.
The Atlantic jet stream is a fast and narrow current of air flowing from west to east and encircling the globe.
It’s widely used by planes traveling east from North America to cut down on their travel times and fuel use.
The Atlantic jet stream usually has winds traveling at speeds close to 177 km/h (110 mph) but it’s known to intensify at times, particularly during winter months.
Such jetstream speeds typically help flights traveling toward Europe reach their destinations faster.
However, they’ve been known to cause issues for planes moving in the opposite direction due to turbulence, increasing travel times and fuel consumption.
Now, a new fleet of supersonic jets is making its way to the runways of the future.
NASA’s X-59 will break the sound barrier silently while Stargazer will open up travel from New York to London in just one hour.
