Low-flying jumbo scares high-rise New York workers

(AP Photo/Jason McLane)

Workers near the site of the 9/11 attacks had a major scare today when they spotted a low-flying jumbo jet escorted by two US fighters.

Hundreds ran from the New York Mercantile Exchange Building, just a few blocks away from the former World Trade Centre site.

About 1,000 workers gathered along the Hudson River until a security officer announced it had been a planned exercise. And that exercise had been planned by the US military.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the government had been conducting a military photo opportunity involving two Air Force F-16 jets and the 747. It said it notified city law enforcement about the mission.

John Leitner, a floor trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange Building, said workers received no official prior announcement about the exercise. He said everyone panicked when they saw the low-flying planes around 10 a.m. and began running out of the building.