Air Force One photo op incident
Encyclopedia
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.
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'd call this felony stupidity. This is probably not the right job for Mr. Caldera to be in if he didn't understand the likely reaction of New Yorkers, of the mayor." The Mayor of New York City
, Michael Bloomberg
, said that the flyby "defies the imagination." Senator Charles Schumer
(D-New York) said the Federal Aviation Administration
not telling the public about the flyby in advance "borders on being either cruel or very, very stupid." President Barack Obama
did not know about the flyby until after it happened, and he stated, "It was a mistake. It was something we found out about along with all of you. And it will not happen again." Although the city's police department had been notified in advance, they had been instructed not to tell the public.
Caldera said of his actions, "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision... 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 apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."
CBS News
's New York City affiliate WCBS-TV
obtained a memo from the Federal Aviation Administration
's James Johnston saying that the agency was aware of "the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes" in and around the city. However, the agency demanded total secrecy from the city's police department, the Secret Service
, the FBI, and the mayor's office, and threatened federal sanctions if the secret was revealed.
Air Force officials estimated the cost for the photo shoot mission to be around $328,835, but stated that "the hours would have been flown regardless, and the expenses would have been accrued on a different mission".
The day after the flyby, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs
said that the incident would be investigated by Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina
. Gibbs also said that President Obama was "furious" about the flyby. However, Gibbs did not answer reporters' repeated questions about whether or not Caldera would lose his job. Pentagon
press secretary Geoff Morrell
said that the idea for the flyby originated in the White House Military Office. Gibbs also stated, "Because this was a training mission, the only people on that plane were Air Force personnel."
On May 4, 2009, the White House told reporters that the publicity photos taken during the flight would not be shown to the public. Two days later, the White House reversed course and told reporters that the publicity photos taken during the flight could be released soon. On May 8, 2009, the photo was released and it was reported that Caldera had resigned. In his letter of resignation, Caldera told the president that after the incident he was no longer able to "effectively lead the White House Military Office" due to the furor over the incident. On July 31, 2009, 146 photos and related documents were released through the Department of Defense's Freedom of Information Act
procedures.
In August, the Associated Press
reported that the Air Force used the social networking site Twitter
to track the negative public reaction to the incident. Caldera's replacement, George Mulligan, was announced on October 16, 2009.
In August 2010, the Air Force notified the city of New York in advance that two F-16s would fly over the city on August 23, 2010.
Boeing VC-25
The Boeing VC-25 is the designation of a United States Air Force passenger transportation aircraft, a military version of the Boeing 747 airliner. The A-model is the only variant of the VC-25....
(a Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
military variant used as Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
when the president is aboard), followed by a U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
F-16
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
jet fighter, flew low and circled the Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay
Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne.It...
, site of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was not on board the aircraft during the incident. Although the planes were engaged in a photo op
Photo op
A photo op , short for photograph opportunity , is an opportunity to take a memorable and effective photograph of a politician, a celebrity, or a notable event...
and training exercise
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
, the citizens of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
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.
Incident
The flybyFlypast
Flypast is a term used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft...
was approved by Louis Caldera
Louis Caldera
Louis Caldera was Director of the White House Military Office from January 20, 2009, until May 22, 2009, and served as the 17th United States Secretary of the Army from July 2, 1998, until January 20, 2001.-Family and education:...
, director of the White House Military Office
White House Military Office
The White House Military Office , an entity of the Executive Office of the President, provides military support for White House functions, including food service, Presidential transportation, medical support and emergency medical services, and hospitality services...
, to update the previous image of the aircraft flying over Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
. Fran Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor
Homeland Security Council
The Homeland Security Council is an entity within the White House Office tasked with advising the President on matters relating to Homeland Security...
to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, said the flyby was "crass insensitivity." She also said, "I'd call this felony stupidity. This is probably not the right job for Mr. Caldera to be in if he didn't understand the likely reaction of New Yorkers, of the mayor." The Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
, Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
, said that the flyby "defies the imagination." Senator Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...
(D-New York) said the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
not telling the public about the flyby in advance "borders on being either cruel or very, very stupid." President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
did not know about the flyby until after it happened, and he stated, "It was a mistake. It was something we found out about along with all of you. And it will not happen again." Although the city's police department had been notified in advance, they had been instructed not to tell the public.
Caldera said of his actions, "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision... 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 apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."
CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
's New York City affiliate WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
obtained a memo from the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
's James Johnston saying that the agency was aware of "the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes" in and around the city. However, the agency demanded total secrecy from the city's police department, the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, the FBI, and the mayor's office, and threatened federal sanctions if the secret was revealed.
Air Force officials estimated the cost for the photo shoot mission to be around $328,835, but stated that "the hours would have been flown regardless, and the expenses would have been accrued on a different mission".
The day after the flyby, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
Robert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
said that the incident would be investigated by Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina
Jim Messina (politician)
Jim Messina is campaign manager for President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign. He previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for President Obama from 2009 to 2011. Prior to taking up that post he was Director of Personnel for the transition team.-Career:Messina served as...
. Gibbs also said that President Obama was "furious" about the flyby. However, Gibbs did not answer reporters' repeated questions about whether or not Caldera would lose his job. Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
press secretary Geoff Morrell
Geoff S. Morrell
Geoffrey S. Morrell is an American public affairs person who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, and was the Press Secretary of the Department of Defense. He was hired to the position in June 2007 and departed in June 2011...
said that the idea for the flyby originated in the White House Military Office. Gibbs also stated, "Because this was a training mission, the only people on that plane were Air Force personnel."
On May 4, 2009, the White House told reporters that the publicity photos taken during the flight would not be shown to the public. Two days later, the White House reversed course and told reporters that the publicity photos taken during the flight could be released soon. On May 8, 2009, the photo was released and it was reported that Caldera had resigned. In his letter of resignation, Caldera told the president that after the incident he was no longer able to "effectively lead the White House Military Office" due to the furor over the incident. On July 31, 2009, 146 photos and related documents were released through the Department of Defense's Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
procedures.
In August, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that the Air Force used the social networking site Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
to track the negative public reaction to the incident. Caldera's replacement, George Mulligan, was announced on October 16, 2009.
In August 2010, the Air Force notified the city of New York in advance that two F-16s would fly over the city on August 23, 2010.
External links
- Internal Review Concerning April 27, 2009 Air Force One Flight from White House Counsel's Office, May 5, 2009
- Freedom of Information documents released July 31, 2009. Includes 146 photos, flight manifest, and supporting Air Force documents.