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May 2, 2003
President
takes over plane's controls 
By Bill Sammon
THE WASHINGTON
TIMES
SAN DIEGO — President Bush helped pilot
the jet that swooped down for a dramatic landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln
yesterday, marking the first time he has taken the controls of an aircraft
in more than 30 years.
"I flew it," Mr. Bush said with a
grin upon landing. He called the experience "really exciting. I miss
flying, I can tell you that."
The president sat in the co-pilot's seat and
maneuvered the joystick of the Navy S-3B Viking for about five minutes
during the 15-minute flight from San Diego to the aircraft carrier, which
was returning to the West Coast after serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The president was not at the controls when the
plane made a picture-perfect landing on the flight deck, where its tailhook
snagged the last of four steel cables, bringing the aircraft to a lurching
halt in fewer than 400 feet. The original plan was for the Viking to snag
the third cable.
Although landing a plane on a moving aircraft
carrier is considered one of the most dangerous maneuvers in aviation, the
White House insisted Mr. Bush was not playing the role of daredevil.
"If it wasn't safe, the president of the
United States would not be doing it," said White House Press Secretary
Ari Fleischer. "And I remind you it's done every day, many times a
day, by Navy pilots whose mission is to fly on an aircraft carrier."
But not all such landings are successful. On
April 1, a Viking skidded off the deck of the USS Constellation. The two
pilots were rescued and the Navy is investigating the cause of the mishap.
The president prepared for such a scenario by
undergoing water-survival training in advance of yesterday's flight, said a
senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The
training reportedly involved sitting in a cockpit simulator that is filled
with water, forcing the president to hold his breath.
Mr. Bush also underwent rigorous training in
the late 1960s for his stint as a jet fighter pilot in the Texas Air
National Guard. He had hoped to relive that excitement yesterday by helping
pilot an F-18 fighter jet, which has just two seats, for the trip to the
carrier.
But the Secret Service insisted on having an
agent with the president, who agreed to take the four-seat Viking instead.
The seats were occupied by Mr. Bush, a Secret Service agent, the pilot,
Cmdr. John "Skip" Lussier, and a naval flight officer, Lt. Ryan
Phillips.
The plane flew over the Lincoln twice amid
cloudy skies and buffeting winds before smoothly approaching the deck at
150 miles per hour and landing without incident. Mr. Bush waved from inside
the cockpit as hundreds of sailors and Marines cheered on deck.
The president emerged in a green flight suit
with his white helmet tucked under his left arm. Grinning from ear to ear,
he shook hands with the ship's senior leaders before plunging into a throng
of F-18 pilots, with whom he posed for pictures.
The extraordinary images, which received
extensive TV coverage, triggered grumbling among some Democrats, who
dismissed the landing as an expensive photo opportunity that will show up
in TV ads for the president's re-election campaign.
"The president is going to an aircraft
carrier far out at sea with military surroundings, while countless numbers
of Americans are frightened stiff about the economy here at home,"
said presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat.
The White House shrugged off such complaints.
"The president has never politicized
national security; nor will he," a senior official told The Washington
Times. "And I think it would be unfortunate if Democrats did."
It was the first time a sitting president
ever landed on a moving aircraft carrier. The White House pointed out that
the Lincoln was commissioned in 1989 by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, who
is now the vice president.
Mr. Cheney yesterday watched the landing on
TV from his office, a source close to the vice president said.
Mr. Bush said the Viking was "much more
sophisticated" than the F-102 jets he flew in the Texas Air National
Guard.
Before the landing, Mr. Fleischer jokingly
told reporters to watch the plane for erratic movements in order to determine
whether Mr. Bush was at the controls.
"The best clue will be if you see the
plane flying on a straight line, you'll know that the Navy pilot is in
charge," Mr. Fleischer said. "If it does anything else, it's an
open question."
Upon landing, Mr. Bush said his role was to
"just steer it" in a straight line.
Mr. Bush was scheduled to depart the carrier
today on the presidential Marine One helicopter, because the ship will be
closer to land. The Lincoln then will stop in San Diego before continuing
to its home port of Everett, Wash.
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