28 Apr 2009 – Reminders of 9/11

NEW YORK (CNN): A White House official apologized Monday after a low-flying Boeing 747 spotted above the Manhattan skyline frightened workers and residents into evacuating buildings.

The aircraft was a White House plane taking part in a classified, government-sanctioned photo shoot, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN.

‘Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision,’ said Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office. ‘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.’

Witnesses reported seeing the plane circle over the Upper New York Bay near the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River. It was accompanied by two F-16s. The incident outraged many New Yorkers, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A picture is worth 1,000 words, but it uses up 3,000 times the memory –