Danny Moloshok/Reuters
The pilot who claimed he was flying the Chinook helicopter carrying Brian Williams in Iraq no longer stands by his story. The pilot, Rich Krell, told CNN’s Brian Stelter that “the information I gave you was true based on my memories, but at this point I am questioning my memories.” He originally said he was in command of the second of three helicopters flying in formation, on which Williams was aboard. He said that the “first bird” was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade (contradicting Williams’s story about being inside that helicopter) but that all three came under “small arms fire,” lending some credence to Williams’s story about getting hit. Two other pilots, however, later came forward saying that they had piloted Williams’s helicopter, not Krell. Krell then told Stelter that he “may have forgotten or left something out.”
NBC is allegedly prompting an internal investigation into Williams' Iraq story, as well as other news topics he has covered.