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While hovering helicopters are commonplace for Angelenos, folks in downtown Manhattan (understandably) are wary when they see low-flying planes. And that's what happened this morning: They spotted a low-flying plane being tailed by fighter jets. Some buildings were evacuated while others told employees they were staying put—and then the FAA explained "the Defense Department is conducting a photo op that involves deploying two F-16s and escorting a Boeing 747 in the vicinity of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty... the maneuver was not an emergency and was coordinated in advance with the FAA and state and local officials." (The Boening 747 was one of the planes that the President uses, but President Obama was not on board.) Of course, the warning from NYC government came right at the same time as the maneuver, not in advance, because the feds apparently didn't want the flight to be disclosed. So, this is clearly a Department of Defense FAIL, right? Update: NYC Mayor Bloomberg is "furious" (apparently he didn't know about the flyover!) and now t he White House has apologized.
Feds' Photo Op With Low-Flying Jets Scares NYers
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Any ideas why the 110 off/on ramps will be shut down for 1 year starting tomorrow from the hours of
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Um, a PHOTO OP?? I can't have read that right, because that is too insane to be believed...
Really dumb. Sounds like some basic cgi couldn't done it for a few hundred bucks. But maybe that wouldn't be stimulating enough.
Really dumb typo... I meant "could've".
Sounds like a New Yorker FAIL. You don't see Cali residents flipping a shit when we have a minor earthquake.
SERIOUSLY? And the last time an earthquake in LA killed 3,000 people was...?
So because people died in an act of terrorism we have to freak out every time there's a plane flying past the city, that happens to look JUST like Air Force One? Please take back your fake sympathy for people you did not even know, they don't need it.
Anyway, I was living in NY for 9/11 and people at first fine, warranted. But most people that freak out now about anything (smoke or a smell or a loud noise. things that happen ALL the time in a major urban area) did not even live there when it happened. It's like those people in the rural Midwest who "had" PTSS after it. FAIL.
Fuck you. You don't know that I didn't know anyone who died in the WTC, because, in fact, I did. My close friend lost her father in the North Tower because his office was HIT BY A FUCKING PLANE.
When you see a plane flying at 2K-3K feet, being trailed by a FIGHTER JET, yeah, it's somewhat disconcerting. Some people had their office buildings evacuated. Some had PA announcements telling them everything was okay, which, again, worked so well the last time that people are bound to believe it now, right? PS, the plane looked JUST like a Boeing 757, which is what it WAS, which is much more often used as a passenger commuter (usually cross-country) than as Air Force One. "Ohhh it's the president" isn't the first thing I think of when I see a commercial plane.
I think a little freaking out is entirely understandable.
I dunno....after watching these two videos, I certainly don't blame them for acting panicky.
I'd be freaking out too if I saw a jumbo with a trailer jet doing turns around the library tower.
Of course, if this were the Bush Administration's blunder, this thread would already be 50 comments long talking about how insensitive the whole thing was......and rightly so.
If this were during the Bush Administration I'd be more worried that the Pentagon was trying to assassinate Bush for sending them to fight a bogus war and getting a bunch of our soldiers killed for no good reason.
Funny thing is, if this happened in LA (and was a concern), the LA Fire Department would have used Twitter and other social media tools and it would have not been a big deal at all.
Why is it so hard to understand, government folks? A little communications goes a looooonnnnnnggg way.
This is dumb on a number of levels. The lack of communication creating terror of course, but what on earth are they doing such a thing for, for a photo up?! Wtf?! You could pay a small effects studio in L.A. a budget probably thousandths the size and get a result 99.9% of people couldn't tell wasn't real and without bothering any New Yorkers.
I'm no fan of New York, but someone could have fucking died! Running across the street, falling down concrete or steel steps, heart attack .. any number of ways ... and since this was a "military" photo op including the President's plane ... and He's the commander of the military ... he is solely responsible ... this was NOT Bush's fault! Along with the teleprompter mishap and the soon to be released pictures, this admin is clown college! But he's Dear Leader ...........
"Mustang, this is Maverick. Request a fly-by"
"Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full."
Maybe the White House was just celebrating shooting down 5 bogeys over the Indian Ocean? Of course, the other side denies everything.