On the released 911 recording, a caller in Jersey City tells a dispatcher that an aircraft appears to be flying into a building. People have run outside, the caller reports. The call was among those that flooded the Hudson County 911 center after planes passed low over the area on April 27, 2009. The county made the recordings public the following day, and the exchange can be heard here.
Released Hudson County 911 recordings from the April 27, 2009, flyover.
The larger aircraft was a Boeing 747 used as a backup Air Force One. An Air Force F-16 fighter jet followed it over Lower Manhattan. Workers left buildings as the planes passed, including the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Lower Manhattan offices of the Wall Street Journal. Emergency lines received calls from both sides of the Hudson River.
The planes were taking part in a Defense Department photo shoot to produce updated official file images of the presidential aircraft. Most city officials had received no advance notice, and neither had the public. For those who saw or heard the low flight near Ground Zero, the scene brought back memories of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it authorized the flight in the area of the Statue of Liberty. The agency also said local law enforcement had been instructed not to release information about the operation to the public. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the flyover as "ill-conceived" and called it a waste of taxpayer money. President Barack Obama said the episode made him furious and directed that the approval process be reviewed.
The Air Force subsequently put the mission's cost at $328,835, including expenses for fuel, personnel and maintenance. Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, approved the flight. He apologized publicly for the panic that followed and resigned on May 8, 2009.
