The White House has apologised after a low-level flight by a presidential jet and a fighter plane sparked panic among New York City office workers.
The half-hour flight triggered the evacuation of a number of office buildings in the city.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was "furious" about the incident, criticising those responsible for failing to warn the public.
Count on the BBC to post one of the most benign videos of the "event"
Here's one-
Breitbart.tv Raw: Startled New Yorkers Run Through Streets as Obama Plane Photo Op Goes Awry
Gives you a much better perspective. Shows you how low it really was as well as how "scary" it was.
That shows even if the Obama Administration doesn't believe in Terrorist or that we are at War..Americans in the real world do.
Those people in the video are actually on the waterfront in New Jersey, but it's a revealing clip. While residents of the area are a tough bunch and not prone to dwell on the horror of 9/11, this incident shows just how close beneath the surface the fear lies. These are not ******s...if you had lived through 9/11 in lower Manhattan you would understand.
How hard would it have been to just issue a statement advising people in the surrounding area what they were going to do? Not very hard, I would imagine.
I mean damn, how out of touch are those people who arranged that, that they wouldn't even think of how it would effect that area?
Not hard at all. They have done it before.
Is it common for certain airplanes to get clearence to fly so low in that region? Like does this happen every so often and why?
Because to fly a plane like that for no reason other than a photo-op is ridiculous in itself.
Those people in the video are actually on the waterfront in New Jersey, but it's a revealing clip. While residents of the area are a tough bunch and not prone to dwell on the horror of 9/11, this incident shows just how close beneath the surface the fear lies. These are not ******s...if you had lived through 9/11 in lower Manhattan you would understand.
They should have put photoshop in the stimulus package for the White House.
Exactly why would they need a photo opp like this anyways?
And of all places and style of doing so?
This is some sort of propeganda to sway some emotions....
I can see why they didn't announce it.
This was pretty stupid though.
They should have put photoshop in the stimulus package for the White House.
I can see why they didn't announce it.
This was pretty stupid though.
They should have put photoshop in the stimulus package for the White House.
All the more reason for the WH to have some sensitivity here (and at least half a brain). Do they even think???
Who are you and what did you do with bhkad? :shock:I heard on the news last night that the local authorities were notified beforehand but someone didn't spread the word. Mayor Bloomberg didn't even get advance notice.
It's someone in the NYC government who was at fault, not the Feds.
Reminds me of Katrina.
It wasn't FEMA who was responsible for the initial response. Someone on the local front dropped the ball.
At 4:39 p.m. Monday, the White House issued an apology for the flyover. Louis E. Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, who served in the Clinton administration as secretary of the Army, said in a statement:
Last week, I approved a mission over New York. 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, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused.
I heard on the news last night that the local authorities were notified beforehand but someone didn't spread the word. Mayor Bloomberg didn't even get advance notice.
It's someone in the NYC government who was at fault, not the Feds.
Reminds me of Katrina.
It wasn't FEMA who was responsible for the initial response. Someone on the local front dropped the ball.
Now we're hearing that the FAA told the locals NOT to notify the public.
:doh
They were notified, but told that it was classified information. The feds tied the locals hand.
The mayor said the Police Department and someone in his administration – he did not say who – received an e-mail from the Federal Aviation Administration late on Thursday, informing them that there would be “a fly-by for a photo-op, as they described it.”
However, Mr. Bloomberg said he was not apprised of the flyover until his BlackBerry started buzzing this morning with messages from people asking if he knew what was going on. He characterized it as a breakdown in communication that “will never happen again.”
“First thing is, I’m annoyed – furious is a better word – that I wasn’t told,” he said at a City Hall news conference held to discuss the swine flu cluster in Queens.
In unusually harsh language, the mayor criticized the Defense Department for conducting the exercise and the Federal Aviation Administration for being secretive about it.
Jim Peters, an F.A.A. spokesman, said “the photo op was approved and coordinated with everyone.” Notification was made in advance to the mayor’s office, “including its 911 and 311 operation centers,” the New York City Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the United States Park Police and other agencies, he said.
The Police Department confirmed that it had been notified about the event but said it had been barred from alerting the public. “The flight of a VC-25 aircraft and F-16 fighters this morning was authorized by the F.A.A. for the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it but to direct any inquiries to the F.A.A. Air Traffic Security Coordinator,” the Police Department said in a statement.
The mayor criticized the secrecy around the flyover. The e-mail notification “did have the normal language of saying this is sensitive information, should be distributed on a need-to-know basis, that they did not plan to have any publicity about it, which I think is ridiculous and just poor judgment,” Mr. Bloomberg said.
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