It seems the White House thought it was a really fun idea to evoke the horror of 9/11 for Halloween.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump pulled an incredibly dangerous stunt for an incredibly silly reason. During a White House Halloween event on Thursday, the aircraft known as Air Force One, when the president is aboard, executed horrifyingly low flyovers... clearly meant to impress children.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump watch as the presidential aircraft, known as Air Force One when the president is on board, flies over during a Halloween party at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 29, 2026.

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“An epic Air Force One flyover at the White House for the trick-or-treaters!” the White House’s Rapid Response 47 X account wrote in the caption of one video in which the plane is flying next to the Washington monument.

The $400 million Boeing 747-8 luxury jet gifted by the Qatari royal family flies past the Washington Monument during its flyover Thursday.

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“JUST NOW: Air Force One makes a special Halloween flyover at the White House! 🎃✈️” read the caption of the unsettling footage.

A shot of Air Force One flying over the White House Thursday.

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The plane — which was the $400 million Boeing 747-8 luxury jet gifted by the Qatari royal family, journalist Danny Kemp pointed out — flew over the White House not once but twice, according to flight data reviewed by The Washington Post. The outlet also reports that the aircraft flew between about 400 feet and about 1,000 feet. For context, the Federal Aviation Administration’s guide to low-flying aircraft states that a “minimum safe altitude” for planes flying over “any congested area of a city, town, or settlement” is “1,000 feet above the highest obstacle.”

An FAA spokesperson told The Post that the stunt was coordinated with the agency, but it seems some pilots found it annoying.

“How many more fly-bys is he doing?” a pilot asked in a recording reviewed by the Post and originally posted to ATC.com. “Hopefully that’s the last,” another pilot can be heard responding.

To make the antic even more perplexing, the White House only gave 15 minutes’ notice about the flyovers “to anyone in downtown DC, at the Pentagon, or at National Airport,” according to the Council of DC X account.

“It startled many, including us,” the account added.

Considering that Washington, D.C., was attacked during the tragic Sept. 11, 2001 attacks — when a plane crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people — the flyovers rattled some D.C. residents, with a few taking to X to express their anxiety.