The Air Force One photo op incident occurred on the morning of April 27, 2009, when a Boeing VC-25 (a Boeing 747 military variant used as Air Force One when the president is aboard), followed by a U.S. Air Force F-16 jet fighter, flew low and circled the Upper New York Bay, site of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. President Barack Obama was not on board the aircraft during the incident. Although the planes were engaged in a photo op and t...
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The Air Force One photo op incident occurred on the morning of April 27, 2009, when a Boeing VC-25 (a Boeing 747 military variant used as Air Force One when the president is aboard), followed by a U.S. Air Force F-16 jet fighter, flew low and circled the Upper New York Bay, site of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. President Barack Obama was not on board the aircraft during the incident. Although the planes were engaged in a photo op and training exercise, the citizens of New York and New Jersey had not been informed in advance, and some thought it was a terrorist attack similar to the September 11 attacks. Some people ran out of buildings and panicked in the streets. Some buildings ordered evacuations.
The flyby was approved by Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, to update the previous image of the aircraft flying over Mount Rushmore. Fran Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush, said the flyby was "crass insensitivity." She also said, "I...
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