United Airlines has canceled a planned Boeing 777 flyover with F-16 fighter escorts in Denver after community concerns about the tribute marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Denver’s Office of Emergency Management confirmed the cancellation on September 9, 2026, two days before the anniversary. United said other remembrance events would go ahead.
The airline told People that the flyover was intended as “a meaningful gesture to honor the memory of those lost within the pilot community,” but it suspended the plans following public feedback.
The proposed formation would have included a United 777 and four Colorado Air National Guard F-16s flying over the airline’s Denver Flight Training Center during a private employee memorial.
City officials had issued advance notice to prepare residents for the sightings and sound of the aircraft. Emergency dispatchers were also preparing for calls from people who might mistake the formation for an emergency.
Other memorial events will continue
United plans to unveil a monument at its training center made from steel recovered from the World Trade Center in New York. Standing 9 feet, 11 inches tall, it will honor the crews of United Flights 175 and 93.
United and American Airlines employees also plan to observe moments of silence at Denver International Airport.
Both airlines lost two aircraft in the September 11, 2001, attacks. Hijackers flew American Flight 11 into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, United Flight 175 into the South Tower and American Flight 77 into the Pentagon.
United Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.