A Boeing 747 used by the president was escorted over lower Manhattan by an Air Force fighter jet Monday as part of a government photo opportunity and training mission, causing a brief panic among office workers near ground zero.

Workers from several office buildings in New Jersey and New York poured out onto the streets before they learned that the flights were innocuous.

"The FAA and the presidential airlift group conducted an aerial photo mission" and training for crew members of the president's flying fleet, said Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Angela Webb. She declined to release any other information about the nature of thephotos being taken.

She said the flight involved a VC-25, a Defense Department version of the 747 that is called Air Force One when the president is aboard, and an Air Force F-16 jet fighter. They flew over the upper New York Bay and Newark Bay between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Many Jersey City workers said following the horror of Sept. 11, the flyover was simply irresponsible.

"To make people panic and potentially cause loss of life with people going downstairs and people like me with a heart condition ? not a fun exercise," said Andrew Sermon, of Jersey City.

The head of the White House's Military Office apologized Monday afternoon for the Air Force One flight.

AP wire services were used in this report.