analyze what the best steps moving forward might be. and some might argue, it's a healthy part of the primary process. >> the microbursts in the cycle we all cover that mean a lot to these candidates, and regarding this primary, speaking of essence fest down in new orleans, michelle obama was there. and she was asked in this wide-ranging interview, she was asked about the 2020 campaign. and this was her response. >> what, if anything, would you like to say about the kamala/biden dustup? he apologized today. you've been following that. do you have any thoughts about that? >> i do not. >> okay. [ laughter ] [ applause ] let me ask this -- >> barack and i are going to support whoever wins the primary. so we're -- our primary focus is letting the primary process play out. >> diplomatic there, wes. what did you think of her response? >> extremely diplomatic. i'm just jealous she's in new orleans at essence fest while i'm here in d.c.
these neighborhoods. you can see the sheets of rain there just continue to pour down and flooding is still very much a concern. we've spoken with a number of people, of these volunteers, wolf, who say there are still a number of people who have refused to leave their homes in these flooded-out neighborhoods. wolf? >> edlavandera, we'll check back with you. we have the coast guard with us. thank you for all the rescue efforts the coast guard is engaged in now. what have you been doing to save lives? >> it's a very active storm, high winds. we pushed on the of elizabeth city where we have a parent base earlier in the day. severe thunderstorms, microbursts, forced our helicopter to sit down. i believe we're back overhead. there were ongoing rescues there. statewide we've got what we call
tape, often passenger cell phone recordings can be extremely helpful in investigations, and it will be on the black box but the weather played a role. so many have wind shear, detection, these microbursts are so powerful they can literally drive a plane into the ground. a lot of the study stemmed from delta air lines flight 191 which crashed in dallas. tomorrow will be the 33rd anniversary of it, august 2nd, 1985. there aind shear, microburst, drove a plane into the ground. it's important to know this, not only can it put a plane in the ground. >> excuse me we're going to trump's personal attorney rudy giuliani. >> i said it just yesterday on fox that we believe that the
consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> it's a lot of fun. we all have a grand time doing it. it's a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time preventing fires. >> but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it's the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. >> well, it was like any other day. it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes, and that's the way it started. >> bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. >> on that particular morning, we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere. a sudden wind that just fouled everything up that morning.
deled after smokey bear, the consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> it's a lot of fun. we all have a grand time doing it. it's a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time preventing fires. >> but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it's the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. >> well, it was like any other day. it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes, and that's the way it started. >> bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. >> on that particular morning, we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere. a sudden wind that just fouled everything up that morning.
piloted a hot air balloon modeled after smokey bear, the consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> it's a lot of fun. we all have a grand time doing it. it's a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time preventing fires. >> but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it's the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. >> well, it was like any other day. it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes, and that's the way it started. >> bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. >> on that particular morning, we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere. a sudden wind that just fouled everything up that morning. >> a spectator on the ground
we all have a grand time doing it. it's a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time preventing fires. >> but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it's the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. >> well, it was like any other day. it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes, and that's the way it started. >> bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. >> on that particular morning, we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere. a sudden wind that just fouled everything up that morning. >> a spectator on the ground captures the moment when the smokey balloon is driven off course by a 60-mile-an-hour
albuquerque, new mexico -- a hot air balloon crashes into a 700-foot radio tower, leaving the pilot and his two young passengers dangling from above with little hope for survival. bill chappell is a retired forester with the u.s. forest service. for the past 15 years, he's piloted a hot air balloon modeled after smokey bear, the consummate symbol of fire prevention. >> it's a lot of fun. we all have a grand time doing it. it's a good excuse to be a kid again. and at the same time preventing fires. >> but during a 2004 flight at the albuquerque international balloon fiesta, ironically it's the friendly face of smokey bear at the center of a catastrophe. >> well, it was like any other day. it was the last day of the fiesta here. the weather was as predictable as it could be. they had predicted calm breezes, and that's the way it started. >> bill has two young passengers in his balloon, 14-year-old troy wells and 10-year-old aaron whitaker. >> on that particular morning, we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere.
we had what you call microbursts or wind shears that just come out of nowhere. a sudden wind that just fouled everything up that morning. >> a spectator on the ground captures the moment when the smokey balloon is driven off course by a 60-mile-an-hour blast of wind. >> there's smokey up there. >> despite bill's desperate efforts, there's no way to avoid a 700-foot radio transmission tower. >> my first thought was to get over it. i had no option except to go up. can't steer a balloon. >> bill fires his burners past their safety limit, trying in vain to fight the wind, but he can't rise fast enough to clear the tower. >> oh, he hit the tower. he's on the tower. >> when we hit the tower, the balloon exploded. virtually. and it was like hearing an amplified scream of a mad woman
competition with differing airlines stl ss there. when this plane was flying around at 32,000 feet and encountered a great big storm, he had company out there. storm 200 square miles, 52,000 feet up in the air, towering up there, could be producing big winds, 70 80 90 miles an hour. who knows. microbursts. all sorts of issues. we know though he wasn't the only plane. at the time he disappeared, there were at least five other flights 2,000 feet above and within 124 miles. that may seem like a long distance but planes traveling this fast it's not that long of a distance so the determination was he could not rise into that airspace. he definitely wanted to. he was at 32,000. he had requested to go up to 38,000 and had been told he could not. there was an approval right near the end of about 34,000 feet to let him come up some. it's not clear whether that was fully communicated to the plane or not. or if the plane had already disappeared.