The White House apologized late Monday for triggering panic among New Yorkers when a Boeing 747 that serves as the president's plane flew near skyscrapers with fighter jets on its tail. The flyover, which the Federal Aviation Administration ordered New York Police officials to keep secret, was done to take new photos of Air Force One.

Buildings were evacuated earlier the same day as fear gripped New York, the site of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, and the plane used as Air Force One flew around Manhattan trailed by two F-16 jets.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told CNN he was "furious" and added, "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center defies the imagination."

The state police department issued a statement, according to FOX, saying, "The flight of a VC-25 aircraft and F-16 fighters this morning was authorized by the FAA for the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it but to direct any inquiries to the FAA Air Traffic Security Coordinator."

Later, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) criticized the FAA, saying the agency must be "more diligent in coordinating with local officials."

She added, "For thousands of New Yorkers, the site of the airplane overhead brought back horrible memories of the 9/11 tragedy. We must be much more careful in the future to recognize the impact of aircraft in no fly zones around New York City."

The White House initially had no comment about the incident. Press secretary Robert Gibbs said during a press briefing he would "discuss" the flyover with the White House Military Office because "I have no information on this other than what I saw."

The director of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera, later issued an apology through Gibbs' office. But not after President Barack Obama reportedly became "furious" when he was informed about what had happened.

"Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."