JeeberD
05-15-2003, 02:17 AM
You would think pilots would know better than to do things like that in this day and age... :rolleyes:
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Jet Flies Low Over Manhattan, Putting Some on Ground on Edge (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/15/nyregion/15FAA.html)
By TINA KELLEY
Boeing 777 jet flying near the Statue of Liberty and across Midtown Manhattan yesterday morning to give returning military personnel a closer view prompted numerous calls to the police and to aviation officials, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The incident showed how nerves continue to be frayed after the attack of Sept. 11.
The plane, a chartered Continental Airlines flight, was carrying members of the military home from the Iraqi war, said Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the aviation agency. The plane receieved permission from air traffic controllers in Garden City, N.Y., to change its flight plan to approach Newark Liberty International Airport by heading south down the Hudson River, circling the Statue of Liberty, heading up the East River, and crossing Midtown about 8:30 a.m., she said.
This was done "to provide a special homecoming for members of our armed forces," a statement from the F.A.A. said. Similar requests had been granted to military charters to and from Afghanistan, it said.
The plane flew at approximately 3,000 feet. Other planes routinely go over Manhattan at 3,500 or 4,000 feet, Ms. Salac said.
"The operation was perfectly safe," Ms. Salac said. "Safety was never compromised."
She said the public was not used to seeing a twin-engine, wide-body plane take this particular route.
"It caused a lot of concern among some citizens," she said. Neither the F.A.A. nor the police had a count of how many people had called to report the plane.
"The F.A.A. regrets any negative effects this might have had on New York City residents, and it has also issued an order to local facilities not to grant similar requests in the future," she said.
Neither the F.A.A., the Department of Defense nor Continental Airlines released the number of people on board, or the flight's city of origin.
In a statement released last night, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, "Considering the world we live in and New York City's recent history, one would expect a little more concern, sensitivity and notice from the F.A.A. when they authorized a plane to fly at that altitude over Lower Manhattan."
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Jet Flies Low Over Manhattan, Putting Some on Ground on Edge (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/15/nyregion/15FAA.html)
By TINA KELLEY
Boeing 777 jet flying near the Statue of Liberty and across Midtown Manhattan yesterday morning to give returning military personnel a closer view prompted numerous calls to the police and to aviation officials, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The incident showed how nerves continue to be frayed after the attack of Sept. 11.
The plane, a chartered Continental Airlines flight, was carrying members of the military home from the Iraqi war, said Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the aviation agency. The plane receieved permission from air traffic controllers in Garden City, N.Y., to change its flight plan to approach Newark Liberty International Airport by heading south down the Hudson River, circling the Statue of Liberty, heading up the East River, and crossing Midtown about 8:30 a.m., she said.
This was done "to provide a special homecoming for members of our armed forces," a statement from the F.A.A. said. Similar requests had been granted to military charters to and from Afghanistan, it said.
The plane flew at approximately 3,000 feet. Other planes routinely go over Manhattan at 3,500 or 4,000 feet, Ms. Salac said.
"The operation was perfectly safe," Ms. Salac said. "Safety was never compromised."
She said the public was not used to seeing a twin-engine, wide-body plane take this particular route.
"It caused a lot of concern among some citizens," she said. Neither the F.A.A. nor the police had a count of how many people had called to report the plane.
"The F.A.A. regrets any negative effects this might have had on New York City residents, and it has also issued an order to local facilities not to grant similar requests in the future," she said.
Neither the F.A.A., the Department of Defense nor Continental Airlines released the number of people on board, or the flight's city of origin.
In a statement released last night, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, "Considering the world we live in and New York City's recent history, one would expect a little more concern, sensitivity and notice from the F.A.A. when they authorized a plane to fly at that altitude over Lower Manhattan."