Mark Wahlberg apologised today for claiming that he could have stopped one of the 9/11 planes crashing into the World Trade Center, admitting that his comments were ‘ridiculous’ and ‘irresponsible’.
The actor, who played boxer Micky Ward in ‘The Fighter’, sparked outrage with his assertion that he would have battled terrorists and taken control of the plane if he had been on board.
He was scheduled to be on one of the Boston-to-Los Angeles flights that crashed into the twin towers, but cancelled his ticket a few days before the tragedy struck.
That flight was piloted by Mohamed Atta and was the first to hit the World Trade Center.
Mr Wahlberg claims the events of September 11, 2001, would have played out differently if he had kept his seat.
‘If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did,’ he said.
‘There would have been a lot of blood in that first class cabin and then me saying “OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry”.’
He has now admitted he was wrong to make the unsupported claim, saying: ‘To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible.
‘I deeply apologise to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention.’
Mr Wahlberg, 40, made his bizarre claims in the latest issue of Men’s Journal magazine.
His comments infuriated Deann Burnett-Bailey, whose husband Thomas rushed the cockpit of Flight 93.
Her husband told her moments before his death ‘I know we’re going to die.
‘There’s three of us who are going to do something about it’.
She called the actor’s comments ‘disrespectful’, and said: ‘Does Mark Wahlberg have a pilot’s license?
‘Then I think hindsight is 20/20 and it’s insignificant to say what you would have done if you weren’t there.’
She added, ‘The plan for Flight 93 was foiled by heroes.
‘For him to speculate that his presence on board could have stopped everything is silly and disrespectful. Sounds like someone is grandstanding.’
It is not the first time the ‘Boogie Nights’ star has spoken of his near miss and the action he would have taken had he been on board the flight.
‘We certainly would have tried to do something to fight,’ he said during a 2006 interview. ‘I’ve had probably about 50 dreams about it.’
Almost 3,000 people lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attack which led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Only one person, Zacarias Moussaoui, has been convicted and sentenced to life behind bars over his involvement.
The other known terrorists died in the crashed planes.
by Debbie Dot
