Series of gaffes led to Air Force One flyover

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By Joseph Curl

The Air Force One photo shoot over New York City last month, with the presidential aircraft buzzing lower Manhattan at 1,000 feet as terrified workers were fleeing office buildings, was a convergence of gaffes missed e-mails and phone calls, doses of pain pills, early departures from the office, and hallway "asides" that went nowhere.

The debacle culminated Friday in the resignation of Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office (WHMO).

"I have concluded that the controversy surrounding the Presidential Airlift Group's aerial photo shoot over New York City has made it impossible for me to effectively lead the White House Military Office," Mr. Caldera said, noting that the fiasco had become "a distraction."

The White House Counsel's Office, led by attorney Greg Craig, conducted an internal review of the fiasco, which was released by the White House Friday, along with a single photo of the flyover. The report was both bizarre and inconclusive, essentially grinding into a "he said, he said" about who knew what, when.

The report said: Initial planning for the flyover, in which a combat photographer trailing Air Force One in one of two F-16 fighter jets was assigned to take a new publicity photo of the presidential plane as it flew low over the Statue of Liberty, began in March 2009, "or earlier."

On April 3, a group of federal and state officials, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, held a conference call to discuss "operational issues and public affairs/outreach issues." Those on the call concluded that "public affairs and outreach efforts must be carefully coordinated and timed."

There was a consensus that coordination with "the general public" would commence two days before the flight, but the written summary of the call insisted that "no reference should be made to the presidential aircraft in any public outreach."

Neither Mr. Caldera, who was traveling with President Obama in Europe at the time, nor his deputy, George Mulligan, sat in on the call.

On April 9, Col. Scott Turner, commander of the Presidential Airlift Group (PAG), sent an e-mail to Mr. Mulligan detailing the flyover. Several days later, Col. Turner got back in touch, saying the plan was still under development.

Meanwhile, Mr. Caldera again accompanied Mr. Obama abroad, this time to Mexico and Trinidad, returning April 19.