Officials at Boston's Logan Airport are apologizing for holding a fire drill, complete with smoke and flames, on the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The two hijacked jets that were flown into the World Trade Center towers that day had taken off from Logan.

Gov. Deval Patrick, who did not know in advance about the drill, calls the timing of it "dumb." But he adds that he retained confidence in the leadership of the Massachusetts Port Authority, the public agency that runs the airport.

The runway fire drill, announced on the airport's Facebook page, drew harsh condemnation online.

The port authority has apologized in a statement and says it "understands that it may have offended many of those touched by the events of Sept. 11."