Anyone insulted by this complete and total bullshit excuse? http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/low.flying.plane/index.html#cnnSTCVideo How is it possible they would be completely oblivious to how this would appear to NYers..... I love how in the middle of this they cut to a conversation about Osama Bin Laden and how hes "still at large" then cut back to the low flying AF1 and fighter jet ending in obvious panic. This seems to be none other than PsyOp fear mongering. I simply don't buy for one second that our gvrnmnt officials are retarded enough to do a low flyby in AF1 with fighter jets solely for a PhotoOp.....when you could easily save THOUSDANDS of dollars and more in time/resources by simply using photoshop. there is was something more going on there than what were being told.
The pilots needed some additional flight time for their monthly qualifications. But I'm just sure that the wacko conspiracy theorist can come up with some wild, unsubstantiated government conspiracy .....don't cha' think? Baron Max
Oh so flying low in NY for pilot training qualifications is normalcy and happens very often since im sure they are constantly training the pilots who fly AF1. If this is the case why suddenly is it on the NEWS? Also why the PhotoOp excuse? Why not just say...Pilots needed qualification training with low level maneuvers?
Once again, Obama missed a teachable moment when certain New Yorkers (certainly not all who witnessed the flight) panicked at the sight of airplanes. In Oke City, they don't panic at the sight of rental trucks. Neither should anyone assume the worst at the sight of a slowly circling formation of aircraft. Now that Obama has proclaimed this unforgiveable and declared that "It won't happen again", he has ignorantly contributed to the deepening of pathological public aeronoia in the USA.
I think comparing the 9-11 to oaklahoma city bombing to be a bit ridiculous as rental trucks are far more common and unavoidable than low flying 747's and fighter jets....I see your point but I just think its a bit of a reach to expect NYers just ignore low flying 747's and fighter jets over their city especially when that is not an every day occurance. And seriously is everyone buying into this lame "photop" excuse? It just seems so silly to me.
sly1: "I just think its a bit of a reach to expect NYers just ignore low flying 747's and fighter jets over their city..." That's why it was a teachable moment: Yes, it was foolish and insensitive for this to have happened unannounced. But it compounds the mistake, and is even more foolish to reinforce the perception that the public should tolerate no spontaneity, no noticeable exuberance, and no displays of the grace and freedom in the air, that may be visible to any fearful citizens on the ground. Obama's spineless response compounds the ignorant popular assumption that government and media have been heavily reinforcing, by which anything slightly out of the ordinary involving aircraft is to be feared and repressed. This is not an enhancement of national security- it's an aggravation of national psychosis. If you're not personally involved with aviation, you may think it harmless for that segment to be regarded with reinforced fear and suspicion, but consider that paranoia is not only irrational but also contagious, and consider that such irrationality manifests in many harmful ways. Those aircraft did not represent a threat, and were not flown in any way approximating the high-speed attack runs of 9-11. That graceful circling from safe altitude (no lower than traffic maneuvering to and from local airports) represented our national pride, purchased at great price. When the appearance of that distinctve pair was fearfully misunderstood by a few, the Administration's response could have assuaged our post-9/11 disorders by gently reminding those most traumatized that it's time to move beyond irrational fears. All that surprises us from above is not fearsome or evil. If we can desist from practicing fear and recrimination, sometimes we can even look up with unrehearsed wonder and pride.
I agree with what your saying the "fear" and "paranoia" around airliners in general especially in NY is not part of being a "free" country. I agree that people should not be ruled by thier fears.
This was an opportunity to dispel fear and ignorance, but the media and White House have instead reinforced them. It was a bad day for US aviation's once-bright optimism and leadership. There was nothing wrong with the fly-by, but on the ground it was met with a deplorable display of our dark and diseased national mentality.
The pilots needed some additional flight time for their monthly qualifications. total bs.. those guys fly out of Lincoln Ne. all the time .. plenty of opportunity to log hours, the 747 was over my old house all the time..almost daily
I fly right down the Hudson at 1,000' and circle the Lady at least once a year, as an important part of maintaining my qualifications as a free American Aviator.
eh... One guy stages a landing on an aircraft carrier to declare "Mission Accomplished" just as the wheels are about to come off his Inutile Crusade™... One guy has an enormous airplane buzz a city which had 2 of it's biggest buildings blown to smithereens by suicide jockeys in enormous airplanes... Like the song sez: Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right... Can we just shoot both of them and expunge their names from history ?
Got a little off track of my origional question a bit. Does anyone truely buy the PhotoOP excuse? If so WHY? If not what is the possible "real reason" for the flyby?
Yes, it was just that, but some desk jockey had his head firmly up his fourth point of contact in authorizing that, what the hell did they expect to happen? Any jet buzzing New York is going to set off the DEFCON ONE alarm bells, for the citizenry, and as far as THE Obama not knowing, that is were the bull shit gets deep.
sly1: "Does anyone truely buy the PhotoOP excuse?" I do. "If so WHY?" 1. The VC-25s are a national symbol- Similarly, the Capitol is often photographed with reverent and flattering composition. 2. WE rule our skies- not the terrorists. 3. NY, NY is the fitting place to strut our stuff.
I do realize that we were psychologically unprepared for 9-11. But it's high time we started looking up with pride again- not fear.
