White House Apologizes for Airplane Photo Shoot that Scared New Yorkers Today

A daunting White House photo shoot took place today… only it was in the sky. An extremely low-flying Boeing 747, which functions as Air Force One when the president is on board, was seen flying above the Manhattan skyline, accompanied by two F-16 planes fluttering nearby. The scene instilled panic and fear in many New Yorkers, as it closely resembled the low-flying planes that panned the sky during September 11th. This unannounced sighting terrified people so much, that many offices in New York and New Jersey began evacuating their buildings. Witnesses called up 9-1-1, exclaiming that the 747 plane was circling over the Upper New York Bay and the Statue of Liberty before flying up the Hudson River.

Director of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera, apologized to citizens today, explaining that he had approved the photo shoot over New York, and took complete responsibility for his lack of poor judgment in his decision. He maintained that government officials took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey of the photo shoot, however he acknowledged that it is apparent that the scene caused major confusion and disruption in the public. President Obama responded by stating that he was furious when learning about the flight over the tri-state area, and that he was never told about the photo shoot. He called the situation ridiculous, and full of poor judgment on the officials’ parts who were responsible for it. Government officials commented that Obama was indeed overcome with anger that the incident took place and unnecessarily scared so many New Yorkers.

So why did the Aviation Department think it was a good idea to have a publicly-unannounced low-flying photo shoot right over Ground Zero? I wish I had an answer for you. This just shows the complete lack of judgment that even the most well-educated and top-tier officials of the most powerful nation in the world can possess. I hope the public’s reaction has taught the government an important lesson and that they never let another slipup like this take place again. The terror and panic that Americans feel when seeing a plane that low flying overhead is something that should never have to be felt for a second time in this nation.