Air Force One photo-stunt: Priceless

by Mark Silva

Two F-16s, each of the fighter jets aloft for 1.8 hours:

$28,178.

One three-hour flight for an Air Force VC-25 (the military appellation of the jumbo jet that serves as Air Force One when the president is aboard):

$300,658.

Cost of the "photo-op" over the Statue of Liberty:

Priceless.

The flight heard 'round the world: See German TV's account of Burgemeester Bloomberg's reaction above. At the New York Daily News, they're soliciting pictures from readers of the Air Force One photo-ops they'd like to see.

Cost to the people involved in authorizing the flyover to freshen the photo files of the presidential aircraft that rattled New York City: Still unknown. But President Barack Obama, said to be "furious'' about the event, has ordered an inqury into why it happened. He also has vowed that it won't happen again.

The Air Force has estimated the overall cost at $328,835, including fuel used in flight, fuel needed to power ground equipment that helped prepare the aircraft, and ground maintenance. The flights, however, were considered training missions for the crew, a spokeswoman said, and "the hours would have been flown regardless.''

But they could have flown them over the ocean.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has faulted the Federal Aviation Administration, part of his own agency, for not notifying him in advance of the stunt.

"I didn't know anything about it until we saw the news reports on every cable channel in the world," LaHood said today. "The FAA had been contacted, but nobody bothered to call us."