Hawk-eyed New Yorkers spotted military planes and helicopters over Manhattan Tuesday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that the U.S. military was conducting authorized flights over New York City with coordination of the federal body.
The exact cause of the flight wasn’t immediately clear.
Dozens of people took to Twitter and Instagram to post pictures and videos of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and what appeared to be two Blackhawk helicopters buzzing over midtown.
“Why is this giant military plane flying over midtown (along with 2 helicopters)? Circling nearish Trump Towers,” said one Instagrammer.
The flights by an HC-130 search-and-rescue aircraft and two HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters were part of a “routine training mission,” Eric Durr, a spokesman for the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, said in an interview on Tuesday.
The flights originated from the 106th Rescue Wing at the Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach on Long Island, Mr. Durr said.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft were “conducting authorized flights over New York City in coordination with F.A.A. air-traffic control.”
Mr. Durr said that the training flights take place regularly, but he could not immediately say when the last ones happened over the city.
The flights led some to speculate that they had something to do with the presence of Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan, the residence of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
