DoD Photo Op Panics New Yorkers

It's hard to believe what occurred in New York City this morning, but amazingly the Department of Defense set up a photo shoot that had planes flying low and buzzing by the Statue of Liberty.

Naturally, the public wasn't told about this in advance, although the mayor's office knew about it.

Nothing like completely freaking people out.

Some military aircraft flying over lower Manhattan caused a brief scare for residents, workers, and pedestrians on Monday, but CBS 2 has learned the jets were part of a Department of Defense photo shoot and that there is no threat to the city.

According to many callers who flooded CBS 2 with their concerns, at about 10 a.m. the aircraft were seen flying at low altitudes over the Statue of Liberty and parts of lower Manhattan. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that two F-16s escorting a Boeing 747 that beared a similar appearance to Air Force One were part of the Department of Defense photo shoot.

This is completely irresponsible and to not warn people in advance is obscene. You have people panicking and fleeing highrises. What happens is people get hurt in a stampede?

Just ridiculous.