Air Force One Causes Panic In New York
A 747, used as a back-up Air Force One, caused a panic in New York recently when it flew over Lower Manhattan and near the Statue of Liberty with two U.S. fighter jets closely following, rattling windows and causing some limited evacuations from some of the same offices where workers witnessed the planes crashing into the World Trade Center nearly eight years ago. Some people were even injured during the evacuations.
What was going on? It was a photo op gone wrong. The 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base on March 27 joined together with the Federal Aviation Administration’s System Operations Security team to plan and implement the “photo opportunity” around the Statue of Liberty as the team had done for previous military flyovers. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said he was not aware of the planned flyover, and would have stopped it had he known.
White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera issued a brief statement saying he was to blame, and an administration official said the president was “furious” about the photo op, which had been in the works for one month. “Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision,” Mr. Caldera said. “While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption,” he said. “I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused.”
Even Fox & Friends talked about this event which quickly went from a “photo Op” to a “photo OOPS”.
Subscribe to blog feed.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
About the Author: Bill is a 51 year old IT Professional who enjoys political blogging in his spare time after work and after the daily grind at the gym.