Denver warns residents: A passenger jet escorted by fighter jets will fly over the city on 9/11

If you look up at the Denver sky on Friday (Sept. 11) morning and see a Boeing 777 flanked by fighter jets, do not panic. It’s planned. It’s a tribute. And the city really, really wants you to know about it before it happens, because the optics of a passenger plane being escorted by military aircraft on September 11 are a lot.

United Airlines is conducting a 9/11 memorial flyover on Friday at 9:03 a.m., the exact moment terrorists flew United Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center 25 years ago. The display will feature a Boeing 777 accompanied by F-16 fighter aircraft flying over the city as part of a private remembrance ceremony for United employees. United spokesman Russ Carlton told 9NEWS the flyover was planned at the request of United leadership in Denver, where the airline has its hub and training center. It is not open to the public.

Denver is not taking any chances with public reaction. The Denver Office of Emergency Management has been scrambling to get the word out, briefing 911 dispatchers, Denver Police, Denver Fire, EMS, the City of Aurora and the State of Colorado “so nobody got blindsided,” according to OEM’s Vanessa Esquilin-Garcia. Denver Parks and Rec staff have also been notified in case people start gathering in open spaces to watch. When asked by 9NEWS if United had considered how the public might react to seeing a passenger plane escorted by fighter jets on the anniversary of 9/11, Carlton said the ceremony is for United employees and personnel.

So if you’re in Denver on Thursday morning and hear jets, or see something in the sky that makes your heart skip, take a breath. It’s a tribute, not an emergency. But it’s also a reminder that some images carry a weight that 25 years hasn’t lessened.