Nightly News   |  September 24, 2010

Navy pilots grounded over Lake Tahoe stunt

While reportedly trying to take pictures of one another's choppers hovering just above Lake Tahoe on their way home from an air show, a bystander captured video of one of the choppers as it came dangerously close to the water's surface. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

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This content comes from a Full-Text Transcript of the program.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: So what were these two Navy pilots doing above Lake Tahoe that has them in big trouble? Our Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski has learned tonight they were reportedly trying to take pictures of each other's helicopter, $33 million helicopters, hovering just above the lake surface on their way home from an air show when something went wrong. As you see, one of the choppers apparently misjudged the proper hover altitude. What they didn't know, a tourist was rolling on all of it, took the videotape, posted it on YouTube . That got both pilots grounded.