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Doc dump details AF1's NYC mishap

By Josh Gerstein

August 1, 2009

Air Force brass and White House officials were so infatuated by the idea of flying Air Force One around the Statue of Liberty for a photo shoot that they lost sight of the chaos such a mission could cause on the ground, according to documents the Air Force released Friday evening.

(CLICK HERE to view highlights from the Air Force release)

While the head of the White House Military Office, Louis Caldera, was essentially sacked in May, the e-mail exchanges make clear that the ill-fated April 27 mission was really the brainchild of the lead pilot of Air Force One, Col. Scott Turner.

The documents show that the Air Force carefully tracked the explosion of negative press that ensued after panicked New Yorkers feared the low-flying, circling planes were part of a 9/11-like attack.

The e-mails also show various components of the bureaucracy trying to steer clear of the fallout.

Of those who knew about the planned flight, only an Air Force reserve Major General, Brian Keenan, seems to have foresight into the response the photo op inspired.

"NYC populace can be sensitive to airplanes that appear lower than normal or on tracks not normall seen over the NYC area. Influenced by 9/11," the Newark-based Continental pilot wrote two days before the starcrossed AF1 sortie.

Many segments of the documents were redacted to protect "deliberative process." For whatever reason, the white-out seems particularly prevalent surrounding a number of exchanges relating to an inquiry about the flight from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Here's a look at some of the juiciest pages among the more than 1000 released Friday. Several of the excerpts below can be seen in the slideshow at the left of the page.

p. 37 On April 24, White House military office aide George Mulligan says he wishes he could come along.

p. 38 Turner promises free 8 x 10 glossies courtesy of Boeing.

p. 154 "Show folks we were not involved," one military aide writes after the incident.

p. 155 "Strongly suggest we steer clear of this flail," one National Guard official says, fearing it will look "like we own this."

p. 166 "To say this is being beaten like a dead horse is an understatement," a combat information specialist writes of the media response to the flight.

p. 167 A round-up of media attention notes: "3 tweets per minute."

p. 175 An e-mail says two airborne AF1 photo shoots were planned, the one in NY and one in DC.

p. 196 An Air Force major says the pass-the-buck stance is making everyone involved look like the Three Stooges.

p. 419 Maj Gen Brian Meenan, AF reserve, tried to warn about fallout, but is told coordination with local officials is complete.

p. 456 Turner signs on to describing the mission as "continuation training," not just a photo op.

p. 467 Turner urges spokespeople to "stick with the 'canned' response."

p. 496 Turner defends the mission. "The Vc-25 has not done a photo shoot of this sort since right after aircraft delivery (1990)."

p. 508 Turner runs the flight by Air Mobility Command General Arthur Lichte, who replies: "Will love to see the results of the photo shoot of my home town. Be sure to smile." Turner says the purpose of the flight is to update photos in the "hospitality package" given to guests on Air Force One and that the update is his idea.

p. 512 After the flight, Turner emails Lichte: "As was expected, all of the media has jumped on this as a negative thing."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25682.html