Director Of The White House Military Office Sparks Terror Scare In New York City

The NY Post reports that "a jumbo jet being chased by a F-16 fighter jets buzzed Lower Manhattan this morning, panicking New Yorkers, many of whom were forced to evacuate their office buildings... [T]he low-flying 747 circling the Statue of Liberty was one of the planes used as Air Force One, sources said. The NYPD and the city were notified of the planned flight, but did not share that information with Mayor Bloomberg and other New Yorkers, many of whom said they were terrified. Dominick Caglioti, who works at the Mercantile Exchange, thought the worst as he saw the jets hurtle toward his window just after 10:30 a.m. After learning it was all a photo op, he was furious. 'It's so stupid because they tell you about every fire drill, but they didn't tell us about this,' he said. The planes flew over the Verrazano Bridge, buzzed the left ear Lady Liberty and then continued up the Hudson past Jersey City and then circling back toward Staten Island, federal sources told the Post. Thousands flooded the streets downtown as buildings called evacuations. 'There is situation outside. We don't have any further information,' went one announcement at the Embassy Suites downtown."

NBC news reports that "an official from the Obama administration said the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty. This official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the White House Military Office told the Federal Aviation Administration that it periodically updates file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks, like the statute in New York harbor and the Grand Canyon... 'Everybody panicked,' said Daisy Cooper, a Merrill Lynch worker in Jersey City, who lost a nephew on 9/11. 'Everybody was screaming and we all ran downstairs.I'm devastated...Everybody was running, we didn't know why we were running. We just knew it was a plane, there we go, 9/11 again.'... A Pentagon official confirmed that while the Presidential Airlift Group, which is based out of Andrews Air Force Base, did inform the FAA and New York City officials about this morning's aerial photo op, they also told both agencies not to inform the public about it.The NYPD confirmed that statement. Louis Caldera, Director of the White House Military Office took the blame for the photo-op flap."


Obama said the incident was a "mistake.":

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