It's fairly uncommon in the States.
What? The US has more military aircraft than Canada has civilian. It is quite common to hear air traffic control conversing with "[Military call sign] plus one", or "plus two, three or four" indicating a lead with others in formation. Midair refuelling is also a common sight, you just have to be watchful.
Not the point? You think that there's no-one left in New York that was there on Sept 11 when the planes hit the buildings? Of course life has to go on, but sometimes things remind people of a moment that brought them sadness, or horror, etc. I don't know if you've lost a loved one 7 or 8 years ago, but I am pretty sure if you had, you wouldn't want to be reminded of how you felt.
It was tragic to be sure, but unfortuantely we have no control over how another feels, only the individual does. If we have to adjust our civilization to be sure we don't offend the sensitivities of others the world certainly will grind to a halt. We simply can't stop aircraft from flying any more than we can stop trains from blowing their whistles at level crossings because it may remind folks out here of the carnage caused by vandals throwing a switch on the tracks derailing a passenger train. Expecting others to adjust their lives so as not to remind me of certain events would be selfish, wouldn't it? Though that is not the same as taking precautions to prevent a repeat occurance though, as long as they are sensible.
And I don't think the newsmedia shows much tact when they blow the issue out of proportion either.
With that I can certainly agree, personally I think this was a tempest in a teapot fed by news agencies on a slow news day. I've seen enough American news to know how they like to sensationalize little or nothing in the name of ratings.
