CHARDON, Ohio -- A mysterious plane flying low, dipping its wings and circling over Geauga County Thursday sent an emotional wave through a Chardon community.

NewsChannel5's Leon Bibb reported that the jet circled low enough to prompt fearful thoughts of the terrorists' attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"(It was) low enough to make you think (that) if it would tip, the wings would hit the roof of the house," one Chardon resident said.

"Everybody was nerved up," said another resident. "Everybody in the neighborhood was out."

At 10 a.m., firefighters saw the plane circle for about 30 minutes, but they did not know why.

"(It was at) just about treetop level from this station," one firefighter said.

When asked if she thought the pilot was in trouble, paramedic Theresa Reinhart said, "No, I thought we were in trouble."

The local police switchboard flashed about 200 times.

Police later learned that the plane was a Grumman Gulfstream corporate jet that the Federal Aviation Administration said landed at Cuyahoga County Airport.

The FAA said there were no violations, so it would not identify the name or number of the plane. Officials said it was an aerial photography fly-by at legal altitude.

"Somebody was just thoughtless, I think, on the day after 9/11," said Randy Sharpe, assistant to the city manager.

The FAA reported that the plane was at a legal 1,000-foot altitude, but eyewitnesses in Chardon said that there was no way it was flying that high.

"It had to be two, two and a half, maybe three trees high," one man said.

"If there was somebody in the windows, you could see (him)," said another.