At 10:39am today I received a text message and email from the City of New York’s NotifyNYC alert program saying that: “Planes observed flying over Lower Manhattan were part of an approved federal activity.” I happened to be at a hospital clinic at that moment so I had no idea what that message meant. A little later, I heard that there had been a 747 aircraft flying with two fighter jets near downtown Manhattan as part of a Department of Defense photo shoot. City officials knew about it in advance. However, citizens in the area did not, and there were hundreds of calls to authorities from worried New Yorkers. Below is a WSJ.com video which shows the planes:
Though the City reacted quickly after hearing from the public, I think this is the type of instance where officials should warn citizens in advance both through the news media and utilizing the new text/e-mail alerts such as NotifyNYC.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Military Plane Scare Over New York City Underscores Need To Use Communications Tools To Alert Public In Advance | Security Debrief - a blog of homeland security news and analysis // Apr 28, 2009 at 9:24 am
[...] Military Plane Scare Over New York City Underscores Need To Use Communications Tools To Alert Public… At 10:39am today I received a text message and email from the City of New York’s NotifyNYC alert program saying that: “Planes observed flying over Lower Manhattan were part of an approved federal activity.†I happened to be at a hospital clinic at that moment so I had no idea what that message meant. A little later, I heard that there had been a 747 aircraft flying with two fighter jets near downtown Manhattan as part of a Department of Defense photo shoot. City officials knew about it in advance. However, citizens in the area did not, and there were hundreds of calls to authorities from worried New Yorkers. var addthis_pub = “”;Print this article [...]
2 Harry // Apr 28, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Really – what was that crackhead thinking that authorized something like this? Who in their right mind could actually think this was a good idea? It might have even been easier and cheaper to just photoshop the pics they wanted. Seriously, fighter jet flight time isn’t cheap. I’m surprised we haven’t heard of a 9/11 survivor having a heart attack and dying on the spot from the shock of seeing something like this. I heard Obama flipped out when he heard about this one.
3 Lesson Learned: E-Mail/Text Alert Just Sent Out To Warn New Yorkers “Military Plane Will Fly Down And Back Up Hudson River” Today // May 11, 2009 at 10:17 am
[...] warning comes soon after the White House — and to some extent City officials as well — came under fire for not alerting the public in advance of a photo shoot involving a Air Force One backup plane and some fighter jets. [...]
4 150 Fellow CERT Members & I Play ‘Victims’ In “Operation Safe PATH” Train Bombing Terrorism Drill At World Trade Center Site // May 18, 2009 at 10:30 am
[...] analysis in the weeks to come. Though one lesson was already learned before the drill began: after the Air Force One photo fly-over frightened residents of lower Manhattan, the government agencies involved bought television and radio ads and put up posters in the train [...]
5 NotifyNYC, New York’s Emergency E-Mail/Text/Phone Alert Service, Goes Citywide Today // May 28, 2009 at 7:29 pm
[...] Brooklyn this afternoon. In an interview, Skyler pointed to last month’s incident when a 747 aircraft and two fighter jets flew over lower Manhattan scaring many area residents as an example of the value of these alerts. In that instance, the U.S. [...]
6 Postcard From This Weekend’s “CrisisCamp”: No Swimming, Hiking Or S’Mores, But Progress On Improving Emergency Preparedness/Response…And A Lot Of Fun Too // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:10 pm
[...] how much there is still to know. (For example, I have been a big advocate of the role of personal technology and social media in emergency preparedness and response, but I am myself very much a tech neophyte [...]
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