Somebody should file a FOIA to see who was on the plane!
I Officially want to use it to blow this administrations narcissism sky high! How’s that?
SUBJECT: Flight Notification- New York City -Statue of Liberty Photo Op, Upper New York Bay / Newark Bay on April 27, 2009, 10:00L. (amended 4/23)
The information in this document is considered FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY, and should only be shared with persons with a need to know. Information in this document shall not be released to the public or media.
1. The Department of Defense (DOD), in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will conduct a flying photo op in the New York City Area on April 27, 2009 involving a transport and fighter aircraft. Below are the details regarding the operation.
Date: Monday April 27, 2009 (Primary), April 28 or April 30 (weather backup dates)
Number / Type Aircraft: 1 VC-25 and 2 F-16s. Actual photo op will only have VC25 and 1 F16.
Callsign: VENUS01
Departure point: ADW
Arrival point: ADW
Flight Plan: Crews will file two separate IFR flight plans:
ADW-JFK: KADW.. PALEO V44 SIE CAMRN4 JFK
Requested altitude FL190B210
EWR-ADW: KEWR..EWR7.BIGGY J75 MXE V378 BAL KADW
Planned Departure Time: 0930 approximately
Planned Time On Photo Op Location: 10:00 -10:30L.
Planned Photo Op Altitude: 1000-1500ft
Number of Passes: 2, possibly 3
The aircraft will depart ADW via IFR clearance as a three (3) ship formation to Sea Isle (SIE). At SIE one (1) of the fighters will leave the flight and return to ADW IFR via SIE ATR V308 BILIT ADW.
The VC25 and 1 F16 will proceed IFR to CAMRN intersection south of JFK. In the vicinity of CAMRN intersection the aircraft will cancel IFR and proceed VFR with New York TRACON (N90) towards the Verranzano Bridge. N90 will hand the aircraft off to Newark Tower (EWR) for the flight in the Upper NY and Newark Bay. Upon completion of the final pass the aircraft will be treated as a EWR departure and pickup an IFR clearance back to ADW.
The photo op portion of the flight will be VFR in accordance with the specified ground track as per the attached map (Attachment 1). On the northbound flight segments the fighter aircraft will be offset to the east by approximately ½ mile. During the southbound flight segment the fighter will re-position to remain offset to the aircraft within the depicted box.
The operation will be monitored by FAA Air Traffic Security Coordinators (ATSC) at the Domestic Event Network at FAA Headquarters from start to finish. Any questions or issues can be directed to the FAA ATSC at the DEN. The FAA ATSC can be reached at (202) 493-5107.
The Public Affairs posture for this effort is passive. No media or press releases are planned. Please direct all media inquiries to the FAA Air Traffic Security Coordinator at (202) 493-5107. Due to the possibility of public concern regarding DOD aircraft flying at low levels, coordination with Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies, emergency operations centers and aviation units has been accomplished.
//SIGNED//
JAMES J. JOHNSTON, FAA Air Traffic
AJR-2 System Operations Security
Disruptions to other flights in the area is a given. Our plane got delayed and I missed an important connection that ruined a trip, because Clinton was flying into town and they shut down the airport for an hour for Air Force One to land. I’ve never forgotten that.
The cost to the taxpayers for this photo op has been quoted at $300,000+, but the actual cost was far higher when the cumulative costs of the disruptions are factored in.
I don’t believe this is an authentic memorandum. There is no way they would be flying at 1000 feet under any circumstance and certainly not for a photo op.
The FAA should pay the laundry bills of all those who were panicked.
A memo w/out a signature? Believable?
The List, ping
bump
Flying at this altitude cannot h ave been safe for the aircraft or ground.
Pilots?
I keep thinking, “I beleive Obama may have really enjoyed seeing the people on the ground, running, terrified.”
Indulging his secret hatred of Americans.
Photo op or joy ride - either way this was not only nuts but over 300k spent of OUR money on nothing of importance.
What I’m waiting to see is whether anyone can produce any documentation that somebody in an authoritative position received clear advice that this whole thing was a very bad idea (not just vague mention of “public concern”), especially without full public notice well in advance. If that happened, the recipient who didn’t follow up on the advice and investigate in detail exactly what was proposed to happen and what was virtually guaranteed to go wrong if the plan was executed without modifications, needs to be fired.
What I think is a bit more likely, is that this is an example of poor communication culture in a hierarchical and multi-agency management structure. I.e. nobody quite had the full picture, and even though some people who handled pieces of the communications had concerns, they didn’t feel comfortable challenging the plan, since it seemed to have originated from very high levels, and/or assumed somebody else was addressing the glaring problems with the plan. If so, we should be thankful the communication problem was brought to light (at least if it gets addressed effectively) in the context of something like this, rather than in the context of some actual or expected enemy attack.
Photo Op or Training Flight.
We’ve heard both excuses.
Would a flight plan include information on a photo op? And would the FAA really approve flying at such a low altitude in NYC? I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem likely.
And if this really was a “training mission,” it’s odd that there was never such a thing during any other administration. obama continues to think we’re stupid.
Isn’t that lower than the US Air plane that went down because of a bird strike.
Last week Mayor Bloomberg filed suit to find out where all the money has gone.
What if King Abdullah, himself a pilot, was flying AFI? That was more than a “flyover” ...it was an extended middle finger salute by somebody.
Mikey just was given his answer.