Air Force One photo op incident The Air Force One photo op incident occurred on the morning of April 27 , 2009 , when a Boeing VC - 25 ( a Boeing 747 military variant used as Air Force One when the president is aboard ) , followed by a U . S . Air Force F - 16 jet fighter , flew low and circled the Upper New York Bay , site of the Statue of Liberty National Monument . President Barack Obama was not on board the aircraft during the incident . Although the planes were engaged in a photo op and training exercise , the citizens of New York and New Jersey had not been informed in advance , and some thought it could be the makings of a terrorist attack similar to the September 11 attacks . Some people ran out of buildings and panicked in the streets . Some buildings ordered evacuations . Incident . The flyby was approved by Louis Caldera , director of the White House Military Office , to update the previous image of the aircraft flying over Mount Rushmore . Fran Townsend , Homeland Security Advisor to George W . Bush , said the flyby was " crass insensitivity . " She also said , " I ' d call this felony stupidity . This is probably not the right job for Mr . Caldera to be in if he didn ' t understand the likely reaction of New Yorkers , of the mayor . " The Mayor of New York City , Michael Bloomberg , said that the flyby " defies the imagination . " Senator Charles Schumer ( D - New York ) said the Federal Aviation Administration not telling the public about the flyby in advance " borders on being either cruel or very , very stupid . " President Barack Obama did not know about the flyby until after it happened , and he stated , " It was a mistake . It was something we found out about along with all of you . And it will not happen again . " Although the city ' s police department had been notified in advance , they had been instructed not to tell the public . Caldera said of his actions , " Last week , I approved a mission over New York . I take responsibility for that decision . . . While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey , it ' s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption . I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused . " CBS News ' s New York City affiliate WCBS - TV obtained a memo from the Federal Aviation Administration ' s James Johnston saying that the agency was aware of " the possibility of public concern regarding DOD ( Department of Defense ) aircraft flying at low altitudes " in and around the city . However , the agency demanded total secrecy from the city ' s police department , the Secret Service , the FBI , and the mayor ' s office , and threatened federal sanctions if the secret was revealed . Air Force officials estimated the cost for the photo shoot mission to be around $ 328 , 835 , but stated that " the hours would have been flown regardless , and the expenses would have been accrued on a different mission " . The day after the flyby , White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the incident would be investigated by Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina . Gibbs also said that President Obama was " furious " about the flyby . However , Gibbs did not answer reporters ' repeated questions about whether or not Caldera would lose his job . Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that the idea for the flyby originated in the White House Military Office . Gibbs also stated , " Because this was a training mission , the only people on that plane were Air Force personnel . " On May 4 , 2009 , the White House told reporters that the publicity photos taken during the flight would not be shown to the public . Two days later , the White House reversed course and told reporters that the publicity photos taken during the flight could be released soon . On May 8 , 2009 , the photo was released and it was reported that Caldera had resigned . In his letter of resignation , Caldera told the president that after the incident he was no longer able to " effectively lead the White House Military Office " due to the furor over the incident . On July 31 , 2009 , 146 photos and related documents were released through the Department of Defense ' s Freedom of Information Act procedures . In August , the Associated Press reported that the Air Force used the social networking site Twitter to track the negative public reaction to the incident . Caldera ' s replacement , George Mulligan , was announced on October 16 , 2009 . In August 2010 , the Air Force notified the city of New York in advance that two F - 16s would fly over the city on August 23 , 2010 .