Did Helicopter Pilots Lie About Overflying Mount Carmel?
National Guard pilots testified that they approached Mount Carmel flying southwest at approximately 500 feet. However, when they got within 350 to 400 feet, Davidians shot at them so they immediately broke off in a northeast direction. While one pilot admitted the helicopters were as low as 50 feet off the ground, all stated they never overflew the building.33/ KWTX-TV video clearly shows the helicopters low on the horizon west of Mount Carmel several minutes into the raid, after agents are in place behind parked vehicles. In later KWTX-TV footage the cameraman or reporter clearly can be heard to say, “Two of them right over our heads,” evidently a reference to aircraft which can be heard noisily flying above them.34/ At trial cameraman Mulloney stated that after the shooting started, the helicopters were at approximately the same height as Mount Carmel. He then lost sight of them. While defense attorneys did not specifically question him about the statement “two of them right over our
