Photo Opportunity Gone Wrong

[keveh]

This is one of the most ridiculous ideas anybody could have come up with, even for America:

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

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.

The half-hour flight triggered the evacuation of a number of office buildings in the city.

Pentagon officials said the fly past - a photographic exercise not involving President Obama - had been co-ordinated with city and state authorities.

No general public notification was issued in advance.

Of all the places that you could think to do this, New York is probably the worst choice they could have gone for.

Also, what I saw somebody else mention, how come all of a sudden there is some spare cash to fly Air Force One around to get some new shiny photos? The thing hasn't changed in years, was it really necessary?

[blurred]

I think the bad idea was not telling everyone. If they'd told them, it wouldn't've caused the panic it did.

[enfieldwhite]

I think the bad idea was not telling everyone. If they'd told them, it wouldn't've caused the panic it did.

Especially as it was flanked by two fighter jets, giving the impression that a low flying passenger plane was being 'buzzed' by the airforce.

F*cking idiots

[Prufrock]

I think the bad idea was not telling everyone. If they'd told them, it wouldn't've caused the panic it did.

Yarp. Bet there's a few folk sat around with red faces saying 'D'oh' and 'yeeeeeah, we *probably* should have thought this through a little better'.

[boltonboris]

I think the bad idea was not telling everyone. If they'd told them, it wouldn't've caused the panic it did.

Because having Air force one, flying low in a major city wouldn't be a target for half of the world if it was broadcast to the entire planet before hand, would it? this shouldn't have been done at all, never mind with a pre-warning

[blurred]

It would've been easy enough to slip something into the local media (breakfast TV, NY papers, local radio) that the President's jet would be doing a fly past during the morning. I'm not saying tell everyone days in advance, or of precise routes/plans or anything, just to give them notification on the morning would've avoided the mass collective shitting themselves that occurred, without compromising security arrangements.

[boltonboris]

It would've been easy enough to slip something into the local media (breakfast TV, NY papers, local radio) that the President's jet would be doing a fly past during the morning. I'm not saying tell everyone days in advance, or of precise routes/plans or anything, just to give them notification on the morning would've avoided the mass collective shitting themselves that occurred, without compromising security arrangements.

But then surely,still only a fraction of the working population of NYC would know of the move as most of them are too ignorant to be bothered about things outside of their own little lives. Therefore the hysteria would have happened. The only way it could have been done beter if a memo was to go to each workplace in a building of lets say 10 stories or higher at 9.00am, stating this will happen at 10am

[blurred]

[TANGODANCER]

Seems pretty plane to me.

[a1]

it was george bush's fault

[SuperWhiteWarrior]

I think the bad idea was not telling everyone. If they'd told them, it wouldn't've caused the panic it did.

True