Photo-op gone sour: Low-flying jet creates panic in NY

A low-flying Boeing 747 accompanied by a US air force jet created panic in the business district of New York on Monday morning, rattling windows and sending workers streaming into the streets.

It was supposed to be a photo opportunity that captured images of an Air Force One plane with the majestic Statue of Liberty in the background. Instead, it turned into a public relations nightmare that led to angry recriminations from President Obama and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with thousands of others.

Just before the workday began on Monday, the airliner and a supersonic fighter zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline, including the World Trade Center site. Within minutes, startled financial workers streamed out of their offices, fearing a nightmarish replay of 11 September 2001.

In fact, the blue and white plane with 'The United States of America' emblazoned on its side was one of the two regularly used by the president. It was soaring above Lower Manhattan, Staten Island and Jersey City so government photographers could take pictures near the Statue of Liberty for publicity purposes.

Aides to President Obama, who was not on board, said he was incensed when he learned of the event Monday afternoon. The White House later issued a formal apology.

Witnesses described the engine roar as the planes swooped by office towers close enough to rattle the windows and prompt evacuations at scores of buildings. Some sobbed as they made their way to the street.

For half an hour, the Boeing 747 and F-16 jet circled the Statue of Liberty and the financial district. Dispatchers were inundated with calls, as witnesses thought the planes were flying dangerously low. However, the flyover was nothing but a photo op, apparently one of a series of flights to get pictures of the plane in front of national landmarks.

It was carried out by the defence department with little warning, infuriating New York officials and putting the White House on the defensive. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn't know about it, and he later called it "insensitive" to fly so near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The director of the White House military office, Louis Caldera, took the blame a few hours later. "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision," he said.

"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 apologise and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused," Caldera added.

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 the issue of why someone thought it was a good decision to send two low-flying jets into New York City, all for a few photos with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.

'Keep it under wraps'
People were left in the dark about the exercise because while notifying the New York police department of the flyover, the Federal Aviation Authority told them in a classified footnote that "information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media''.

"Why the defence department wanted to do a photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies the imagination," Mayor Bloomberg said. "Poor judgment would be a nice way to phrase it ... had I known about it, I would have called them right away and asked them not to."

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said typically a flight like this would be publicised to avoid causing a panic, but they were under orders not to in this case. They regularly get requests for flyovers, but without secrecy restrictions.

The FAA also alerted an official in the mayor's office, but he didn't tell Bloomberg, who said he first learned about it when his "BlackBerry went off crazy with people complaining about it."

The Bloomberg official who was notified was Marc Mugnos, director of operations for the office of citywide event coordination and management. Mugnos didn't immediately respond to questions about why he didn't tell the mayor. Bloomberg's spokesman Stu Loeser issued a statement saying, "He has been reprimanded and a disciplinary letter will be placed in his file."

The flight triggered the evacuation of a number of office buildings in the city. Workers in lower Manhattan were stunned by what they saw. Employees of the Wall Street Journal were among those who left their desks to see what was going on. Kathleen Seagriff, a staff assistant, said it was a scary scene, ''especially for those of us who were there on 9/11''.

"This was a photo shoot. There was no need for surprise," senator Charles Schumer said. "There was no need to scare thousands of New Yorkers who still have a vivid memory of 9/11."