UPDATE Below: White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover That Terrified New Yorkers

UPDATE: Please scroll down thank you.

Jim Brown, took this photograph from 10 Exchange Place in Jersey City, looking toward 77 Hudson Street and the Statue of Liberty.

New York Times
An Air Force One lookalike, the backup plane for the one regularly used by the president, flew low over parts of New York and New Jersey on Monday morning, accompanied by two F-16 fighters, so Air Force photographers could take pictures high above the New York harbor.
But the exercise — conducted without any notification to the public — caused momentary panic in some quarters and led to the evacuation of several buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City.
By the afternoon, the situation had turned into a political fuse box, with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg saying that he was “furious” that he had not been told in advance about the flyover.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Monday afternoon that he was unaware of the flyover. At his daily press briefing, Mr. Gibbs initially referred questions to the F.A.A. and the Air Force. When told that those government offices were referring questions to the White House, Mr. Gibbs said: “I have no information on this other than what I saw.”

Mr. Gibbs, pressed by reporters, said he had seen news reports of the flyover, but declared: “I was working on other things. You might be surprised to know that I don’t know every movement of Air Force One.” Later, he added that he would look into the matter.

Unaware of the planned exercise, scores of office workers flooded out of buildings, worried about the prospect of terrorism.

“People came pouring out of the buildings, the American Express Building, all the buildings in the financial district by the water,” said Edward Acker, a photographer who was at the building, 3 World Financial Center. “And even the construction guys over by 100 North End Avenue area, they all got out of their buildings. Nobody knew about it. Finally some guy showed up with a little megaphone to tell everyone it was a test, but the people were not happy. The people who were here 9/11 were not happy.”

Wild Thing’s comment…………
How many people are going to have to fall on their swords for obama? It is disgraceful that he would use the military in this way.
Obama and his people are such idiots. They have not only forgotten about 9-11, they don’t even care that it happened. For it to not even enter their minds when they planned this stupid thing tells the world how stupid they are.
We can easily imagine the dialog in the White House, prior to this incident, probably went thus:
Rahm: “Mr. President, we’re making a promotional video for your 100-day celebration. We’re going to create a shot of you flying Air Force One over Manhattan, looking down at Ground Zero.”
Obama: “Sounds good. Go ahead and set up the shot.”
Military Aide: “We’ll need to have an escort following the plane, Mr. President – protocol”
Obama: “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Are we done? I’m late for my golf game.”

Mayor Bloomberg furious about Air Force one buzzing New York for photo op

UPDATE:
Obama Orders Review of New York Flight as Cost Put at $328,835
FAA Memo: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic
Threatened Federal Sanctions Against NYPD, Secret Service, FBI & Mayor’s Office If Secret Ever Got Out
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday’s flyover was “two training missions that became in the end a picture mission” and only Air Force personnel were aboard.

Obama has directed Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina to review “how the decision was made to conduct the flight,” Gibbs said at the daily White House briefing.

In a memo obtained by CBS 2 HD the Federal Aviation Administration’s James Johnston said the agency was aware of “the possibility of public concern regarding DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft flying at low altitudes” in an around New York City. But they demanded total secrecy from the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor’s office and threatened federal sanctions if the secret got out.
What are your feelings on federal officials demanding the NYC flyover be kept secret by the NYPD and the mayor’s office?

“To say that it should not be made public knowing that it might scare people it’s just confounding,” Sen. Charles Schumer said. “It’s what gives Washington and government a bad name. It’s sheer stupidity.”

The flyover — apparently ordered by the White House Office of Military Affairs so it would have souvenir photos of Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty in the background — had President Obama seeing red.
He ordered a probe and apologized.

“It was a mistake. It will never happen again,” President Obama said.

The NYPD was so upset about the demand for secrecy that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly vowed never to follow such a directive again and he accused the feds of inciting fears of a 9/11 replay.