United Airlines officials canceled a planned flyover of a passenger jet escorted by a squadron of F-16s over Denver for a private 9/11 memorial after “concerns in the community,” the company said Wednesday.
Denver emergency management officials published a notice about the flyover earlier this week to let residents know the event may be “highly visible from parts of Denver, noticeable by sounds, more noticeable than a typical aircraft event, (and) brief, but surprising if you aren’t aware it’s planned.”
“There is no emergency. This is a planned memorial event,” city officials said in the alert. “The flyover is intended to honor and remember the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.”
The flyover was set to start at 8:15 a.m., when a United Boeing 777 would leave Denver International Airport and be joined by a 120th Fighter Squadron from Buckley Space Force Base before flying over United flight training center in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood.
United officials said the company had planned the flyover, “a meaningful gesture to honor the memory of those lost within the pilot community, but will suspend those plans due to concerns in the community and instead carry on with the other events of the day.”
The company did not elaborate on those concerns and a United spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Colorado National Guard officials did not respond to a request for comment about the 120th Fighter Squadron’s participation. Military officials , including F-16s, to respond to the attacks the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
City leaders decided to notify Denverites about the flyover after United Airlines informed Denver officials about the plan, said Jon Ewing, spokesperson for Mayor Mike Johnston’s office.
“We understood it as a means of honoring the victims of 9/11, first responders, pilots and the aviation community, but we also understood there could be significant concerns or surprise from the public,” Ewing said.
The community response to the planned flyover was mixed, with some who thought it was a good idea to honor victims while others said it would be concerning, Ewing said. Ultimately, the decision to cancel was United’s, he added.
“Whether you think this was a good idea or a bad idea, I don’t think you can deny that OEM got the word out,” he said.
United’s memorial service commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks is not open to the public, airline officials said.
United, American Airlines and other airport employees will pause for a moment of silence at DIA at 9:03 a.m., which is when hit the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. American Airlines Flight 11 had crashed into the north tower 17 minutes earlier, and Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.
The airline on Friday is unveiling a monument at the Denver flight training center made from steel recovered from the World Trade Center to honor crew from Flight 175 and , which terrorists had planned to use to attack Washington, D.C., until passengers and crew overpowered them and crashed the plane in a field in Pennsylvania instead.
