NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Mark Wahlberg has apologized for asserting that he would have stopped terrorists from flying an airliner into New York's World Trade Center on Sept. 11 if he had been on the plane.

The star of the film "Contraband" issued his apology Wednesday after comments he made to Men's Journal drew criticism.

The 40-year-old actor had been scheduled to be on American Airlines Flight 11 with his children which hijackers crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He ended up leaving a week earlier on a private flight.

He told an interviewer in the February issue that had he been on the flight with his kids, "it wouldn't have went down like it did – 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,'"

Terrorists flew the plane with 92 people aboard into the north tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

In his apology, Wahlberg said to speculate was "ridiculous to begin with." He said that to suggest he "would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible."

Wahlberg added, "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention."

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