Posted on 04/27/2009 7:30:01 AM PDT by LottieDah
FAA says low-flying plane over Staten Island is 'pre-planned' flight to take photos by Staten Island Advance Monday April 27, 2009, 10:03 AM
A plane, that appears to be a commercial jet tailed by fighter jets, is a "pre-planned" military flight taking photos of the Statue of Liberty, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Reports indicate it may be Air Force One.
"It is pre-planned, pre-coordinated with everyone involved," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters. "It's a military flight over New York to take photos."
Peters, who stressed it is not an emergency, said the flight is circling the Statue of Liberty and New York City to take photos.
Peters said city officials as well as state government agencies in New York and New Jersey were briefed on the flight in advance.
2008 Presidential election results
New York State Obama 62%
New Jersey Obama 57%
If you believe that, I guess there is nothing more to say. Seems ludicrous to me.
LOL, I don’t think Gibbs will last long at this job.
I agree, Vendome.
If I were him, I’d update my resume....
Thousands upon thousands evacuated.
I guess they didn’t think it was a VERY recognizable plane.
This was utter stupidity on the part of someone.
I don't know when they last photographed AF 1 over Staten Island, but here are the Thunderbirds "attacking" New York....
http://www.mcmahanphoto.com/af107.html
This wasn't a photo op. Something else was going on here. I don't know what it WAS, but I can damned well surmise what it wasn't, and it wasn't a photo op.
I don’t subscribe to any “conspiracy” view on this — I just think it’s most likely that some real bozos had this idea, mostly likely political types from the WH, but if it was people in the military, either way it shows really poor judgment.
As for this being anything common or routine, I lived and worked for several years in Manhattan, before, during and after 9/11...... aside from that horrible morning I cannot ever recall seeing, hearing, or being told of a commercial sized jetliner flying anywhere near Manhattan at anything close to such low altitude..... it just doesn’t happen, not even before 9/11 that I can ever recall. Helicopters, sure, all the time, but not 747s!!
Also, few office workers in Manhattan are going to have any instant sense of what exactly the plane is or what legitimate reason it could have for flying so low over the city — all that the typical person is going to know is that the most similar moment in their lives was the morning of 9/11..... there is no other relevant reference point for the average person in NYC who is not highly familiar with operations of AF1, any possible commemorative photos, etc.
I’ll assume that this is a case of a whole bunch of people allowing a really bone-headed decision to be implemented without thinking it through, unless something more nefarious emerges (which I don’t expect).
But this is not a trivial event and the people who evacuated offices and had flashbacks to 9/11 etc. are not idiots.... they made the only reasonable judgment they could with split-second timing and too little information.
Fleet Week and Air and Water Shows are publicized ahead of time for months.
Now you’re just being disingenuous.
Take a look at the thousands of people who evacuated today and check out the looks on their faces - then see if you would mock their fear.
They have planes fitted with high resolution cameras to do this sort of thing.
The military has some EXCELLENT (airframe mounted) cameras that they don't talk about very much.
You don't send millions of dollars of equipment up in the sky and tell the pilot to take pictures with a hand held camera through the cockpit canopy!
I’m surprised that the NYPD didn’t fire on the plane in defense of their city.
Air Force One Photo-Op Scares the Crap Out of Manhattan
Good one, FAA. Thousands of workers in Lower Manhattan today went into total panic when a Boeing 747 presidential aircraft— officially known by the call sign Air Force One, when President Obama is actually on board—flew low over New York harbor this morning. The massive blue and white plane, escorted by a pair of fighter jets, was apparently circling Lower Manhattan so that Air Force photogs could get pictures of Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty. The Staten Island Advance has posted several photos here, while the Wall Street Journal has some eerie video posted here, showing how the plane took almost the same flight path as those hijacked jetliners that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11......
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/04/27/air-force-one-photo-op-scares-the-crap-out-of-manhattan.aspx
The Government’s Plane Scare Was A Felony
The decision to secretly authorize Air Force One and a fighter jet to perform a low-level fly-by that sent New Yorkers and office workers in Jersey City fleeing for their lives may be a felony under New Jersey law.
After circling above the Hudson River, the planes made a terrifying turn toward the tower that houses offices of Goldman Sachs, according to eyewitnesses. Office workers in New Jersey’s Jersey City literally sprinted away from windows, fearing the plane would ram their building.
New Jersey law makes “terroristic threats” a felony. In the circumstances described above, the plane’s flight may be a third-degree felony.....
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-governments-plane-scare-was-a-felony-2009-4
“OMG!!!! A chill goes through my soul 41 seconds into the video the plane is looping back around. I cannot believe the thought never crossed anyone’s mind that this would scare those who have been there/done that.”
Makes one wonder if the pilots were Islamic?
NYC should send a bill for the costs to 0b0z0.
Nope, I don't believe this was a photo op. Again, I don't know what it WAS, but I'm pretty sure I know what it wasn't.
In total agreement with your thoughts and comments re FR and Jim.
I have to go out, but don’t want to forget this. The Presidential Airlift Group:
Air Force One is maintained and operated by the Presidential Airlift Group, part of the White House Military Office. The Airlift Group was founded in 1944 as the Presidential Pilot Office at the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. For the next 20 years, various propeller driven aircraft served the President. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy became the first President to fly in his own jet aircraft, a modified Boeing 707. Over the years, several other jet aircraft have been used, with the first of the current aircraft being delivered in 1990 during the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/air_force_one/
Gibbs saying the WH was not aware is not entirely correct if it is part of the WHite House Military Office, correct?
It's only Airforce One if the prez is on board. If he's not there, then why would it matter if it was announced?
Unless of course ZerØ was on board (for whatever insane reason), in which case he needs to be hounded for this little unannounced "photo op" that scared the $#!t out of thousands of people.
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