Air Force One Photo Opp Triggers Panic in Manhattan

[tekisui]

Source: ABC News

A photo shoot involving a 747 used as Air Force One and two fighter jets flying at low altitude led to hundreds of frightened calls from residents and workers in Lower Manhattan this morning, triggering memories of 9-11 as many evacuated their offices. The president was not aboard.

Although the shoot was authorized, the normal system of public notification broke down, multiple officials said.

"It scared a couple of million people," one airport official said.

According to officials, the flight -- authorized by the FAA -- came in as low as 1000 feet to 150 feet above the city as it made a large circle over Manhattan, Staten Island, and New Jersey. The plane used was the back up presidential plane. Self-evacuations of buildings in lower Manhattan and New Jersey, including the New York Mercantile Exchange, took place during the fly over. According to multiple agencies, they were notified of the flyover last week, however the general public was not notified. The Defense Department conducted the photo opportunity over the Hudson River. The planes flew over Lower Manhattan and in the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty during a 15 minute, pre-planned flight.

Local authorities were told not to disclose information about this morning's flyover, the New York City Police Department said in a statement.

more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7439287&page=1
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Weird.