Last week, I approved a mission over New York," Louis Caldera, director of the White House military office, said. "I take responsibility for that decision. While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, its clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused.
"An administration official says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty.
This official said the White House Military Office told the Federal Aviation Administration that it periodically updates file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks, like the statute in New York harbor and the Grand Canyon."
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A White House official apologized Monday after a low-flying Boeing 747 spotted above the Manhattan skyline frightened workers and residents into evacuating buildings.
The huge aircraft, which functions as Air Force One when the president is aboard, was taking part in a classified, government-sanctioned photo shoot, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Ether_Snake said:Tell me that was a mere "photo op".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_low_flying_plane_purpose
:lol
Ether_Snake said:Tell me that was a mere "photo op".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_low_flying_plane_purpose
:lol
Joe Shlabotnik said:I have a stupid question.
Why wouldn't they announce that it was actually a drill after it was over? Rather than, you know, looking completely ridiculous.
Cloudy said:Why would they need fighter jets for a photo op? Saying it was a drill would make them look less moronic..
Ether_Snake said:Cause saying it was a drill AFTER would make them look worst? Saying it was a mistake gets the thing done and done and they move on, especially when Caldera takes responsibility right away.
xbhaskarx said:"the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty."
File photo? Update? :lol
idahoblue said:So much paranoia in this thread.
Never denied that, but the conspiracies are flying free in here.OuterWorldVoice said:So much retardation in the act.
Just. Retarded.
Ether_Snake said:Tell me that was a mere "photo op".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_low_flying_plane_purpose
:lol
idahoblue said:So much paranoia in this thread.
I know, right?Gallbaro said:How much do you think it cost?
Obviously you have the costs to both the 747 and the fighter jet, then you interrupt the most congested and convoluted airspace in the world, then you inadvertently cause unknown economic loses by shutting down several buildings.
Compared to the cost of a good photoshop.
That's what you've got? Insecurity, lashing out, and a tag quote? Go cower under your blankets. :lol :loljonnybryce said:idahoblue
I got p 2 tha owned
p-o-w-n-e-d
(Today, 02:41 AM)
See Ether_Snake's post, and see fucking retarded act with even more retarded justification.
idahoblue said:Never denied that, but the conspiracies are flying free in here.
Joe Shlabotnik said:Also, honestly? The government doesn't give a shit about office evacuations. That's the city's responsibility at most and really just each individual company/building's responsibility. The government is not going to loan out Air Force One just to see how fast lower Manhattan can empty out. Which, by the way, emptied itself out surprisingly quickly and safely on 9/11.
I work right next to Ground Zero and our building has this wacky way of preparing for an emergency: fire drills. Whether it's fire, blackout, or 7 World Trade collapsing again, the procedure is the same.
idahoblue said:That's what you've got? Insecurity, lashing out, and a tag quote? Go cower under your blankets. :lol :lol
OuterWorldVoice said:I think I am agreeing with you. Anyone who read CNN.com this week read tons of stories about Whitehouse photography projects. I'm not saying a conspiracy isn't possible, I'm just saying that pulling off this test successfully is far less likely than the Occam's razor here:
It just happened like they said.
I would actually agree with the "test" theory here, if it wasn't for the fact that such a test would hardly require Airforce One. Only one thing would require that. A Photo of Airforce One over NY.
Same panic could have been achieved with vanilla 747 and an airline cover story.
Exactly. I agree with that line of reasoning completely.OuterWorldVoice said:I think I am agreeing with you. Anyone who read CNN.com this week read tons of stories about Whitehouse photography projects. I'm not saying a conspiracy isn't possible, I'm just saying that pulling off this test successfully is far less likely than the Occam's razor here:
It just happened like they said.
I would actually agree with the "test" theory here, if it wasn't for the fact that such a test would hardly require Airforce One. Only one thing would require that. A Photo of Airforce One over NY.
Same panic could have been achieved with vanilla 747 and an airline cover story.
Karma Kramer said:An attack on America will directly be blamed on the Government as them not doing enough to keep us safe. The more deaths the worse it looks for them.
Joe Shlabotnik said:As I noted, evacuation procedures--which is all this ridiculous "secret mission" could feasibly "test" --are neither difficult nor problematic and worked fine even when we didn't have eight years to prepare for the one thing that will never ever happen again.
Mejilan said:My building wasn't evacuated (or informed of this) and we took significant losses when the WTC was attacked.
Ether_Snake said:What airline company? How do you get some airline company to make up some story like that? Really. The military would have had to have some airline company part of some plan to have a jet escorted over NY, in secrecy.
You're the ones with the conspiracy theories :lol
OuterWorldVoice said:Don't you see? You're answering your own question. Why wouldn't it have been easier for the military to escort a vanilla jet as a drill and say, "this was a necessary drill and we needed to see real reaction, sorry for the inconvenience."
"Oh good the govt is taking terrisms srsly!"
Win. Win.
Time to accept it was a dumb photoshoot.
Joe Shlabotnik said:Also, if there's any danger here, it's on Air Force One, which, even without the President on it, would probably look bad getting blown out of the sky, hence the (regrettable) decision not give the general population a heads up of exactly when and where the plane will be doing a very low flyover.
Karma Kramer said:I really don't think people could tell it was air force one from far away.
Joe Shlabotnik said:...uh, yes, exactly. Because there was no advance announcement that it was Air Force One.
Joe Shlabotnik said:I'm saying there is some security risk to Air Force One doing a low flyover, which is probably why they elected not to inform the general population what they were doing ahead of time.
Ether_Snake said:Like someone shooting it down?If that was the case they would have used the damn Photoshop, not go and do it and dispatch fighter jets.
The official statement doesn't say it was a mistake not to inform the public. The apology is for the disruption the photo op caused, not for any communication error.Karma Kramer said:So you are saying they lied when they said it was a mistake the public wasn't informed?
Federal officials knew that sending two fighter jets and Air Force One to buzz ground zero and Lady Liberty might set off nightmarish fears of a 9/11 replay, but they still ordered the photo-op kept secret from the public.
In a memo obtained by CBS 2 HD the Federal Aviation Administration's James Johnston said the agency was aware of "the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes" in an around New York City. But they demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor's office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out.
"To say that it should not be made public knowing that it might scare people it's just confounding," Sen. Charles Schumer said. "It's what gives Washington and government a bad name. It's sheer stupidity."
The flyover -- apparently ordered by the White House Office of Military Affairs so it would have souvenir photos of Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty in the background -- had President Obama seeing red. He ordered a probe and apologized.
"It was a mistake. It will never happen again," President Obama said.
The NYPD was so upset about the demand for secrecy that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly vowed never to follow such a directive again and he accused the feds of inciting fears of a 9/11 replay.
"Did it show any insensitivity to the psychic wounds New York City has after 9/11? Absolutely. No questions about it. It was quite insensitive."