Donald Trump's recent — and demonstrably false — tale of a near-helicopter crash was apparently not the first time Trump had made such a claim involving a helicopter.
During his news conference on Thursday, Trump shared a story about a near-helicopter crash with former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. Brown denied the story and laughed.
Buzzfeed in 2015 found another incident in which Trump made false statements about a helicopter crash.
Andrew Kaczynski and Mark Arce spoke with three Trump biographers who shed light on the tale.
Three Trump Organization executives were flying back to Atlantic City instead of driving. According to Trump, he decided not to go with them at the last minute. An aide told him the helicopter was down, but Trump assumed it meant it couldn't fly due to repairs. It wasn't until a reporter called him that he realized five people were killed in the crash.
Read also: 'That's a lie': The 10 quotes Trump said to Black journalists that led to outbursts
"I can get some publicity out of this," Trump allegedly said, according to BuzzFeed.
A wire story spread that Trump was supposed to have been on the flight but wasn't.
BuzzFeed cited Dan Klores, a Trump spokesperson, who told the Philadelphia Inquirer: "He really doesn't want to talk about it, but he was going to go to Atlantic City, and he did change his mind."
All of it was a lie, the biographers said.
Harry Hurt's biography Lost Tycoon recalls Trump in his office with other staffers when a reporter called.
"Mr. Trump, I know this must be horrible for you," the book quotes a reporter calling about the crash. "I know it must be terrible for you to lose your three top casino executives all in the same day. I'm so sorry about what happened...I guess the only thing that could have been worse is if you had been on the helicopter with them."
The book describes Trump turning to his staff with the mute button on and saying, "You're going to hate me for this. But I just can't resist. I can get some publicity out of this."
That's when he reportedly made up the story that he was supposed to be on the flight.
"The next morning Donald's 'revelation' will appear in a caption on the front page of the New York Daily News beneath photographs of the three dead men: 'Trump decided not to go at the last minute," Hurt writes.
Six people confirmed the tale Trump spun was a lie.
Wayne Barrett's book The Deals And The Downfall cites Trump as being "personally traumatized by the disaster — saying publicly that it 'cheapened life' for him, showing him just how fragile everything was."
The BuzzFeed reporters cited Trump's own vice president of entertainment and sport Bernie Dillion disputing the incident.
