AP/Jason McLane
This cell phone picture shows an Air Force One back-up, followed by an F-16 chase plane, flying low over New York harbor.
The White House has put the brakes on plans to classify photos taken during last week’s controversial Air Force One-style flyover of Manhattan, reversing a decision to keep the official images of the incident under wraps.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that an internal report will probably be completed this week and the infamous photos will see the light of day.
“We'll release its findings and release a photo," he said.
The news came after the baffling decision to classify the well-documentened (and totally scary) low-flying F-16 and Air Force One clone photo-op that scared the holy heck out of lower Manhattan.
Mayor Bloomberg took a little shot at Team Obama Tuesday, questioning the public relations-savvy of the administration's decision to keep the publicity photos of low-flying plane under wraps.
"If I were them, I think I'd get less publicity by putting them out rather than by keeping them in," Bloomberg said. "They did not ask about coming up here and flying that plane around and they did not ask me about the photos either."
The glamour shots taken during the $328,835 photo op sparked fears of a terrorist attack and caused scores to run for cover, but the Obama administration told the New York Post Tuesday that the infamous publicity stills would never see the light of day even though other pictures and even video are already public.
"Look in the papers. There are the photos," said the mayor who seemed a little amused by it all. "I don't know what could possibly be classified. Maybe there's some national interest that I'm not familiar with."
The White House didn't tell all necessary local authorities about the government-sponsored photo op that involved a Boeing 747 and an F-16 fighter jet whizzing past the New York City skyline -- and instead told those in the know not to share information about the super secret photo op with the public.
