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Today's Aborted Military Fly-By: Just A Little Retirement Gift
By
John Del Signore
Published May 11, 2009
Modified May 12, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 11, 2009
Modified May 12, 2009
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This morning the NYC Office of Emergency Management announced that "a P-3 Orion reconnaissance military plane will fly down and back up the Hudson River between the hours of 10:30 to 11:30 a.m." Coming as it does after the Air Force One photo-op debacle, the fly-by must have been for a pretty important reason, right? Well, the Post has it that it was arranged as a retirement present from a Naval base in Maine to a "veteran aviator." Apparently, the FAA had approved the request months ago and informed the city at that time, but had not specified the date until this morning. The Bloomberg administration says they didn't ask for the flight to be canceled, but informed the FAA that it would have been nice to have a little more notice to prepare New Yorkers for additional traumatic 9/11 flashbacks. After the NYC Office of Emergency Management announced the flyby, the FAA reversed itself and revoked permission for the flight, the AP reports. FAA party-poopers reportedly told commanders at Naval Air Station Brunswick that they couldn't risk further public panic for the sake of a going-away party.
Tagged
air force one
canceled
flyover
military plane
nyc
office of emergency management
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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