BREAKING NEWS – New York City, New York – NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday that he was not aboard a helicopter hit and forced down during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, recanting a claim that he and the network had repeated for years — most recently on Friday night. Contrary to Williams’ past claims that he was traveling in a Chinook helicopter that was hit by two rockets and small arms fire on March 24, he arrived at the scene in a separate helicopter about an hour later. He apparently was never in any danger, and the Chinook that took fire, one of three in its formation, was able to make an emergency landing with no casualties.
“I want to apologize,” Williams said on Wednesday night’s broadcast of NBC Nightly News. “I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft.” He paused for a moment, choked up and then continued. “I know what I did was dishonest, and was very unprofessional. However, I should not be put in the same category as the hosts and guests at MSNBC. They lie and sink to new lows on a daily basis, hungry for ratings. My deceptions are occasional, and when I get caught, I always say I’m sorry.”