Midtown Helicopter Flyover Planned Friday: NYPD, Feds Tight-Lipped

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Don't say you weren't warned this time. After a military plane circling Midtown Manhattan in December caused New Yorkers to panic, the NYPD is making an effort to let people know that a helicopter will by flying over Midtown at low altitudes on Friday.

But don't expect much more information.

The NYPD and the Federal Aviation Administration were both tight-lipped when Patch asked why a black piston helicopter will be flying over Midtown, sometimes as low as 500 feet, for about two hours Friday. The flyover is set to begin at 10 a.m. when the aircraft flies out of New Jersey's Teterboro Airport to make three stops in Manhatan.

The helicopter will be flying in the vicinity of 59th Street, 50th Street and 11th Avenue before leaving Manhattan south over the Hudson River around noon, police said. Police referred a follow up question about more specific locations to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA told Patch they could only confirm that the flyover was approved by the agency.

A mysterious December flyover of Midtown Manhattan caused a stir when New Yorkers noticed military aircraft hovering at low altitudes. At the time the Air National Guard insisted the flyover was "routine training flight," CBS news radio reporter, but Alex Silverman said a government source told him the military aircrafts were "involved in a Secret Service protective operation... coordinated with the FAA."

NYC Emergency Management, the agency that sends out alerts to New Yorkers whenever there's a potentially alarming event (such as a military flyover) on the horizon, "did not have any information about this flyover before it happened," spokeswoman Nancy Silvestri told Patch in December.

Should Friday's flyover cause a similar panic, this article will be updated.

Photo by Ed Schipul via Flickr/Creative Commons