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Sightings of fighter jets over New Jersey and New York lit up social media Monday afternoon.
U.S. military jets chased at least three small planes that violated restricted airspace over the United Nations and had to be escorted away.
A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command says there were at least three incidents within about 90 minutes Monday afternoon, triggering calls and chatter on social media.
The spokesman, John Cornelio, said F-16 fighters intercepted all three small planes and escorted them away to area airports where they were met and checked by law enforcement. He said there appeared to be no terrorism concerns.
In the New Jersey incident, the plane was flying in New Jersey airspace approximately 20 miles south of New York City, according to a law enforcement official. The F-16 jets escorted the plane to Monmouth Executive Airport, where it landed without incident.
Witnesses tweeted, "Fighter jet over Monmouth County... holy loud!" and "How about that fighter jet joy riding above lincroft" (see Storify below).
Local
A swath of airspace around New York City has been restricted due to the ongoing United Nations General Assembly, which President Barack Obama is attending.
Jonathan Dienst contributed to this report.
