Low-Flying Jet In Manhattan A Photo-Op

(AP)  A low-flying Boeing 747 escorted by two fighter jets as part of a federal government photo op over lower Manhattan has caused a brief panic among office workers.

John Leitner, a floor trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange Building, says workers received no official prior announcement about the exercise. He says everyone panicked when they saw the low-flying planes and began running out of the building around 10 a.m. Monday.

Click here for pictures of the plane.

About 1,000 workers gathered along the Hudson River esplanade until a security officer with a bullhorn told them it was a planned exercise.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the government was conducting a photo op involving two F-16 jets and a 747. The FAA notified city law enforcement about the mission.

[John_Merritt]

Mr. Obama:

Is that what you meant by reining in the spending? That is one of the most blatant slaps in the faces of the American peoples faces. To think that $300 odd thousand 'stunt' could have supported 6 families for one year, just so you could add some wonderful photo's to show your friends and families years from now. Good move. You still have that Rock star persona and you are now about to shed it, are you? RU watching and listening America. This Administration is going to destroy this country.

[creeper00]

" The feds specifically ordered the NYPD not to divulge any information to the public."
Posted by weedapeapl at 5:00 PM : Apr 27, 2009

And, of course, if Washington says jump, we ask "How high?" We have suspended our critical thinking skills in favor of being kept "safe" (and in the dark) by our government.

It's mind-boggling that no one...NO ONE...along the line thought to question the wisdom of flying a jumbo-jet low-level over Manhattan with two fighters trailing. It looks like none of the so-called geniuses in this administration gave a second thought to the trauma this would inflict on New Yorkers. They wanted to do it and that was all that mattered.

Everyone and anyone who had anything to do with this and did not question it should be fired immediately.

[weedapeapl]

OBAMA would never admit fault. He does not take responsibility for people in his administration. He is the messiah and can do no wrong.
Posted by pizzanick at 11:35 AM : Apr 28, 2009

He has already apologized for his latest gaffe, which I believe sets a record for the most apologies in the first six months of any president's term in office.

[disabled-student]

Are we afraid of seeing our own planes flying in our own skies over our own city? Did you jump out of your skin when you saw your own shadow, too? Are we going to let terrorists intimidate us forever? I say fly the airplane around the city a few more times till you get comfortable with the idea it's not going to fly into a building. And you call yourself New Yorkers, pah!

[weedapeapl]

Today, AP news (on Yahoo!) is reporting:

The FAA notified the New York Police Department of the flyover, telling them photos of the Air Force One jet would be taken about 1,500 feet above the Statue of Liberty around 10 a.m. Monday. It had a classified footnote that said, "Information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_re_us/us_low_flying_plane;_ylt=ArjykOwOUKGoEY8vpTeH.8pI2ocA

So much for our transparent government....

[autodriveit]

Wouldn't it have been better to fake the picture?
Here's one I made: http://hopes-and-dreams.net
I started a list of more creative ideas for the picture.
And faking the picture didn't scare anyone in the process.

[winstrv]

Guy worked in the Obama White House administration. Obama needs to take responsibility for those that work for him. Can you imagine the firestorm if this had been done under the Bush administration?

[weedapeapl]

You'd have to be pretty dumb to blame this on Obama. The fault obviously lies with the NY police, who did not notify the public.
Posted by sunspro at 8:39 AM : Apr 28, 2009

You're the one who's "pretty dumb" because the NYPD was ORDERED NOT TO DIVULGE ANY INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC about the flight.

Nope, THIS ONE IS ALL OBAMA'S. Obama is totally to blame for this.

[j_flood]

The Air Force takes pictures like this routinely - not the President. See link: http://www.af.mil/photos/index.asp?galleryID=55

[sunspro]

You'd have to be pretty dumb to blame this on Obama. The fault obviously lies with the NY police, who did not notify the public. It's easy to issue a press release to the media, but they did not do it.