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CNN Live At Daybreak

NASA Looking at Amateur Video Taken Over San Jose, California

Aired February 04, 2003 - 05:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: NASA is now looking at amateur video taken over San Jose, California. The tape shows that the shuttle may have been breaking up much earlier than originally thought. Now the search will intensify for debris west of Texas and into California.
The investigation is also centering on the mishap during Columbia's launch. NASA is working under the sobering assumption that debris falling off an external tank is highly suspect in the shuttle tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DITTEMORE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: We're making the assumption from the start that the external tank was the root cause of the problem that lost Columbia. That's our starting point when we look at the tank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Debris from Columbia stretches over 28,000 square miles. One of the most important developments is the discovery of the shuttle's nose cone in eastern Texas.

Our Maria Hinojosa has more from

Sabine County.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials here in Hemphill, Texas, in Sabine County, are saying that Monday has been the very best day in terms of the recovery of debris, important discoveries because on Monday afternoon, the discovery of the nose cone.

SHERIFF TOMMY MADDOX, SABINE COUNTY, TEXAS: They dispatched a unit out to investigate this and anyway it was reported there that that has been recovered, that it was in pretty good shape and, you know, that right now that's all that we know about.

HINOJOSA: Sheriff Maddox telling us that the nose cone is under protection and will remain under protection, that the EPA and NASA have been called in to see the nose cone. Also important, on Monday there have been more recoveries of human remains. On Tuesday, the search will continue on the ground and move into the Toledo Bend Reservoir, where there have been reports of large pieces of debris, as well. They are expecting to take boats out with the Coast Guard, perhaps divers, as well.

The work continues diligently. It's difficult in the terrain of the forest and underwater, but officials here saying that nothing will daunt them from continuing to recover the debris here in Hemphill, Texas.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Hemphill, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And recovery of that debris began just minutes after the Shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas.

Our senior international editor Eli Flournoy was on the scene in Texas when some of the first pieces of debris were found and he joins us now to talk about that experience.

So you rushed to the scene as soon as you heard about the disaster.

ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.

COSTELLO: And what you found on the road side, it's just fascinating and sad.

FLOURNOY: Yes, I went to, I headed straight down to Palestine, Texas, where some of the first reports of debris were, and I actually stopped at a convenience store and asked if anybody had heard or seen anything. And they pointed out Highway 155. And I think we have some video of the piece of debris that I found just a couple miles outside of Palestine.

COSTELLO: Before we go on with that, why were you in Texas in the first place?

FLOURNOY: Well, most of my relatives live in Texas and I was visiting my grandmother in Dallas and I heard the boom. We heard the boom there in Texas, turned on the TV and then I headed down towards the area to help out with CNN's coverage.

COSTELLO: And when you arrived and you saw that piece of debris that we're seeing right now...

FLOURNOY: Yes.

COSTELLO: We've seen that a lot, actually. There were a lot of people by the roadside, as well.

FLOURNOY: There were. And that was one of the amazing things about this whole story and the way it went down, was that people in this area around Palestine and Nagadoches, Texas, they're used to watching the shuttle reentry every time. And so it was really a shared experience for them. They were very concerned. Many of them had come out to watch it. They saw, they knew that something was wrong. They heard the boom. They saw the break-up and they were looking to see pieces of debris, just like we were. COSTELLO: Just horrible. And besides this large chunk of debris, there were many small bits of debris scattered around this grassy area.

FLOURNOY: That's true. Actually, none in this location. But the next location that I went to, which I think we also have a piece of video of, there were, there was one sort of larger piece and then several other smaller pieces spread out there. And a lot of people were, when I got to the scene, a lot of local people were still looking around. I think you can see the pictures here now. And...

COSTELLO: What was their mood like? Were there tears in their eyes? Were they just stunned and shocked by this?

FLOURNOY: Well, it was a combination. There were, people, some people were upset. People were mainly somber. But there was, people were very curious to know what, you know, what the pieces were and to try and figure out what they were. In fact, that curiosity just got the better of a number of people who just couldn't resist trying to move the pieces around to take a better look at it. And, of course, that was a problem because...

COSTELLO: And you told me one interesting story, and I know you don't want to get into it, but it is interesting -- it just demonstrates the curiosity that folks have. A man was actually kicking a piece of debris with his foot.

FLOURNOY: Yes, he was moving it around to flip it over to take a closer look at it. And the police officer came over to him and said, you know, I told you please don't touch the debris, because it may be contaminated and now your shoe may be contaminated.

COSTELLO: Right. And he didn't think that there was anything wrong touching it with his boot because he didn't think that would hurt him. But it will.

FLOURNOY: Right. It could have, possibly. Nobody really knew at that point the extent to what the contamination of the debris might be and so he was thinking that he probably had a heavy, he had a heavy boot on. He probably thought he would, he'd be OK and he wasn't, you know, he wasn't trying to do anything wrong. He was just curious and wanted to, was really trying to help out and locate other pieces of debris for the law enforcement people who were there.

COSTELLO: Sure.

Well, Eli, thanks for sharing your experience with us.

We appreciate it.

FLOURNOY: A pleasure.

COSTELLO: Coming up the at the top of the hour, Mike Brooks joins us from Barksdale Air Force Base with more on the recovery efforts. And Rusty Dornin will be live from the Johnson Space Center with more on today's astronaut memorial. CNN, of course, will bring you live coverage of today's memorial at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Our Miles O'Brien, Judy Woodruff and Aaron Brown all there. That will be at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




California>


Aired February 4, 2003 - 05:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: NASA is now looking at amateur video taken over San Jose, California. The tape shows that the shuttle may have been breaking up much earlier than originally thought. Now the search will intensify for debris west of Texas and into California.
The investigation is also centering on the mishap during Columbia's launch. NASA is working under the sobering assumption that debris falling off an external tank is highly suspect in the shuttle tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DITTEMORE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: We're making the assumption from the start that the external tank was the root cause of the problem that lost Columbia. That's our starting point when we look at the tank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Debris from Columbia stretches over 28,000 square miles. One of the most important developments is the discovery of the shuttle's nose cone in eastern Texas.

Our Maria Hinojosa has more from

Sabine County.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials here in Hemphill, Texas, in Sabine County, are saying that Monday has been the very best day in terms of the recovery of debris, important discoveries because on Monday afternoon, the discovery of the nose cone.

SHERIFF TOMMY MADDOX, SABINE COUNTY, TEXAS: They dispatched a unit out to investigate this and anyway it was reported there that that has been recovered, that it was in pretty good shape and, you know, that right now that's all that we know about.

HINOJOSA: Sheriff Maddox telling us that the nose cone is under protection and will remain under protection, that the EPA and NASA have been called in to see the nose cone. Also important, on Monday there have been more recoveries of human remains. On Tuesday, the search will continue on the ground and move into the Toledo Bend Reservoir, where there have been reports of large pieces of debris, as well. They are expecting to take boats out with the Coast Guard, perhaps divers, as well.

The work continues diligently. It's difficult in the terrain of the forest and underwater, but officials here saying that nothing will daunt them from continuing to recover the debris here in Hemphill, Texas.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Hemphill, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And recovery of that debris began just minutes after the Shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas.

Our senior international editor Eli Flournoy was on the scene in Texas when some of the first pieces of debris were found and he joins us now to talk about that experience.

So you rushed to the scene as soon as you heard about the disaster.

ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.

COSTELLO: And what you found on the road side, it's just fascinating and sad.

FLOURNOY: Yes, I went to, I headed straight down to Palestine, Texas, where some of the first reports of debris were, and I actually stopped at a convenience store and asked if anybody had heard or seen anything. And they pointed out Highway 155. And I think we have some video of the piece of debris that I found just a couple miles outside of Palestine.

COSTELLO: Before we go on with that, why were you in Texas in the first place?

FLOURNOY: Well, most of my relatives live in Texas and I was visiting my grandmother in Dallas and I heard the boom. We heard the boom there in Texas, turned on the TV and then I headed down towards the area to help out with CNN's coverage.

COSTELLO: And when you arrived and you saw that piece of debris that we're seeing right now...

FLOURNOY: Yes.

COSTELLO: We've seen that a lot, actually. There were a lot of people by the roadside, as well.

FLOURNOY: There were. And that was one of the amazing things about this whole story and the way it went down, was that people in this area around Palestine and Nagadoches, Texas, they're used to watching the shuttle reentry every time. And so it was really a shared experience for them. They were very concerned. Many of them had come out to watch it. They saw, they knew that something was wrong. They heard the boom. They saw the break-up and they were looking to see pieces of debris, just like we were. COSTELLO: Just horrible. And besides this large chunk of debris, there were many small bits of debris scattered around this grassy area.

FLOURNOY: That's true. Actually, none in this location. But the next location that I went to, which I think we also have a piece of video of, there were, there was one sort of larger piece and then several other smaller pieces spread out there. And a lot of people were, when I got to the scene, a lot of local people were still looking around. I think you can see the pictures here now. And...

COSTELLO: What was their mood like? Were there tears in their eyes? Were they just stunned and shocked by this?

FLOURNOY: Well, it was a combination. There were, people, some people were upset. People were mainly somber. But there was, people were very curious to know what, you know, what the pieces were and to try and figure out what they were. In fact, that curiosity just got the better of a number of people who just couldn't resist trying to move the pieces around to take a better look at it. And, of course, that was a problem because...

COSTELLO: And you told me one interesting story, and I know you don't want to get into it, but it is interesting -- it just demonstrates the curiosity that folks have. A man was actually kicking a piece of debris with his foot.

FLOURNOY: Yes, he was moving it around to flip it over to take a closer look at it. And the police officer came over to him and said, you know, I told you please don't touch the debris, because it may be contaminated and now your shoe may be contaminated.

COSTELLO: Right. And he didn't think that there was anything wrong touching it with his boot because he didn't think that would hurt him. But it will.

FLOURNOY: Right. It could have, possibly. Nobody really knew at that point the extent to what the contamination of the debris might be and so he was thinking that he probably had a heavy, he had a heavy boot on. He probably thought he would, he'd be OK and he wasn't, you know, he wasn't trying to do anything wrong. He was just curious and wanted to, was really trying to help out and locate other pieces of debris for the law enforcement people who were there.

COSTELLO: Sure.

Well, Eli, thanks for sharing your experience with us.

We appreciate it.

FLOURNOY: A pleasure.

COSTELLO: Coming up the at the top of the hour, Mike Brooks joins us from Barksdale Air Force Base with more on the recovery efforts. And Rusty Dornin will be live from the Johnson Space Center with more on today's astronaut memorial. CNN, of course, will bring you live coverage of today's memorial at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Our Miles O'Brien, Judy Woodruff and Aaron Brown all there. That will be at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




California>