Defense Department Releases Air Force One Manhattan Flyover Photos

nytimes.com:

At the Pentagon's Web site, you can click through an entire run of photographs (in pdf) taken last spring on that ill-fated, rather freaky, public-relations stunt by the backup Air Force One that flew over Manhattan and all its landmarks.

The Pentagon released the full set of 146 photographs in response to Freedom of Information requests, it seems. Around photo 82, the jet begins flying over the Statue of Liberty, and then later, does a return rip above the landmark. The Defense Department also released a redacted flight manifest, which, frankly, doesn't tell you much.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[LLNYRN]

All that money and The Defense Department couldn't use a camera with higher megapixels?
Or use PhotoShop to touch them up at least?
My NIKON CoolPix 990 takes sharper pics.
And it's only 3.4 megapixels.

Awesome and Beautiful composition.
But crappy camera/film stock.
I've seen sharper desktop wallpaper on the internet.

And I think people really need to get over this already.
Yeah. I understand the panic.
And the waste of money of course.
But it's making us New Yorkers look like SeinFeld whiners.

[HarlemFreeThought]

Hey If you accept as word, and gullible to believe the event was a "photo op" I have some beach front property in Arizona for sale. Sorry mayor Bloomberg has re-zoned the bridge

[TJCole]

Air Force One, Terrorizing New York on Taxpayers money...!

Great shots...!

Way to go White House...

[yappnmutt]

pictures of missiles launched over dc would have been much more effective and inspiring.

[newtom]

And the rockets' red glare
the bombs bursting in air...

[deacongermany]

How about photos Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon?

[the mean in meaningless]

Or photos of President Obama's birth certificate?

[VOTER]

Your wish has been granted and when you learn how to read,
you can enjoy it.

[Unfussy]

Enough already with the "Birther Bill" and President Obama's birth certificate. This issue is CRAZY and has no merit what so ever.
Try reading Jason Linkins article on the Huffington Post and watch the video on the "Birther Bill". There is also the exchange on Hardball hosted by Christ Matthews with Congressman John Campbell.

Think about it

[Unfussy]

Why have the reminder of that attack on the Pentagon?
What a horrible thing to watch.

[hellostats]

Quite frankly those photos are terrible.

[MochasMom]

I was just going to say the same thing.

[Unfussy]

I couldn't agree more :))

[Firestarterfive]

I believe Air Force 1 was actually searching the country for any Republicans that made sense. Sadly, the trip was uneventful.

[Marnie1]

Just looked at the photos.
1) They aren't even great photos.
2) Does anybody really care about a photo of the President's plane
3) Why NYC with its pollutiion and drab colors as the background
4) Total waste of money. For what that flight cost, - labor and fuel for three jets, pilots and crew, that could put a couple of youngster through college, or retrain half a dozen hard working adults who just lost their jobs.

[instagladiator]

Typical splurge spending to keep up the totals for their budget.

[Riley Pacheco]

I am no expert in any arena of photography but I am less than impressed with every picture.

Did anyone else do a flip-book type thing and watch the plane fly while clicking through the pictures? I am such a nerd.

[MochasMom]

I am a nerd too.

[VOTER]

Yes, I did.

Whoosh....­..........­..........

It was such a stupid idea, I wonder if it wasn't a Bush leftover.

[Unfussy]

They were very unimpressive.
Oh, and I'm a nerd too.....lo­ve it!

[SmolderingRuin]

At the White House briefing on Friday, Robert Gibbs, the press secretary, was asked about e-mails that suggested he was among those to be briefed by Mr. Caldera in advance of the flyover. His reply? “No. I think anybody can look back at the transcript of the day that I came out here and it’s — I don’t think the transcript denotes maybe the look on my face, but I think the answer denotes — and the report that we ultimately released says that unfortunately neither Jim nor I were briefed. Safe to say, I think if we were, we wouldn’t have had those fancy pictures.”

Huh? With verbal skills like that, he should become press secretary in Kazakhstan.

[KMFIX]

They're gonna have to do a lot of work in post to clean up those skies...

[thos]

Couldn't they have done this photo shoot on the datenight that Barack and Michelle spent in NYC?

[PresidentRobertBooth]

The Department of Defence should just use Photoshop.

You don't actually need to fly a plane over New York to get a picture of a plane flying over New York.

[houseafire]

Hell, everyone seems to know that fact except the self-important goon-squad at our Department of
Defense...­.which sounds pretty fishy and pretty stupid, as well as costly to me.

[newtom]

Hey! What a photoshoot! I think they got some good shots. Was this for some patriotic ad campaign? Who are they trying to sell on the idea of flying on AirForce1? Don't it make you feel patriotic to see AF1 with the Statue of Liberty in the background?

Gawd bless America!

[tisfilm]

Gawd?

[postbox42008]

Background? You mean that little spec at the bottom of the frame?

[tisfilm]

That's so crazy....
but pictures look so awesome anyway....