Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Buzzing the Statue of Liberty cannot be considered a career enhancing move…
It’s Bush’s fault. He flew in tha A/C, at one time.
Who thought this was a good idea at all?!?!?! Watch the videos of people running through the streets because what most people would take as an airliner is screaming overhead with a fracking fighter on its tail…ugh what was the White House and Air Force thinking?
Director Louis Caldera, head of the White House Military Office issued an apology just after 4:30 p.m., saying, “Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision.”
Apparently not up to speed on New York history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Caldera
I work in downtown Manhattan and only heard about the “great panic” after I got home.
A crisp Benjamin says the “panic stricken New Yorkers” were actually almost entirely the tourists who clog every street, pavement, nook and cranny of the city at this time of year.
I work in Jersey City right on the Hudson and most of my high rise building evacuated in a panic. I didn’t notice the planes. But we have a great view of the Hudson, Statue of Liberty, etc. which the vast majority of downtown NYC does not have.
Most of the folks I work with were downtown in NYC on 9/11 and they were freaked out by this incident.
As I mentioned in one of threads back around Sept. 11th, any time a plane seems a little lower than normal around here people take notice. Not a bright move by the current inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
What will happen to these aircrews? It wasn’t their idea, it came from the WH…who in the AF chain of command should have said no?
The thing is, it’s not that much longer to Fleet Week. There probably would have been enough protection and security going on that they could have given some heads up, got their photos, and not had the uproar that this stupid idea caused today.
Amateur hour at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
One of the local ANG squadrons here at Andrews had a photo op over the national mall a couple of years ago. It was (IIRC) a few F-16s and some sort of Gulfstream-esque camera platform. They flew low and slow along the Potomac and got some great shots.
The difference was that everyone knew beforehand. It was all over the media that morning. TV, radio, newspapers, internet. Basic theme was “If you see fighter jets and a small corporate plane over DC today, don’t freak out.” I can’t remember much of a broo ha-ha over that.
Why on earth would the WH want to keep this from the public? I understand they told NYPD, but instructed them to keep it to themselves and not even tell the mayor’s office.
Bush league.
I have a low level route that goes right up my pasture. I have been scared sh**less on occasions but still love the sound and sight of low flying aircraft. Just think, I used to get paid for doing that. Matter of fact, I still do. Life is wonderful.
Now you get paid for having done that.
I’m just a very GRUMPY old vet, I wonder, what mental midget came up with this idea? Tell you what, let’s reverse the roles and we’ll take a 747 and buzz the Capitol, White House and Pentagon. Don’t like it? Then pull your head out and smell the coffee!
Yeah, Jeop, it’s going to be a 4 year long Amateur Hour. I doubt they will get much better with practice either.
Speaking of bad flight planning, a Cessna 180 also decided to make a pass over another major metropolitan area the same day.
I doubt the folks behind the Air Force One buzz job will have an issue. The Cessna pilot will be paying a higher price.
While it sounds like an “honest mistake”, it creates another black eye for GA. The pilot should have been cross checking his sectional when VFR through that area.
Anybody able to confirm what 16-mod was escorting the VC-25? They are normally single-seaters, unless somebody decided to take a two-seat bird, so as to accommodate the combat photographer.
Otherwise I can’t see the quality of the images from this run being all that terrific.
It had to have been a B/D mod because there was a combat photographer on board.
I’m assuming Mr. Caldera et al have never heard of Photoshop?
That’s assuming of course all they were after was few pictures of AF 1 over New York……
Fun with Air Force One:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTZjNDg4MzlmYmNjMTc5NzhkMDVmNzg5YmRkZWNiOGU=