Low-Flying Plane Over Manhattan Was a 'Photo Op'

A jumbo jetliner escorted by military jets flew over Lower Manhattan Monday morning, frightening office workers and causing evacuations in what turned out to be a publicity operation approved by the unit of the Air Force.

At around 10 a.m. EDT, the Boeing 747 was seen flying low over the southern tip of Manhattan and at one point was seen circling the Goldman Sachs Tower in nearby Jersey City, N.J.

The circling plane was part of a "photo op," a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

The low-flying 747 sent workers worried about a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks fleeing their offices in the New York City area.

Traders bolted from the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange after seeing the jets. The exchange, which sits on the east bank of the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan and is blocks from the site of the terrorist-destroyed World Trade Center, didn't order an evacuation.

People trading oil, natural gas and other commodities on the Nymex floor apparently took no chances. A Nymex security official was "literally standing, holding his hands up in a calming gesture. Guys were running right past him," said Pete Donovan, a vice president at Vantage Trading in the crude-futures ring.
But several buildings in the area were ordered evacuated, although workers quickly returned after it became clear that the flyover was a planned event.

In a written statement Monday, the Air Force confirmed that an "aerial photo mission" had been carried out Monday in the area of New York City by the Presidential Airlift Group, which is described on the White House Web site as being part of the White House Military Office and responsible for maintaining and operating Air Force One. The Air Force statement described the mission has having been carried out in coordination with the FAA. The FAA referred additional questions about the matter to the U.S. Air Force.

"This mission, involving the VC-25 and an F-16, was conducted in conjunction with normally scheduled continuation training for assigned aircrew members," the Air Force statement said. "This mission was coordinated for the Upper New York Bay, south of the Holland Tunnel and in the Newark Bay north of the Staten Island Expressway between the hours of 1000L and 1030L."

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the maneuver wasn't an emergency and was coordinated in advance with the FAA and state and local officials.

"They'll do two or three spins and be done by 10:30," Mr. Peters said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates bridges, tunnels and airports in the area, said they had no knowledge of the low-flying plane.