Low-level flight panics New York

[DaveTaylor]

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.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8021830.stm

[Kieeran]

after 9/11 i bet it mustve bought back some bad memories for some

[Caution]

read that earlier. i'd be crapping it if i was in a skyscraper and saw that.

[Kieeran]

read that earlier. i'd be crapping it if i was in a skyscraper and saw that.

when i was in year 6 we went on a week away trip then we was doing rock climbing and a hercules was like not that much above us we could read the writing on it the girl who was ontop of the rock climb thing froze like stone

[Jordy]

To be fair it was hardly that low and I'm sure most people wouldn't notice it was even a presidential jet. I couldn't tell from them photographs.

In London you get planes flying that low all the time, if not lower because of City Airport and Heathrow.

Seems to of been exaggerated rather and I'd personally punish people who ordered evacuations, very much uncalled for.

[N!ck]

The people in charge of these things really are idiots.

[Yoshimitsui]

I'm suprised people didn't get hurt judging by how fast they would have all tried to get out of the buildings.

[Kieeran]

I'm suprised people didn't get hurt judging by how fast they would have all tried to get out of the buildings.

thats what i thought

[PaintYourTarget]

But the plane was escorted by two F16s. If you're in Manhatten, a no fly zone, and see a low flying plane followed by fighters you're gonna get a tad worried...

[Ardemax]

dey woz speeding

arrestz dem

[Yoshimitsui]

If two fighters where following a plane due to a Hijack i can assure you it wouldnt be flying any where near a city and most likely shot into peaces far away from any buildings.

[xxMATTGxx]

To be fair it was hardly that low and I'm sure most people wouldn't notice it was even a presidential jet. I couldn't tell from them photographs.

In London you get planes flying that low all the time, if not lower because of City Airport and Heathrow.

Seems to of been exaggerated rather and I'd personally punish people who ordered evacuations, very much uncalled for.


Actually, It was quite low considering the area and bringing back 9/11 memories. I wouldn't be surprised if people thought it was happening all over again.


In London you get planes flying that low all the time, if not lower because of City Airport and Heathrow.

We not had an attack on London via aircraft being hijacked in the recent years, so you can't really say that.


If two fighters where following a plane due to a Hijack i can assure you it wouldnt be flying any where near a city and most likely shot into peaces far away from any buildings.

Quite true to be honest, but if none of the public knew about it (which they didn't) they could of thought it was an hijacked Boeing 747 being followed by fighters.

[Luke]

I'll say, it's abit stupid, doing a low flyby, with a fighter on it's tail, across a city that is still sort of, rebuilding.

But, lets be thankful, it was just a photo exercise, and NOT the real thing.

[xxMATTGxx]

Obama Orders Review of $329,000 Air Force Flight Over New York


President Barack Obama ordered a review of the decision giving the go-ahead to a $329,000 publicity-photo shoot over New York City with one of the planes that serves as Air Force One.

Obama “was furious” when he learned about the April 27 flight and the tumult it caused when the VC-25, a military version of Boeing Co.’s 747, and two F-16 fighter jets flew low over New York Harbor, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The president directed Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina to find out “how the decision was made to conduct the flight” and “why the decision was made,” Gibbs said yesterday.

Obama gave a short answer to reporters who asked him about the incident as he arrived for an event in Washington yesterday. “It was a mistake,” he said at FBI headquarters. “It will not happen again.”

[Marucho]

When i saw the picture on tv i thought it was another 9/11 i was getting so worried. Idiots, like nobodys gunna care if a plane and fighters come past your window

[cocaine]

To be fair it was hardly that low and I'm sure most people wouldn't notice it was even a presidential jet. I couldn't tell from them photographs.

In London you get planes flying that low all the time, if not lower because of City Airport and Heathrow.

Seems to of been exaggerated rather and I'd personally punish people who ordered evacuations, very much uncalled for.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/04/27/nyregion/hudson-480.jpg

http://www.airliners.net/uf/536882014/phpTta6qF.jpeg

if you were a new yorker, and saw that out of your office window - a 747 followed by a fighter jet, in a no-fly zone about manhatten - what would you think?

& to those who say that they should have told NYC: why would they? they're not going to announce that a symbol of america will pass low over the city - you may as well hand al-queda the SAMs and let them line up by river and take it in turns to fire at them.

[RedStratocas]

To be fair it was hardly that low and I'm sure most people wouldn't notice it was even a presidential jet. I couldn't tell from them photographs.

In London you get planes flying that low all the time, if not lower because of City Airport and Heathrow.

Seems to of been exaggerated rather and I'd personally punish people who ordered evacuations, very much uncalled for.

manhattan is considered a no-fly zone, especially when it's a 747 flying at a pretty ridiculously low altitude. i'd hardly say the evacuations were without warrant, the people in the buildings had no idea what was going on. no one is hurt by evacuating a building, its way better to be safe than sorry on that one. during the world trade center attacks, the second tower wasn't even evacuated after the first plane hit. i dont think people wanna risk it.

anyway, i cant believe they did all that for a photo op. stupidest thing ive ever heard. has the white house never heard of PHOTOSHOP? dude, even a mediocre graphic designer could manipulate a picture of a plane onto the manhattan skyline.


I'm suprised people didn't get hurt judging by how fast they would have all tried to get out of the buildings.

that would be described as mass panic, which isn't supported as having ever happened in human history. im actually learning about this in my sociology class lol. there's literally no such thing as mass panic. it only happens in movies like independence day etc, which is why people assume it happens. even in the most extreme examples, including 9/11, people act completely rationally despite their circumstances. take the hudson river plane incident: no one on the plane panicked, everyone got out alive, and a lot of people even went ahead and took responsibility to make sure everyone got off the plane. in 9/11, there were people who worked together to carry wheelchair bound people down stairs to safety. there wasnt a single reported instance in either of these cases of trampling or people hurting others in order to save themselves. if anything, evidence shows that people are more cooprative and more orderly in emergency situations.

[Yoshimitsui]

Most likely because Zombies haven't taken over earth along with the Daleks yet so most people have not had the opportunity to start having a mass panic. When that happens im sure no orderly fashion will occour!

[GommeInc]

There are no words to describe how stupid it was of the white house to do this. It was stupid of them NOT to tell New York citizens about the flight. It was stupid of them to actually go ahead with it (if they advertised it it still would of been stupid, there's no way to make certain everyone knows without causing panic anyway), it was stupid that they never told the mayor about it (apparently he never knew of it) and it was stupid of them to tell people who did know to keep it quiet.

Jeeez. It's not going to make Obama look good, even though he had nothing to do with it (one hopes).


Most likely because Zombies haven't taken over earth along with the Daleks yet so most people have not had the opportunity to start having a mass panic. When that happens im sure no orderly fashion will occour!
In Dr. Who when the Daleks attacked, everyone seemed quite calm and orderly actually :P All they did was look up. Although that was only about a few 100 extras, rather than thousands that would take up these huge building offices.

[xxMATTGxx]

There are no words to describe how stupid it was of the white house to do this. It was stupid of them NOT to tell New York citizens about the flight. It was stupid of them to actually go ahead with it (if they advertised it it still would of been stupid, there's no way to make certain everyone knows without causing panic anyway), it was stupid that they never told the mayor about it (apparently he never knew of it) and it was stupid of them to tell people who did know to keep it quiet.

Jeeez. It's not going to make Obama look good, even though he had nothing to do with it (one hopes).


In Dr. Who when the Daleks attacked, everyone seemed quite calm and orderly actually :P All they did was look up. Although that was only about a few 100 extras, rather than thousands that would take up these huge building offices.

Obama had nothing to do with it, it was the Air Force and the FAA and some other bloke who all accepted it.

[GommeInc]

Obama had nothing to do with it, it was the Air Force and the FAA and some other bloke who all accepted it.
Ah good, it was stated he didn't. It would be a bit odd of him to suggest this strange PR event which clearly was a failure.

[RedStratocas]

Ah good, it was stated he didn't. It would be a bit odd of him to suggest this strange PR event which clearly was a failure.

yeah, apparently he's pretty pissed about it

[GommeInc]

yeah, apparently he's pretty pissed about it
So he should be :P I don't think anyone wants large groups of people to panic and possibly be associated with it, especially 100 days into being the president.

[J0SH]

To be fair it was hardly that low and I'm sure most people wouldn't notice it was even a presidential jet. I couldn't tell from them photographs.

In London you get planes flying that low all the time, if not lower because of City Airport and Heathrow.

Seems to of been exaggerated rather and I'd personally punish people who ordered evacuations, very much uncalled for.

When they're coming up to the run way they pass the parking lots and stuff and are only like 50 ft in the air

[xxMATTGxx]

yeah, apparently he's pretty pissed about it


So he should be :P I don't think anyone wants large groups of people to panic and possibly be associated with it, especially 100 days into being the president.

Yeah he is, very annoyed about it. The Major of New York was also annoyed about it too. Someone could be getting fired ;P

[xxMATTGxx]

Update on this:

A senior White House aide has quit over his role in a presidential plane's low-level fly-past that caused panic among New York office workers.

The White House said President Barack Obama had accepted the resignation of military office director Louis Caldera.

The photo opportunity fly-past prompted the evacuation of a number of offices.

Correspondents say it revived memories of the September 2001 attacks in which hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center towers.

The half-hour fly-past by a presidential jet and a fighter plane escort on April 27 did not involve Mr Obama.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8041257.stm