Low flying plane kickstarts car alarms?

This may be entirely coincidental, but I and some other bystandards noted it, so I submit it to ATSers for their opinions.

Could a low-flying military jet be responsible for a brief outbreak of car alarms in my area?

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 14., 3:15ish.

WHERE: Duluth, Ga. Costco parking lot.

WHAT:

I was gassing my car up at the station when a car somewhere in the Costco parking lot began to bare its repeated horn alarm. Annoying, but nothing unusual. Then in short order (within a minute) another few cars did the same thing, scattered throughout the lot. This was followed by another half dozen car alarms going off in the lot connected to Costco and used by Dave & Busters.

In all I would say I certainly heard more than a dozen car alarms go off at the same time.

As you can imagine, that roused my attention. I scanned the parking lot to see what was going on, noticed one guy turn his off. Saw other people looking, curious. Then, catching movement above me, I noticed a very huge plane flying relatively low for the area, drifting slowly above us.

A guy at a gas stall next to me was also looking up at the plane, kinda smiled at me knowingly and said, "Makes you wonder, huh?"

Now, was the plane military? I think so, because it didn't fit the typical 747s I'm used to seeing. And since I've lived here most of my life, I'm quite familiar with the typical flight paths airplanes take on approach to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. This plane was heading on a northerly route and very low (est. maybe 5,000 to 6,000 ft). Typically planes going to Hartsfield fly from east to west and are still topping 10,000 ft.

The body of the aircraft kinda bulged at the center, its wings were definitely thicker than a typical 747's and more swept back, and the tail seemed to have an indention below the small tail wings. Can anyone identifiy this aircraft based on that amateur description?

Better yet, any ATSers in the same area at the same time, or has anyone experienced or heard about aircraft maybe inadvertantly causing car alarms to set off?

Again, this may be entirely coincidental, but you never know.

Fellow ATL on the ATS!

Lately up around the lake there are tons of low flying helicopters and planes which, to me, seem and sound military. It may just be because of the water problems at the lake but some of the incidences have been as late/early as 3:00 am.

On Thursday, around 12:00pm I saw a HUGE low-flying plane. Really - it was mind-boggling that it could stay in the air at all... it was so low and slow. It flew right over the dam. It had to be military by the fat, stubby shape of it.

About the alarms, who knows? Possibly the plane but also what about an earthquake? Very small in scale of course or vibrations from equipment or the plane engine itself? Also, cellphones can effect car radios so why not car alarms too?

[edit on 15/10/2007 by kosmicjack]

BTW

Did you see the big article in the AJC about the looming water crisis? Lake Lanier out of water in 2 to 4 months, yet the Army Corps of Engineers keeps releasing 33,000 gallons per minute. There's your damn conspiracy right there. They are forcing us into a water crisis of unimaginable proportions, effecting 4 million people and right at the height of the cold and flu season.

F the Corp of Engineers! There are not even drought conditions further down stream.

Sorry to derail your thread.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
Fellow ATL on the ATS!

Lately up around the lake there are tons of low flying helicopters and planes which, to me, seem andand sound military. It may just be because of the water problems at the lake but some of the incidences have been as late/early as 3:00 am.

On Thursday, around 12:00pm I saw a HUGE low-flying plane. Really - it was mind-boggling that it could stay in the air at all... it was so low and slow. It flew right over the dam. It had to be military by the fat, stubby shape of it.

About the alarms, who knows? Possibly the plane but also what about an earthquake? Very small in scale of course or vibrations from equipment or the plane engine itself? Also, cellphones can effect car radios so why not car alarms too?

Hey Fellow local ATSer. When you mention the "lake," I'm assuming you mean Lake Lanier.

That being said, you know, your mention of a really low flying plane struck my memory. I saw one of those -- incredibly huge and incredibly low -- two weeks ago from my high-rise office. It was flying toward the airport, so I assume it was a commuter jet, but it was very low and very slow.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
BTW

Did you see the big article in the AJC about the looming water crisis? Lake Lanier out of water in 2 to 4 months, yet the Army Corps of Engineers keeps releasing 33,000 gallons per minute. There's your damn conspiracy right there. They are forcing us into a water crisis of unimaginable proportions, effecting 4 million people and right at the height of the cold and flu season.

F the Corp of Engineers! There are not even drought conditions further down stream.

Sorry to derail your thread.

Yes, I'm very familiar with the situation. The Corps of Engineers are kinda like a cabal of extreme eggheads who will stand by an established formula no matter what damning circumstances there are around them. Being a former reporter, I can't tell you how many stories I wrote about builders or developers getting into tiffs with the corps over some finding on their part or not.

As for the releasing of water, I hear Sonny Perdue is going to file an injunction against them to stop it -- although that's a long shot since the dam is run by the Federal government.

There is a North-bound turboprop that flies over Scarborough Ontario almost daily... it's a distinctive engine sound - can't miss it. I have noticed car-alarms actuating roughly coincident with it's passage. I never clued in till your thread tho'. Thanx... always seem to "dial-out" car alarms - even tho' they are exceedingly annoying for some... I notice them less as time passes. I'll try and snag a pic on the next overflight - it's overcast today. It usually passes over between 4-ish Eastern and about 7PM. I think it's headed towards Buttonville north of Toronto.

Cheers,

Vic

Did it look anything like this?



That's the new Airbus 380. Apparently the first one is being delivered to Singapore Airlines today. I don't think it would have been in GA yesterday, but who knows maybe it stopped in Atlanta.

Out here in the Toularosa Basin, home of the stealth, trinity site and a lot of other neato secret projects, we have had a very large increase in air activity from Holloman AFB. Nothing really low flying but, I can imagine if they fly low enough and the sounds waves rattle the ground enough then yeah, car alarms could go off...... who knows. My car goes off everytime there is a sonic boom from a plane breaking the sound barrier.

Originally posted by mythatsabigprobe
Did it look anything like this?



That's the new Airbus 380. Apparently the first one is being delivered to Singapore Airlines today. I don't think it would have been in GA yesterday, but who knows maybe it stopped in Atlanta.

Thanks bigprobe.

No, that's not it. Wings were more swept back, and while the notch on the tail was similar, the tailfin had smaller wings attached to it.

Originally posted by Timmyboi23
Out here in the Toularosa Basin, home of the stealth, trinity site and a lot of other neato secret projects, we have had a very large increase in air activity from Holloman AFB. Nothing really low flying but, I can imagine if they fly low enough and the sounds waves rattle the ground enough then yeah, car alarms could go off...... who knows. My car goes off everytime there is a sonic boom from a plane breaking the sound barrier.

Maybe there's a little confusion, because I have considered vibrations as the reason.

The plane was low, but not that low to emit any major vibrations from its jet engines (and it was jet engines, not turboprop).

Secondly, I'm no car alarm expert, but the alarms that went off, now that I think about it, were all those repeating horns and not the usual car alarm. I'm not sure if the systems are connected or even activated in the same way. For instance, my car has a panic button that if you hold it down for a minute, will initiate the car horn. My car didn't go off though.

hi there behindthescenes

here in the UK at the begining of the year there were several cases of car alarms and garage doors being affected by a low flying plane....
it turned out to be a malfunctioning AWACS plane that was flying over.

there was a MOD enquiry into it. i wil try to find the original BBC article on it.

cheers

snoopyuk

Most car alarms work by vibration sensor along with door switches etc. The vibration sensor is just a flappy piece of metal that will make contact if caused to vibrate enough.
A plane flying low enough could cause subsonic vibrations (that you wouldn't neccessarily feel) that would cause the sensor to make contact. Since you said that the alarms came on not all at once, so I will assume staggered, which is indicative of a traveling wave.

Now if they had all gone off all at once....