Visitors to the White House had an early Halloween scare when Air Force One flew dangerously low and close to the landmark.
The startling moment was shown in a video shared by the Trump administration, showing the jet sails past the Washington Monument as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump watch.
In the clip, Trump can be seen waving gently as the jet approaches the White House.
However, the apparent low altitude of the jet left some people in the city feeling anxious. Washington D.C. is closely tied to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, after terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.
“I’m used to flyovers in DC but this one scared me,” one X user wrote. “Seeing a passenger jet flying low overhead here would be quite a bad sign! Took a sec to realize what it was.”
One user said: “Definitely didn’t see this before just watching Air Force One fly right over us super low and having a mini heart attack along with everyone else on the street.”
According to flight data reviewed by The Washington Post, the jet had an altitude of between 400 feet and 1,000 feet while sailing over Washington, D.C. Federal guideline for military flyovers, such as those at sporting events, require aircraft to stay at least 1,000 feet above the landmark.
According to flight data reviewed by The Post, the jet flew over the White House twice during the Halloween event.
DC officials also blasted the move.
“This flyover provided just fifteen minutes' notice to anyone in downtown DC, at the Pentagon, or at National Airport. It startled many, including us,” a spokesperson for the Council of DC wrote on X.
In a clip shared by the White House’s Rapid Response 47 account, various children can be seen looking upwards as the plane soars over the White House. In the footage, the presidential building has been decorated with vines and sports a sign reading: “HALLOWEEN 2026.”
At around 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, Trump informed members of the White House press pool that the jet would be flying over the White House.
“We have a tremendous number of young children there, so it'll be nice,” he said. “It'll be a lot of fun. So hopefully you'll be there.”
Less than an hour later, a statement notifying locals that the flyover would be taking place went out at 5.24 p.m. on the AlertDC account on X.
“How many more fly-bys is he doing?” a pilot asked at around 5.49 p.m., in a recording reviewed by the Post and originally posted to ATC.com.
“Hopefully that’s the last,” another pilot can be heard responding.
The first lady’s office later shared footage of the event on Instagram, in which Melania and the commander-in-chief can be seen handing out candy to children.
In the video, the groups of children are dressed as everything from the founding fathers to superheroes such as Batman.
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