United Airlines canceled a private flyover in Denver scheduled for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 over unspecified “concerns” from locals.
The flyover was originally slated to include one of the Boeing 777 planes in the air carrier’s fleet and F-16 fighter jets from Buckley Space Force Base near Denver, the city’s Office of Emergency Management said on social media.
On Tuesday, the OEM officials said the flyover would be axed due to “concerns raised by members of the community.”
Officials at the airline said the flyover was meant to be “a meaningful gesture to honor the memory of those lost within the pilot community,” according to The Denver Post.
The flyover was intended to be a private memorial not open to the public, though city emergency officials put the word out about it so people wouldn’t be surprised, according to Denver’s KDVR.
United Airlines was the carrier for two of the four flights hijacked on 9/11.
United Flight 175 hit the south tower of New York’s World Trade Center, and the terrorists on United Flight 93 intended to strike the District of Columbia.
Passengers and crew on the latter flight overpowered the al Qaeda hijackers, causing the plane to crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 78 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
The air carrier says it plans to honor the crew of both flights in memorial events at its flight training center in Denver. Included will be the unveiling of a monument made out of steel recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, according to The New York Times.
In all, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, slaughtered almost 3,000 people.
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