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View Full Version : 03/01/12 ever visit by Secret service?!



DWaviation
2012-03-01, 05:52 PM
I was out today with Yankees at the Privar Country Club where i have the Permission to Spott.
A Helicopter went down and from 2 sites Black guys came to us.
Somebody Shout "Put your hands up" and we did that.
He checkt everything asked what we doing check my ID and Visa and told me he will make a Background check if I'm Illegal here etc..
He also chekd my Bag
We saw her coming but were not allowed to take any pictures.
After she landed they went into the helicopter and flew away..

Im a bit scared about what happened but its the Air Force one and i understand that "safer first" is a big thing.

yankees368
2012-03-01, 05:58 PM
That was fun :-). I don't think anyone else on this forum can say that they made a Secret Service helicopter land just to speak to them. Too bad we didn't get any pics of her though.

eric8669
2012-03-01, 05:59 PM
That was fun :-). I don't think anyone else on this forum can say that they made a Secret Service helicopter land just to speak to them. Too bad we didn't get any pics of her though.

I wouldn't say that's fun.

NIKV69
2012-03-01, 06:00 PM
Oh Brother LOL. I may be out there Monday I think I am going to stop in at Inwood CC and touch base. Too funny. Dennis PM me who you speak to when you are there because the people I deal with are still probably down in Florida.

yankees368
2012-03-01, 06:11 PM
I wouldn't say that's fun.

Well it was at least interesting.

PhilDernerJr
2012-03-01, 06:29 PM
I was out today with Yankees at the Privar Country Club where i have the Permission to Spott.
A Helicopter went down and from 2 sites Black guys came to us.
Somebody Shout "Put your hands up" and we did that.
He checkt everything asked what we doing check my ID and Visa and told me he will make a Background check if I'm Illegal here etc..
He also chekd my Bag
We saw her coming but were not allowed to take any pictures.
After she landed they went into the helicopter and flew away..

Im a bit scared about what happened but its the Air Force one and i understand that "safer first" is a big thing.

I'm sorry, I have many questions.

Where is Privar Country Club?

When you say "went down" you mean landed? "Went down" for aircraft usually means a crash.

What kind of helicopter? Where exactly did it land? They landed just to confront you?

I don't see what relevance their race was...but what were they wearing?

when you say "her" you mean Air Force One, right?

Did they say that you weren't allowed to photograph?

eric8669
2012-03-01, 06:33 PM
I'm sorry, I have many questions.

Where is Privar Country Club?

When you say "went down" you mean landed? "Went down" for aircraft usually means a crash.

What kind of helicopter? Where exactly did it land? They landed just to confront you?

I don't see what relevance their race was...but what were they wearing?

when you say "her" you mean Air Force One, right?

Did they say that you weren't allowed to photograph?

I'll try and translate for Dennis.

Inwood Country Club, he may have meant two guys in black suites. atleast that's what I think he means.

I was listening at the time, yes they landed just to confront them.

NIKV69
2012-03-01, 06:33 PM
He means Inwood CC. I just got off the phone with them. I will discuss this but only in PM. I highly recommend we don't discuss this in a public forum. Everything is cool.

DWaviation
2012-03-01, 06:49 PM
Thanks for translation..
Here an image of the Helicopter its a regular NassauPD one

http://www.dwaviation.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_6799_b.jpg

NIKV69
2012-03-01, 06:51 PM
To clear things up Dennis does have permission to be there but originally got it from a member who is on the board and has been shooting there. The GM of course is fine with this but did not know Dennis was coming today or he would have told him no only because of AF1. Secret Service always contacts Inwood CC in advance to coordinate the arrival and has a presence there and basically wants the flight path secure (obviously).

When Dennis mentioned Inwood in the other thread we all assumed he meant the park. So everything is cool but just be advised that Inwood can't allow photogs on their property when AF1 is coming. In addition to what they have to deal with when it's in season and they have members on their property.

Matt Molnar
2012-03-01, 07:22 PM
I guess it ended well, but it is silly that they didn't let you take photos even AFTER they searched you and found you were no risk.

DWaviation
2012-03-01, 07:40 PM
Im still a risk for them.. they phoned my host parents and asking what I'm doing here what is the name of my exchange program etc..
But its good to hear that security is a big thing and they do their job..

NickPeterman
2012-03-01, 08:22 PM
That was my bigger fear, that they would contact your host family and they would react by prohibiting spotting/photography or something like that. I know several people who have had run ins with the Secret Service before, and they have always ended well. It can definitely be a little intimidating (to say the least) but they always treat you fairly. It sounds like you did the right thing by complying 105% of the way. Not getting the pic of AF1 is a bummer for sure, but getting into trouble with the law is a whole 'nother kind of bummer.

megatop412
2012-03-01, 08:39 PM
I got AF1 from my apartment balcony twice approaching PHL. The amount of trouble that thing stirs up, in my mind, doesn't justify the effort. I'm WAY more worried about being able to get the 787 at EWR next week, and the Shuttle in April. Those are the golden rings for me this year

But hopefully if anything, the Secret Service learned something about planespotting:cool:

yankees368
2012-03-01, 08:54 PM
I don't think they learned much of anything from us today. I did, however, learn that they can land their helicopter pretty much wherever they want.

DWaviation
2012-03-01, 09:06 PM
The owner will be upset! they land on the putting green! ;)

gonzalu
2012-03-01, 09:15 PM
Was it actually SS Helo or PD15? I don;t think SS has helos at their disposal. They usually borrow AF or Marines for flight ops or perhaps local folks... they only really have Cars and SUVs to manage or deal with.

yankees368
2012-03-01, 09:16 PM
Was it actually SS Helo or PD15? I don;t think SS has helos at their disposal. They usually borrow AF or Marines for flight ops or perhaps local folks... they only really have Cars and SUVs to manage or deal with.

It was NCPD, but hitching a ride was a SS agent:

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac1/yankees368/JFK%203-1-12/DSC_0179.jpg

NIKV69
2012-03-01, 09:29 PM
The owner will be upset! they land on the putting green! ;)

Not a big deal, a good superintendent can aerate it and if he uses the right chemicals it would take literally two weeks in May to have it primo.

Zee71
2012-03-01, 10:16 PM
I photographed AF1 once from Inwood Park on 9/11 (backlite), but prior to photographing AF1, I saw there were NCPD and other task force personnel. I approached them and asked if it was okay to photography AF1 coming in, and they said okay. I stayed right next to them and thank them after I was done.

Here was my image of AF1 on 9/11/11 from Inwood

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Aviation/Odd-Stuff/i-Nt38954/0/L/AirForceOne01JFK11Sep201131L-L.jpg

Mateo
2012-03-01, 10:33 PM
I actually heard Nassau PD 5 tell JFK Tower they were landing on the golf course because there were two people there. I was hoping it wasn't anyone we knew...

Delta777LR
2012-03-02, 12:02 AM
good catch on the copter Yankees, sorry you and Dennis had this encounter, as long as things went smoothly no problem wat so ever. If i was there i would have been pissed off not catching AF1. But again enforces got a job to do. although i would have never got it from inwood lol.

Gerard
2012-03-02, 02:02 AM
I don't think they learned much of anything from us today. I did, however, learn that they can land their helicopter pretty much wherever they want.

You didnt think that before? I mean it is the Secret Service!! And its not an SS helo. They always hitch a ride in the back seat of the local law enforcement aviation unit. In this case it was Nassau PD Air Bureau. As the motorcade moved into Manhattan SS agents are aboard NYPD helos. Its pretty much standard procedure. In fact SS agents will ride in the Highway Patrol cars that are in the motorcade. And they didnt learn much but I guess you did. :tongue:

mirrodie
2012-03-02, 10:29 AM
Didnt you stop to tell them that aviation photography was perfectly legal?:tongue::tongue::tongue:

All kidding aside, pretty wild.

NIKV69
2012-03-02, 11:17 AM
Didnt you stop to tell them that aviation photography was perfectly legal?:tongue::tongue::tongue:



Could you imagine the look on Secret Service's face?

yankees368
2012-03-02, 11:32 AM
It sure is legal, but not when you are apparently in a poorly controlled restricted zone. If they are not going to allow anyone on the country club property when AF1 is in town, maybe they should stop people at the gate? Or put a sign up? Just my opinion.

yankees368
2012-03-02, 11:38 AM
Also, I had initially deleted this file, but I just recovered it off the SD card. This is just before they landed to, uh, have a word with us. Quality is low because of that, and because the camera was at my waist when I took this:

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac1/yankees368/JFK%203-1-12/JPEGImage20558.jpg

NIKV69
2012-03-02, 11:57 AM
It sure is legal, but not when you are apparently in a poorly controlled restricted zone. If they are not going to allow anyone on the country club property when AF1 is in town, maybe they should stop people at the gate? Or put a sign up? Just my opinion.


You have missed the point here. Inwood CC is not owned by a single person. It's owned by 200 members. Apparently Dennis found one the first time he visited there and he was nice enough to allow him to shoot on property. This member is on the board of directors so he had the power to do so without consulting anyone. Being it was the part of year where nobody is at the club and in Florida not too many people were privy to this and it seems Dennis didn't have to call ahead or check in with anyone before his visit which is good practice and something I would do even with permission as a courtesy.

The GM's knowledge of this was limited and didn't know Dennis was coming for AF1 or he would have informed him that the SS wants the flight path secure when AF1 comes in. If Dennis would have known this by keeping in contact he would have been at the park and had been fine. Which I would have done anyway even with the golf course as an option purely from the fact that being that visible under the approach could have only have went south like it did.


It is NOT Inwood CC's responsibility to stop you at the gate or put up signs to stop you from pulling a boner. It's YOUR responsibility. It's on you to have the foresight and good judgement to treat any spotting location as a privilege and not a birthright. Whether you have permission or not.

Not trying to be rude but your comment reeked of entitlement. You should be a little more humble and thankful they even allow on their property. I know most other country clubs would have not even entertained the idea or made you call ahead and be escorted. As always try using some common sense with these things and think big picture. Not just "I need a pic of AF1"

yankees368
2012-03-02, 12:27 PM
You have missed the point here. Inwood CC is not owned by a single person. It's owned by 200 members. Apparently Dennis found one the first time he visited there and he was nice enough to allow him to shoot on property. This member is on the board of directors so he had the power to do so without consulting anyone. Being it was the part of year where nobody is at the club and in Florida not too many people were privy to this and it seems Dennis didn't have to call ahead or check in with anyone before his visit which is good practice and something I would do even with permission as a courtesy.

The GM's knowledge of this was limited and didn't know Dennis was coming for AF1 or he would have informed him that the SS wants the flight path secure when AF1 comes in. If Dennis would have known this by keeping in contact he would have been at the park and had been fine. Which I would have done anyway even with the golf course as an option purely from the fact that being that visible under the approach could have only have went south like it did.


It is NOT Inwood CC's responsibility to stop you at the gate or put up signs to stop you from pulling a boner. It's YOUR responsibility. It's on you to have the foresight and good judgement to treat any spotting location as a privilege and not a birthright. Whether you have permission or not.

Not trying to be rude but your comment reeked of entitlement. You should be a little more humble and thankful they even allow on their property. I know most other country clubs would have not even entertained the idea or made you call ahead and be escorted. As always try using some common sense with these things and think big picture. Not just "I need a pic of AF1"

Let me clear that up a bit. I am certainty not entitled, I was actually quite humble that I was on their grounds. I did not mean that they club itself should have restricted us from being there, but the police. There was absolutely no warning for anyone who might have entered club property that day that they were not allowed to be there. Had we of known, there is no chance we would have even attempted. I was simply saying that is that property was restricted by the federal government that day, they needed to do a better job of keeping people off it. I simply went by Dennis' word that the owner he talked to said he could come down there any time he wanted to. Sorry for any confusion.

NIKV69
2012-03-02, 12:49 PM
I was simply saying that is that property was restricted by the federal government that day, they needed to do a better job of keeping people off it. I simply went by Dennis' word that the owner he talked to said he could come down there any time he wanted to. Sorry for any confusion.

You're still not getting it and yes you are showing a huge amount of entitlement here. Do you seriously think the Secret Service is going to announce the presidents arrival by posting signs? Come on and use some common sense. They will never give away his position or his planned route even as routine as it is. There has been previous threads here including one of the last ones where NCPD was swooping in on anyone close to the presidents position so common sense would have dictated you head to the park where shooting would have been safe.

I realize that AF1 causes a stir and for some to get very gung ho but do a little research on how the SS protects the POTUS and plan ahead. It would pay off in the end. For everyone.

yankees368
2012-03-02, 12:59 PM
All I am saying is that it is a little confusing that NCPD would have a car parked at the inwood park (and I'm sure other locations as well), but not actually at a restricted area. That is all. I can assure you, it will not happen again. Sorry for any headaches I may have given anyone and I hope to make this up to you, I guess. Anywhere, here is the audio from the tower, skip to 13:30

http://snd.sc/wQWsvw

jerslice
2012-03-02, 01:16 PM
If it was a normal spot that I'd been to dozens of times before I can honestly say I probably would've been there too and learned the same lesson. It would not have occured to me that it would've been a potential problem. Case in point, the president has visited Seattle three times since I moved here. On two of those three times we could shoot under the approach path, no problem, no hassle, no nothing. The third time, the SS had it blocked off and we couldn't go there - it would not have occured to me to be a problem since a) I spot there all the time and b) we've been able to be there in the past. Other normal spots have been the same way...midfield lot is a 50/50 whether they allow it or not. One time they didn't allow zoom lenses. So, my experience has been that if they don't want you there they'll make it pretty clear you can't be there.

DWaviation
2012-03-02, 01:25 PM
I can clearly understand what the problem is..
It was maybe not a good idea to go there because SS don't want anybody there.
But I'm from Germany and could never imagine that something like that can be happen.
I was very surprised that something like that happen to me.
At the Country Club were around that time about 4 Police officers by food and they don't stop us..
I will not say that they should stop us but at least say something that we could get in trouble...
At the moment i don't know what to do... i hope that because of the things what happened plane spotting is getting not more risky for you or the police is now more stricter
Also i didn't know what happen next.. I'm on any list? the watch me now?
I heard also that the AF1 switched to La Guardia and it was on the news. Was that because of us?
Im sorry for that

threeholerglory
2012-03-02, 01:29 PM
Odds are you'll probably have a sniper on you no matter where you go while you're in the country (please note sarcasm).

I HIGHLY doubt there will be any complications other than a lesson learned. Or multiple lessons learned.

Anyway, I think the EWR incident trumps this any day...just sayin' =P

NIKV69
2012-03-02, 01:33 PM
I'm on any list? the watch me now?

Im sorry for that


Don't worry they spy on us all.



2slhbVnU9GQ

Gerard
2012-03-02, 03:02 PM
[QUOTE=DWaviation;4617
I heard also that the AF1 switched to La Guardia and it was on the news. Was that because of us?
Im sorry for that[/QUOTE]

The B747 AF1 version cannot land at LGA. Possibly they switched LZs for Marine 1 from Randalls Island to LGA? Where did you hear this?
BTW a very, very close family member lives in the building on the West Side where Obama had his fund raiser. The Secret Service had an advance team there Monday going through the
do/dont for the visit to all the residents. My buddy in work who is a big presidential buff told me I should take the day off and go hang out. I assured him I wouldnt see a thing and in retrospect
might have wound up like our buddies "The Inwood Two".:biggrin:

DWaviation
2012-03-02, 03:23 PM
A friend is working for Fligh Safety at LGA and he told me that.
It was also on the news anywhere..

Gerard
2012-03-02, 06:31 PM
It was also on the news anywhere..

Any links/info? I looked anywhere and found nothing.

PhilDernerJr
2012-03-02, 06:38 PM
Marine One still went to Randalls, not LGA....they flew over my place in Astoria, and we're past LGA from JFK.

Perriwen
2012-03-20, 09:31 PM
So, do they, like, have police and secret service anywhere that has a clear line of sight of the plane? o.O

Gerard
2012-03-20, 10:20 PM
So, do they, like, have police and secret service anywhere that has a clear line of sight of the plane? o.O

They definitely have a clear sight of anyone that has a clear sight of the plane. :cool:

Perriwen
2012-03-20, 10:57 PM
They definitely have a clear sight of anyone that has a clear sight of the plane. :cool:

How do they deal with people who live under the approach path, install cameras in their backyard? <.<

Gerard
2012-03-21, 07:01 PM
How do they deal with people who live under the approach path, install cameras in their backyard? <.<

Lock them in their house and dont go near the windows. :biggrin:
Actually maybe not so far fetched. During the recent visit one of Obamas stops was at a fundraiser in an apt on the Upper West Side. I have a close
family member living in the building. Residents were told they couldnt leave their apts during the visit and dont open their windows to look out. An SS agent
was stationed on each floor.

megatop412
2012-03-21, 08:39 PM
Lock them in their house and dont go near the windows. :biggrin:
Actually maybe not so far fetched. During the recent visit one of Obamas stops was at a fundraiser in an apt on the Upper West Side. I have a close
family member living in the building. Residents were told they couldnt leave their apts during the visit and dont open their windows to look out. An SS agent
was stationed on each floor.


Man that's ridiculous. If some stranger tried to tell me I couldn't look at my own president, through my own damn window, I would've said "with all the taxes I have to pay, I own the rights to look at him. If he doesn't want people looking at him tell him to stay home." Either that or they can pay for my dinner at a nice restaurant during the time in question.

Gerard
2012-03-21, 08:57 PM
If some stranger tried to tell me I couldn't look at my own president, through my own damn window,

LOL it wasnt a stranger it was the UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE!! But they were given the heads up days before so they knew the deal.
I know it sounds a little extreme but we are talking about the President and things do get frozen when he is around. And a lot of people just went
out for the day. She didnt. She was just happy she wasnt invited to the fund raiser and would have to make a contribution. :smile:

Perriwen
2012-03-22, 01:58 AM
Lock them in their house and dont go near the windows. :biggrin:
Actually maybe not so far fetched. During the recent visit one of Obamas stops was at a fundraiser in an apt on the Upper West Side. I have a close
family member living in the building. Residents were told they couldnt leave their apts during the visit and dont open their windows to look out. An SS agent
was stationed on each floor.

See, if I was the owner of that apartment complex, and the SS did that...I would wait until the President arrived, then tell him I had changed my mind and didn't want him in my building, and then slam the door in his face. :D