Hornets, Prowlers and Growlers Buzz Local Skies

The Navy says it’s probably responsible for loud noise heard in Imperial Beach and Coronado earlier this week.

Cause of the noise was likely a combination of Navy and Marine Corps aviation activity in South Bay, Navy Region Southwest spokeswoman Angelic Dolan said Wednesday.

The loud boom of jet engines could be heard rumbling through the area Monday and Tuesday evening around 10 p.m.

From Oct. 5-9, F-18 Hornets trained to land on the deck of the USS Nimitz, Dolan said.

Prowler and Growler jets that also took part in the carrier qualification training likely account for the loud noises, she said.

Some Marine aviation training has been diverted to Naval Air Station North Island until Sunday to make room for visiting aircraft performing at the MCAS Miramar Air Show.

“There could be traffic over IB as a result,” Dolan said.

Brown Field Municipal Airport may also be used to accommodate the air show, said 1st Lt. Tyler Balzer with MCAS Miramar.

Calls for additional comment about Marine aircraft activity at Brown Field were not returned by the time this story was published.

Between Oct. 12 and Nov. 12, the Nimitz will remain offshore, and some F-18 flights could still land at North Island if necessary.

“If for any reason—like it’s too foggy, and they don't want to land on the carrier—we’re like their second option,” she said.

The increase in activity will not affect helicopter training that regularly takes place at Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach, Dolan said.

Carrier qualifications are standard operations, she said.

"Usually when there's something out of the ordinary is when we like to inform residents, cause I mean it's still an airfield, so there are operations all the time," she said.

Correction: The original version of this story stated that Prowler and Growler planes taking part in carrier qualifications were from the U.S. Marines Corps, however the training was conducted entirely with U.S. Navy sailors.