Air Force Jets Over Manhattan Spark Panic

People evacuated from office buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City after a commercial-sized jet was seen circling the city with two fighter jets following it.

It turns out, the planes were part of a planned photo shoot by the military involving the presidential plane. Shortly after the incident, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said he had no information about the flight, but by Monday evening, the head of the White House Military Office apologized for the flight.

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The FAA said planes circling Lower Manhattan were part of "photo op." Spokesman Jim Peters told the Wall Street Journal that the Defense Department was conducting a photo shoot that involved two F-16s escorting a Boeing 747 in the vicinity of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. He said the maneuver is not an emergency and was coordinated in advance with the FAA and state and local officials. But the Port Authority told the WSJ that it was not notified of the event.

New York City Michael Bloomberg was not notified of the shoot beforehand and said he would have tried to stop it if he had known.

Officials say the Boeing 747 is used by President Barack Obama and called Air Force One when he's aboard.

A man emailed MyFoxNY.com saying his wife and her co-workers at Goldman Sachs in Jersey City were evacuated because of the planes.

Another Web site viewer had emailed MyFoxNY.com that they has seen a flight being escorted by a fighter jet from the window of their Staten Island home.

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>LETTER FROM A NYC COUNCIL MEMBER TO THE FAA

Lynne A. Osmus

Acting Administrator

Federal Aviation Administration

800 Independence Avenue Southwest

Room 1010

Washington D.C. 20591

Dear Ms. Osmus:

New Yorkers were surprised to see a low-flying aircraft trailed by two fighter planes near lower Manhattan this morning, and even more surprised to hear that it had been authorized by the FAA.

This aerial mission which took place without any prior notice to most New Yorkers caused unnecessary fear, and forced thousands to evacuate their buildings in both New York and New Jersey. In light of the heightened sensitivity to low-flying commercial planes in the New York City area, we would expect that the FAA would not allow military aircraft to accompany what appeared to be a commercial jet unless there was a pressing military need.

To the contrary, the mission has been described alternately as a "photo op" and an "aerial photo mission," neither of which would have prevented advance notice to the public. It is our further understanding that The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates our bridges, tunnels and airports, also had no advance knowledge of the mission.

Because they were caught off guard, workers at the New York Mercantile Exchange, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and other institutions evacuated their buildings, and hundreds of others called 911 when they saw the low-flying plane. Thousands of people filled the streets in lower Manhattan, fearing the worst. If we had had advance warning, we could have advised our constituents not to be alarmed, and minimized the high level of concern that existed this morning.

We understand that there is a need to conduct military activity and even, under some circumstances, near lower Manhattan. However, this does not appear to have been a serious military exercise that would have required a "need to know" classification. Additionally, if this was indeed an aerial photo mission, why you would approve such an exercise for a Monday morning defies reason.

We ask that you urgently advise New Yorkers of the purpose of this exercise, why it needed to be undertaken in New York, and without any public notice. We also ask that you commit to considerable public advance warning before undertaking similar activities in the future.

Sincerely yours,

Daniel R. Garodnick