Katrina Fraud — Report: No Shots Fired At Heli’s…
Remember the rage you felt when you heard last month from major news outlets that people were taking shots at rescue helicopters over New Orleans. A Knight Ridder investigation has revealed no evidence whatsoever that any helicopter came under fire during the relief effort. In one news conference, a Coast Guard spokeswoman told reporters that the choppers came under fire every time they landed at a hospital. Trouble is, none of the Coast Guard pilots seem to remember taking fire. Now, it’s not that there wasn’t gunfire. Rescue workers on the ground regularly heard shots. But directed at aircraft? The Knight Ridder reporters couldn’t find anyone who would confirm those reports, which often led to the grounding of aircraft desperately needed for rescue work.
Gossip May Have Grounded Rescue Aircraft
Remember the rage you felt when you heard last month from major news outlets that people were taking shots at rescue helicopters over New Orleans. A Knight Ridder investigation has revealed no evidence whatsoever that any helicopter came under fire during the relief effort. In one news conference, a Coast Guard spokeswoman told reporters that the choppers came under fire every time they landed at a hospital. Trouble is, none of the Coast Guard pilots seem to remember taking fire. Now, it's not that there wasn't gunfire. Rescue workers on the ground regularly heard shots. But directed at aircraft? The Knight Ridder reporters couldn't find anyone who would confirm those reports, which often led to the grounding of aircraft desperately needed for rescue work. Just to add to the confusion, government and military officials contradict each other on whether orders were issued to ground helicopters and whether they were, in fact, grounded. AVweb previously reported that officials coordinating all air traffic in the area were aware of no incidents in which aircraft took fire.