Wow.

From the Wall Street Journal article on Obama's big investigation into Monday's boneheaded photo shoot over New York harbor:

Despite the cost of an Air Force One flight, both White House and Air Force officials said the flyover also served as a routine training mission, allowing the 747's pilots to log sufficient flight hours.

"The crew on these aircraft have to maintain their proficiency," said Gary Strasburg, an Air Force spokesman.

Wow.  I mean, just, wow.  

That has to be the most ridiculous justification I can imagine for this stupid stunt.  I cannot even begin to think what proficiency requirements call for dicking around in a 747 at 1,500 feet over New York harbor.  There are certainly none that I have seen.

I fly through that airspace all the time (with a clearance from Newark Tower) and you just never see big jets at that altitude in that area.  This is the kind of thing that PR hacks throw out because they know that very few people know enough to challenge them.  I am flabbergasted.