My two cents regarding the “photo op” Boeing 747 and F-16 flyover of Manhattan yesterday:
- Poor judgment would definitely be a nice way to phrase the situation. “What the fucking hell were they thinking!?” would be a better way to phrase it.
- The official reason for the fly-over was to “update file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks”. My question is, how much did this decision cost during this time of economic crisis? Not only in the price of flying the 747 and F-16 but also the general panic it caused? Use fucking Photoshop for christ’s sake.
“One of the president’s official planes and a supersonic fighter jet zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline in a flash just as the work day was beginning Monday. Within minutes, startled financial workers streamed out of their offices, fearing a nightmarish replay of Sept. 11.
For a half-hour, the Boeing 747 and F-16 jet circled the Statue of Liberty and the lower Manhattan skyline near the World Trade Center site. Offices evacuated. Dispatchers were inundated with calls. Witnesses thought the planes were flying dangerously low.
But the flyover was nothing but a photo op, apparently one of a series of flights to get pictures of the president’s airliner in front of national landmarks.
[...]
When told of the flight, President Barack Obama was furious, a White House official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Still, federal officials provided few details and wouldn’t say why the public and area building security managers weren’t notified. They also wouldn’t address why someone thought it was a wise decision to send two jets into New York City, all for a few photos with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.
An administration official said the purpose of the photo op was to update file photos of the president’s plane near the Lady Liberty.
[...]
John Leitner, a floor trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange Building, said about 1,000 people “went into a total panic” and ran out of the building after seeing the planes whiz nearby.
‘We were informed after we cleared out of there,” Leitner said. “I kind of think heads should roll a little bit on that.’
Employees of the Wall Street Journal also left their desks to see what was going on.
Kathleen Seagriff, a staff assistant, said workers heard the roar of the engines and then saw the planes from their windows.
‘They went down the Hudson, turned around and came back by the building,” she said. “It was a scary scene, especially for those of us who were there on 9/11.’ ”
[source: armytimes.com]





