Air Force One Fly-Over

Thousands of workers in dozens of skyscrapers in Manhattan emptied out into the streets last week in a forced evacuation caused by the appearance of a low flying 747 venturing into illegal air space followed by a US Air Force fighter jet.

When the 747 flew over once, it turned around and flew over again, then still a third time, then flew off.

Initial reports were that a movie was being shot and the filmmakers had it had been done without any permissions. Later the rumor was that it had been done with permission. Finally the Mayor got on television to say he had given no permission and heads would roll when he learned who did this.

Turns out, for reasons that I will later explain as "shovel ready," the flyover was conducted by the Federal Government making a new color brochure about Air Force One. At the present time, there is a color brochure being given out that shows Air Force One flying over the mountains of Yosemite. The Feds were tired of looking at that. Maybe it was time for the next press run to show something new. How about Air Force One flying over the skyscrapers of Manhattan! Wow! What a great idea.

At this point, those in the government agency deciding these things could have decided on this by using CGI, the method to digitally superimpose one image over another. Get an air view of the Manhattan skyline. Get an air view of Air Force One. Put them together.

But no. That might only cost $100 to arrange. Better yet, why not actually fly Air Force One over Manhattan and get an Air Force F-16 with a photographer on board to fly behind it taking pictures? Hey, we've got Air Force One here at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Maryland just sitting on the runway and we've got Manhattan just an hour away up the coast and surely we can have the Air Force crew come in and fire her up, scramble a fighter jet from Vandenberg and do it for real. Isn't this what "shovel ready" is all about? We could blow through a quarter of a million dollars with this operation. Boy would we get a great picture. And think of all the money that would trickle down.

Of course, this group of clowns did contact the City of New York. Yes they did. They called City officials and told them, but then told them to keep it secret. If the general public found out, it might cause panic.

The man called, who is the PR director for the city has since confessed that he got that call, and that since this came from Washington, he followed orders, which he interpreted as not telling even the Mayor. After the flyover, when he realized this was a mistake, he apologized, then threw himself on the mercy of the Mayor, who, I am told, forgave him.

What would the Mayor have done if he had been told? The Mayor said he would have made a phone call to tell them not to do this. That is what he would have done.

And so the flyover took place, and the 747 wandered over Jersey City, the Brooklyn Bridge, Westchester and lower Connecticut, the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of Manhattan and, I suppose if the best picture they get is one that shows a hole in the ground where the Twin Towers used to be, someone will get the bright idea to CGI them back in.

I wouldn't put it past them.