F-16, Boeing 747 Stir Fear in 9-11 Shell Shocked New Yorkers

By Alicia Cruz
Senior writer
theblackurbantimes
The sound and sight stirred up old fears from 9-11 in lower Manhattan workers as an F-16 fighter jet and Boeing 747 zoomed over head in a flash early this morning.
Financial workers and other employees fled from buildings, fearing a repeat of September 11, 2001.
The fighter jet and Boeing circled Lady Liberty, Ground Zero and lower Manhattan for a half-hour as offices continued to evacuate frightened workers.
The New York City 911 call center was inundated with calls from frantic New Yorkers. Television news footage shows that the planes were flying dangerously low, but reports state that the flyover was nothing but a photo opportunity.
Mayor Bloomberg's office reported knowing nothing about the photo opportunity that placed the White House on high alert and infuriated Law Enforcement officials. Mayor Bloomberg issued a statement earlier in the day calling the incident "insensitive" as they were flying so close to the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and added, "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies the imagination," Bloomberg said. "Poor judgment would be a nice ways to phrase it. ... Had I known about it, I would have called them right away and asked them not to."
The director of the White House military office, Louis Caldera, took the blame a few hours later. One of the planes was a 747 that is called Air Force One when used by the president.
"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."
When told of the flight, President Barack Obama was "furious," a White House official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
An administration official who requested anonymity said the purpose of the photo op was to update file photos of the president’s plane near the Lady Liberty. The official said the White House military office told the Federal Aviation Administration that it was updating file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks, such as Lady Liberty and the Grand Canyon.
Paul Browne an NYPD spokesman said typically a flight like this would be publicized to avoid causing a panic, but they were under orders not to in this case. They regularly get requests for flyovers, but without secrecy restrictions.