Transcripts For CNNW Crossfire 20140312 : vimarsana.com

Were investigating. Weve got experts who are taking a closer look at these images. Joining us now, the former chairman of the National Transportation safety board, jim h hall. Also joining us Steven Wallace, a former faa director of accident investigation. Jim hall, what do you make of these images . Some are suggesting they may not necessarily be any debris from that airliner. Others are saying it could be a very significant moment. What do you think . Well, it appears to me, wolf, just from the images ive seen on television, that theres a strong possibility that it could be flight 360. And my thoughts, of course, first go to the families because they will not have peace of mind until this wreckage is found. Flight 370, to be precise. 370 i apologize. Thats all right. We dont know and some are nervous, some are cautious about this. Steven wallace, youve taken a look at the size of these three big chunks that china has seen on its satellite images. Your conclusion . I heard your analyst say they estimate the dimensions of the debris about 40 by 70 feet. Well, when an airplane goes into the water, whether it impacts intact or breaks up at high altitude, what floats are lighter weight typically interior components. Major structural components will sink. So if this image is a blurry image im sure it will be more carefully analyzed, if its true that the piece of wreckage is 40 by 70 feet, i would be very skeptical as to whether its part of that aircraft. The three chunks and jim hall, i want you to weigh in on this. One chunk 43 by 59, one chunk 46 by 62 feet, one chunk 79 by 72 feet. And the chinese in releasing the objects, they told us the units in meters, 13 by 18, 14 by 19, 24 by 22. You agree with Steven Wallace that these are pretty large chunks, that it would be unusual for wreckage from an airliner like this to be able to have these large chunks floating . Well, steve is an expert in this area, and i would defer to his judgment. Im just hoping because it is in the vicinity, that that aircraft might the wreckage may have floated and these aircraft ive seen three or four in these situations and there are various pieces. Sometimes a very large tail piece can be found floating on the ground i mean, on the water. On the water. So its it may or may not be. But as far as losing, you know, any contact with that huge 777, steven, the fact that the transponders, both of them went out, the plane simply vanished, disappeared. It could be the result of some sort of catastrophic engine collapse or power outage or whatever, but it could be an act by an individual, an act of terror or somebody getting into the cockpit or pilot suicide. I dont know if youve studied all of that. But whats your sense . Investigators dont want to speculate but they want to learn from what theyve seen in the past. Weve seen airplanes blown up, air india 1895, lockerbie 1988, egypt air 99 flown deliberately into the water. Weve seen those sort of criminal acts, suicides or bombings. Again, i think we have to be careful here not to replace yesterdays red herring with todays red herring. The last thing we were talking about was this radar track. And this what we found today, if we think thats part of the wreckage, that is completely inconsistent with that primary radar track we were discussing earlier in the investigation. Take us behind the scenes, jim hall. Youre a former chairman of the ntsb, the National Transportation safety board. The ntsb announced they have individuals, they have experts on the scene in kuala lumpur working with malaysian authorities. What are they doing . Well, wolf, i certainly hope we have some of our forensic radar people there to assist them. This investigation to this point has been without effective leadership, and you know its are been very unfortunate all this information thats come out and then been corrected and, you know, i think the International Civil Aviation Organization is going to have to look at restructuring how International Investigations are done. If were going to have a country that can operate this type of aircraft, then we need to anticipate the worst and have a coordinated investigative effort. And i think the rules are going to have to be changed. Let me bring Steven Wallace back into this conversation. Malaysian airlines ceo was at a News Conference today. He was unable to answer whether the faas calls for inspections on possible cracks in the 777 that could lead to decompression, loss of structural integrity, he was unable to answer whether or not they had dealt with those faa calls for further inspections. What does that say to you . Not too much. Its really if his director of maintenance didnt know, that would be a big concern, but this really is a bit below because these directors theres hundreds of them out there. You dont think after a plane disappears hed go back to his experts and say, did we do something wrong, did we miss some inspection, did we not follow the directors . Some of those are issued with a great deal of conservatism, so they were concerned about a minor crack growth that might have resulted in a skin failure, which the plane is designed so that the skin fails it vents benignly. So that couldnt cause a crash . Very, very unlikely. But id like to add to what chairman hall said, this investigation has gotten off to a very slow start. I dont know whether the fact is its a National Airline theres a lot of plid or the military civil relationship there because theres been expert faa, the people that jim hoped were there, they are there, the radar experts. The sharing of the data has been slow and even this chinese photo apparently was taken several days ago. So this investigation has not gotten off to a start you would expect. Lets say, jim hall, that these images that the chinese Satellite Agency have released, turn out to be a false lead, lets say the Malaysian Air force which yesterday suggested the plane after the transponder turned off maybe turned around and flew over malaysia for another hour and ten minutes, that turns out to be a false lead, where do we go from here, jim hall . We have to keep looking. In this day and age of terrorism, we cant have a missing aircraft of this size. We all know from 9 11 what can happen. So thats why ive been an advocate for a decade for deployable recorders that are used on the f16, f18 and the military. Certainly in our country, at least, where we have sophisticated technology, we need to have everything available. We couldnt have it, if this was a u. S. Airline, can you imagine the situation, wolf . We need to be prepared in the future to take steps to learn from this unfortunate set of circumstances. Yes. Doesnt look like either one of you has a whole lot of confidence at least right now in the way malaysian authorities are conducting this investigation. Theres some suggestion, Steven Wallace, that the satellite images theyre a little blurry and some suspicion the chinese deliberately blurred them for whatever reasons, they didnt want to reveal their capabilities or whatever. Do you buy that . I think thats rather rampant speculation. I think that the chinese, of course, the majority of the passengers on this aircraft were chinese citizens. The chinese have a tremendous interest in this. And so i would hope that they would share those photos in the pure undoctored form. It certainly would be their responsibility. I hope theyre sharing them at least with other authorities like the ntsb and others. Another thought there, jim hall, before we go . We cant have an International Accident investigation without competition people in charge of the investigation. Theres so many cameras, theres so much media attention. You could see in malaise xwysiae getting carried away by being on television for first time, wanting to release this information and that information. Nobodys been in charge of this investigation. Thats got to be addressed by the International Civil Aviation Organization because because there are too high of stakes now involved in between major nations and with all the conflict in the world. So this we certainly dont need to repeat this any time soon. And i know you want to wish all your former colleagues at the ntsb who are now investigating this in malaysia and elsewhere the best of luck. Jim hall, the former chairman of the ntsb. Thanks very much, Steven Wallace, to you as well. Well continue the breaking news coverage. The mystery surrounding flight 370, are these images a longawaited break in whats been a seemingly oh so troubled investigation . [ chainsaw whirring ] humans sometimes life trips us up. Sometimes we trip ourselves up. And although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. Like multipolicy discounts from Liberty Mutual insurance. Save up to 10 just for combining your auto and home insurance. Call Liberty Mutual insurance at. [ thump ] to speak with an Insurance Expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. Personalized coverage and savings. All the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. Call. And ask about all the ways you could save. Liberty mutual insurance. Responsibility. Whats your policy . Our breaking news, a chinese satellite has taken images of a suspected crash site from Malaysia Airlines flight 370 showing what appears to be some large pieces of floating wreckage. That comes even as the search has been stepped up along with the investigation on the ground. Brian todd is taking a closer look at whats going on, hes joining us right now. Brian, this investigation in many respects only just beginning. Thats right, wolf. You know those new satellite images from the chinese sending malaysian investigators into a scramble for information as this case takes more turns. Cnn has learned that police have searched the home of the pilot of Malaysian Airlines 370. The video weve gotten from inside that home shows why its of interest. This is the pilot of missing malaysian flight 370. Today police were searching his home for clues where we know from this video the captain had a Flight Simulator in his home. Could that provide answers to this mystery . As each day passes, it seems each clue raises more questions than it answers. All part of a pattern of confusion and some say a lack of coherent information from malaysian officials. Their vietnamese counterparts say theyre pulling back on their search until they get better communication. Up until now we only had one meeting with a malaysian attache, however the information theyve provided is insufficient. I am surprised they havent had more meetings. Maybe the meetings are going on at different levels. But i would think theyd be in contact with all the governments in the region to see what data they have and how it plays out. Reporter he investigated hundreds of crashes for the ntsb. His criticism of the malaysians is far tamer than congressman peter kings. So far they seem to have dropped the ball at every level. I hate to be the monday morning quarterback, but appears theyve done nothing right so far. Reporter the search area has been a point of contention. Day one officials had the search area here in the gulf of thailand. Then they expanded it over land and into the strait of malacca. It covers 27,000 nautical miles. Critics say the search area should be smaller by this stage, not wider. Tom haeuter disagrees. He says theyre disresponding as new information comes in. Situation like you have to start with all the data you have. Now if you have data that says it strawed from the flight path, we have to expand the search. Youve searched east, west, a reporter said. You dmont what youve seen on radar. And several days in this is utter confusion. I dont think so. I think its far from it. Its only confusion if you want it to be seen to be confusion. Reporter but theres more now adding to this confusion, the head of malaysias Civil Aviation department now says his agency has not received or even seen the newly released satellite images from china. Very, very strange indeed. Mary schiavo, the former investigator for the u. S. Government suggests u. S. Officials should take over the lead in this entire probe. What are you being told about that . Reporter a former ntsb official tells us that it cannot happen. It has to be the country where the incident occurs who has to take the lead. Thats according to International Treat es. The malaysians have this now. Theyll have to make due with it. Theyll get a lot of help, no doubt about that. Families there sharing more of their anger, more of their grief. Look at this. Passengers, relatives threw Water Bottles at Malaysia Airlines officials in beijing and accused them of being liers. 239 people were on board where the plane suddenly vanished. Two brothers who were traveling to indonesia on business. They spoke to the Third Brother who appeared in shadow because he doesnt want to draw attention to himself. He described the pain his family is experiencing right now. Translator extremely sad. Weve been crying. Theres a feeling of loss, but for sure were still hoping. Because the plane hasnt been found, we still hope we were together the way we were before. What are you hoping for now . Translator our hope is that theyll be found soon, as soon as possible. That the plane and the people on board will be found, and were hoping for a miracle. So are we, every day were hoping for more. Well take a quick break. More of the breaking news, the chinese satellite images may or may not be genuine showing aircraft, the airliner crash site. Also, a shattering explosion levels a new york city apartment building. Well go live to the scene. Pay my bill. Phone your account is already paid in full. Oh, well in that case, back to vacation mode. Boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants. Voiceenabled bill pay. Just a tap away on the geico app. Huh, 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Yup, Everybody Knows that. Well, did you know that some owls arent that wise. Dont forget about im having brunch with meagan tomorrow. Who . Seriously, you met her like three times. Who . Geico. [ banker ] sydney needed some Financial Guidance so she could take her dream to the next level. So we talked about her options. Her valuable assets were staying. And selling her car wouldnt fly. We helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today. And tomorrow. So lets see what we can do about that. Remodel. Motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. They take a banker. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. Because when people talk, great things happen. Has begun. Its time to chart an entirely new course. With the lexus ct hybrid, featuring an epaestimated 42 mpg combined. The further you go, the more interesting it gets. Take command of the moment, then take command of the road. During the lexus command performance sales event. Get great offers on your favorite lexus models, now through march 31st. This is the pursuit of perfection. Much more on the mystery of flight 370 in just a moment but were following other important news. Take a look at these smoke plums over the new york city skyline. A gas explosion is blamed for this. Poppy harlow has an update. Reporter we just got a new number of fatalities in from the new york city Mayors Office. Three people, three people, we know two women for sure. We dont know the identities yet but three people have died because of this massive tragic explosion that took place just behind me. Lets zoom in so you can see dozens and dozens well over 50 first responders, police officers, firefighters digging through the rubble all day through five story residential buildings here in harlem, spanish harlem. They were well over 100 years old. Its expected were told by the Utility Company and Mayors Office this was some sort of gas leak that led to this explosion. We know at this hour 63 people, that number has gone way up, 63 people have been injured because of this. Some critically. Some with minor injuries. At this hour ten people remain unaccounted for. That is the key question right now is where are those people that they cannot find. All day ive been talking to family members frantically up here looking for their loved ones. I spoke twonesses, an aunt, 67 years old lived for two decades on the second floor of one of those buildings and have not heard from her. Thats the case for families of at least ten people. The mayor, bill de blasio calling this tragic because there was little to no advance warning. At 9 15 this morning a call came in from somewhere nearby they smelled gas. By 9 30 this massive explosion took these two buildings down the ground. Now they are investigating not only the department of building, the police here but ntsb coming in because this had to do with a pipeline investigating what may have cause this. They do know now the structural stability of the surrounding buildings is okay so people will eventually be allowed to go back home. But really tragic. Three people did. 63 injured. We still dont know where ten are. Poppy harlow on the scene for us in harlem in new york city. Its early thursday morning over in malaysia and china where were expecting more new developments in the investigation of the mystery of flight 370. Chinese officials, they have released satellite images that may show the planes wreckage. Stay with cnn for the very latest. Well be right back. [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni cheese from stouffers starts with freshlymade pasta, and 100 real cheddar cheese. But what makes Stouffers Mac n cheese best of all. That moment you enjoy it at home. Stouffers. Made with care for you or your family. That moment you enjoy it at home. Life with Crohns Disease ois a daily game of what ifs. What if my abdominal pain and cramps come back . What if the plane gets delayed . What if i cant hide my symptoms . What if . But what if the most important question is the one youre not asking . What if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation . For help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisinfo. Com to get your complimentary q a book, with information from experts on your condition. Nascar is about excitement. But tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. Thats why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. Hps Technology Helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into realtime Business Insights that help nascar win with our fans. But when we start worrying about tomorrow, we miss out on the things that matter today. At axa, we offer advice and help you break down your insurance goals into small, manageable steps. Because when you plan for tomorrow, it helps you live for today. Can we help you take a small step . For advice, retirement, and life insurance, connect with axa. Hit the beach in florida. And a reunion in seattle. Forwe can afford to take amore trips this year. [man] when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. [woman] so we got our 4star hotels. For half price. Hotwire hotwire. Com at a company thats bringing media and technology together. Next is every second of nbcuniversals coverage 0f the 2014 olympic winter games. Its connecting over one million lowincome americans to Broadband Internet at home. Its a place named one americas most veteran friendly employers. Next is information and entertainment in ways you never thought possible. Welcome to whats next. Comcastnbcuniversal. Well continue monitoring the developments in the mystery of flight 370. Erin burnett will have the latest. Ukraines interim minister met with president obama over at the white house earlier today. The meeting comes as pro Russian Forces tighten its grip on the crimean peninsula. President obama threatens to punish russia with sanctions saying an outside country cant dictate how ukraine should contax cut its internal affairs. President obama said hes committed to declassifying a Senate Intelligence report on controversial bush era detention practices. President obama wont weigh in on the explosive accusations that the cia secretly removed information from those computers but did not want congressional investigators to see. Just days before spring a powerful storm the blanketing snow on parts of the United States from the midwest to the northeast once again. This is vermont where some areas could see as much as two feet of snow. A winter storm warning is in effect there until tomorrow night. Controversial governor of arizona says she wont run for reelection. Republican jan brewer making the announcement earlier today amid questions about whether she could legally seek another four years in office. Brewer may best be known for signing a 2010 law requiring immigrants to carry registration documents at all times, a case that was partially struck down by the United States supreme court. Not Much Movement on wall street today. The dow and the s p barely moved. The nasdaq posted a modest gain despite some sharp losses in Global Markets over concerns on chinas economy that helped drive down many indices in europe and asia, more than 1 . Thats it for me. Thanks very much for watching. Im wolf blitzer in washington. Remember you can always follow whats going on behind the scene, tweet me wolflittle bit zero, tweet the show cnnit isroom. Erin Burnett Outfront right now. Next breaking news Chinese Government has released new satellite images of what could be missing flight 370. Is this really the downed plane . What happened in the cockpit moments before that plane went down. A look at how safe the boeing 777 could be . Could Something Like this happen again . Lets go outfront. Good evening everyone im erin burnett. We begin outfront with breaking news. We have satellite images from