United has canceled a planned 9/11 memorial aircraft flyover in Denver that would have seen a Boeing 777 flanked by fighter jets.
The carrier confirmed to AirlineGeeks that the flyover – originally scheduled for Friday morning at the same time as United-organized commemorative events at Denver International Airport and United’s Flight Training Center – will not take place.
“As part of these events, the airline had also planned an aircraft 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 airline said in a statement.
The Denver Office of Emergency Management had advised the public earlier this week of the planned flyover, in part to avert panic.
According to the OEM, the flyover would have featured a 777 accompanied by F-16s from Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora. The aircraft would have become visible to much of Denver around 9:03 a.m., and would be louder and more noticeable than typical passenger jets flying overhead.
“There is no emergency,” the office said. “This is a planned memorial event. Join us in taking a moment to remember and honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001.”
On Wednesday, the OEM said the flyover was called off “following concerns raised by members of the community.”
“There will be no aircraft flyover associated with the memorial events on Friday, Sept. 11,” it said.
Denver officials did not describe the nature of the concerns raised by community members, but numerous comments left on the OEM’s Facebook page suggested the sight of a commercial aircraft flanked by fighter jets on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 could be highly upsetting to some. Other commenters defended the flyover and said they originally planned to stand outside their homes and workplaces to watch it.
Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, told KUSA that the city was doing what it could to make sure the flyover did not come as a surprise to residents. He confirmed that the mayor’s office was not consulted ahead of time.
“We were informed by United they were doing this, not asked,” Ewing said.
Other parts of the city government were joining in the effort to notify residents of the flyover before it was canceled. KUSA reported that officials had planned to place a banner on Denver’s municipal website to help get the word out.
United said it expects hundreds of employees to attend its memorial events at Denver International and the Flight Training Center.
At the training complex, United will unveil a monument built of steel recovered from the World Trade Center to honor the crews of United Flight 175 and Flight 93. Flight 175 was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the South Tower of the WTC; Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, following a struggle between hijackers and passengers.
