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Rehearsal. one aviation expert says there's another explanation. >> it looks like he was actually planning to commit suicide on the outbound flight and made the selections on the auto flight systems but then changed his mind. and so the flight continued on towards barcelona and nobody was the wiser. >> tom costello following developments from our washington bureau. can we call this a rehearsal? explain of change in altitude? >> i don't think we have enough information. here's why. just dialing different altitudes into the flight management system without hitting engage just dialing around 100 ...

Would tell the pilots to leave the auto flight systems engaged when in rough weather. maintain a level altitude and not to chase the air speed. maybe you would have to disengage auto to stop the engine's automatic chasing air speeds. you wind up with the engine accelerating rapidly. it wouldn't be able to keep up with the aircraft in the thunderstorm. there's specific instructions in the manuel flying in turbulence. this captain would have stuck to the standard operating procedure. >> he's making really serious decisions in a short amount of time. >> that's exactly right. there's a lot going o...

Cause that to happen. in a climb, you would have the nose of the aircraft raised slightly above the horizon and increase power in order to climb. the air bus has auto flight systems, very sophisticated air control. unless the pilots choose to disengage or it was faulty t aircraft would fly at the correct speed and avoid entering a stall. that's what i can say in general terms. >> is it possible for the plane to go into a stall then? is that what you're saying? >> not at all. the aircraft can go into a stall in the event of really severe weather with sudden changes of updrafts and down drafts o...

Also? >> there's a question if they had enough time to react to the warning. there was a warning. that's where i focus my investigations. pilots don't get that much flight time anymore. they're on auto pilot most the time. they become unaware of different events, possibility of things that can occur. it's like a checklist mentality. it's a big concern in the faa. i'm on a safety focus group. we have discussions about the issue with the auto flight systems. where's the pilot's head during flight? >> that could come into play in flight 370 too right? >> absolutely. if you have emergencies and th...

though, who want his job. plus, the tea party movement dealing with new divisions while stirring up red hot anger among liberals in congress. why some democrats see the tea party as their worst enemies. and a state of alert as the nation prepares to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11. we're digging for information on the fbi's latest concerns and whether americans should be worried. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we now know that president obama wants to deliver his big speech on jobs next wednesday night before a joint session of the house and senate. with m...