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Convinced the city of New York was once again under attack from terrorist pilots, thousands of people were hurriedly evacuated from Manhattan buildings this week after a Boeing 747 jumbo airliner was spotted flying low over the Statue of Liberty and heading for the World Trade Center business district.
Sudden low-flying 747 causes Manhattan evacuations. Image: smaedli/Flickr.
ITN reports that, although people spilled en masse into the Manhattan streets as the 747 rumbled ominously towards the city with an F16 fighter jet in close attendance, their fears proved to be unfounded as the flyby was nothing more than a government-approved photo opportunity for a back-up version of presidential airliner Air Force One.
However, the stunt has left New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a state of fury at the government’s failure to provide both his office and the people of New York with adequate warning ahead of time.
Commenting on the impromptu flyby and subsequent false alarm, Mayor Bloomberg said it was, “an inconsiderate, badly conceived and insensitive photo op with taxpayers’ money.”
Along with accusing his own administration and the Defense Department of exercising “poor judgement,” Mayor Bloomberg also placed focused criticism on City Hall for what he called a breakdown in communication.
“Had I known [about the proposed photo op], I would have called them right away and asked them not to [allow it],” he said. “They should know how sensitive people would be if they had low-flying planes around the World Trade Center site.”
White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera, who approved the flyby action, has since apologised for the resulting panic in an official statement, but insisted that steps had been taken to properly notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey of the low-altitude photo opportunity.
A statement issued by the New York Police Department has revealed that advanced notification was indeed received but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had subjected information regarding the flyby to a nondisclosure order.
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