Flyover jangles nerves

Dozens of people fled one floor of the Prudential Center. Switchboards jangled at city and suburban police stations -- where dispatchers had no information to calm callers' fears.

Five propeller planes preparing for an air show this weekend made three low-altitude circles over Boston and Logan International Airport late yesterday morning, releasing occasional streams of smoke and triggering post-9/11 jitters among many who caught sight of the formation.

The flyover came on a day when coverage of the Sept. 11 Commission kept the 2001 terrorist attacks on television stations and the front pages of newspapers. During yesterday's 20-minute event, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said, the colorful planes flew at a constant altitude of 1,500 feet -- about twice the height of the Prudential building.

Workers in the building said about 50 people emptied out of the 23d floor and 100 gathered outside after the planes flew by. A Winthrop resident called Logan International Airport to report several planes ''on fire" in the sky, a Massachusetts Port Authority firefighter said.

''Give me the name of the person who sanctioned this so I can become a crazy person and call them four times a day and demand an explanation," said a worker in the Prudential who asked not to be identified.

''We're all still on edge. We don't need this."

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the flights were made so a photographer could shoot promotional photos for the weekend air show, which is sponsored by the Rhode Island National Guard.

''The intent was to photograph the four aircraft with the city of Boston behind them," he said.

Peters said the planes had permission to cruise low through the area, but many local public safety agencies, including Boston police and Massport, which runs Logan Airport, said they received no prior notification of the 11 a.m. flyover.

''We followed the planes around the building," said the worker at the Prudential. ''You don't see a lot of planes, period, let alone five planes in a group. It was terrible. What do you do?"

Peters said the planes received FAA permission about three hours before flying over Boston yesterday, and that they caused no delays at Logan Airport.

Still, Boston police said they had to call Logan's control tower to get information about the flyover.

One of the pilots, Brian Norris of Salinas, Calif., said he and the others were in constant contact with air traffic control during the flight.

''We do this because we're aware of how sensitive things are since Sept. 11," Norris said. ''But any time we do it, we know somebody's going to get a phone call."

The flyover was not without security considerations. At one point, Peters said, the Logan control tower asked the planes to avoid flying over a docked tanker transporting liquid natural gas.

Peters said it was the third time in three years that FAA air traffic controllers approved a flyover for similar air show photos. He said a mix of civilian pilots associated with the air show flew with an Associated Press photographer.