They killed their pilots? O_o
How retarded is that?
Not all of them but a lot. Naval officers too, one of whom was a college classmate of mine. They were considered too loyal to the Shah. The real violence that followed the takeover wasn't widely publicized but it included the execution of Khomeini's friend Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, reportedly executed by a firing squad starting at the knees up. Nice folks.