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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Details Emerging About Pilot of Asiana Airlines Flight 214; Brake Failure Possible Cause for Runaway Train in Quebec; Unrest in Egypt; Eliot Spitzer to Run for NYC Comptroller; Andy Murray Makes History; Bets on the Royal Baby

Aired July 08, 2013 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Moment of impact. A close-up look at what happened the moment a Korean jetliner crashed in San Francisco.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Chaos in Egypt. Deadly protests overnight, hundreds of arrests and calls for its new president to step down.

BERMAN: And forget Vegas. The newest game in gambling at Buckingham Palace. The world waiting on Will and Kate's baby. Place your bets. We're live.

PEREIRA: It's going to be a girl, that's my guess.

BERMAN: I'm going with boy.

PEREIRA: All right. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Michaela Pereira.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. Twenty-nine minutes after the hour right now.

PEREIRA: The latest now on the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214. Something clearly went very wrong when the plane slammed into a runway at San Francisco International Airport Saturday killing two, injuring more than 180.

New this morning, more details emerging on the man flying the plane. We now know the pilot had only 43 hours of experience flying the Boeing 777. This was his first landing in this plane at San Francisco International though he had landed other jets at the airport before. And the crew tried to abort the landing just seconds before the crash but there may not have been enough time.

Rene Marsh tells us one big question now is, was the plane coming in too slow and too low?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Air traffic control clears Asiana 214 for landing Saturday. It seemed drew team, the crew setting a target speed of 137 knots. But then, the first sign of trouble on the cockpit voice recorder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A call from one of the crew member to increase speed was made approximately seven seconds prior to impact.

MARSH: Inexplicably, the plane is approaching the runway far too slowly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will tell you that the speed was significantly below 137 knots, and we're not talking about a few knots.

MARSH: Seconds later, the pilot's controls shake, warning the plane is about to fall out of the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sound of the stick shaker occurs approximately four seconds prior to impact.

MARSH: Then, just before slamming into the seawall --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A call to initiate a go around occurred 1.5 seconds before impact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Oh, it's an accident.

MARSH: Then, an attempt to abort the landing impossibly late. The aircraft (INAUDIBLE) down the airway and bursts into flames.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Asiana 214 having emergency vehicles are responding. Let everyone on their way.

Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Look at those pictures. It really is amazing that almost everyone on board flight 214 lived. How quickly many got away from the jet as it burst into flames, but more than 180 people were injured, some critically, and the two who died were 16-year-old girls from China on their way to a church camp in the San Francisco area.

Authorities are looking into whether one of them was actually hit by a first responder vehicle on the runway, may not have actually been killed in the crash itself.

PEREIRA: We are hearing the voices of some of the survivors now. Among them, Eugene Rah. He had made the flight from Seoul to San Francisco many times, but this time, he was worried as they were coming in for landing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EUGENE RAH, FLIGHT SURVIVOR: I looked out to the window, and I knew something was wrong. It's because, you know, we were too low. At one point, i kind of, you know, felt this is not right. It's because I see water right there. Right there. Right outside the window. I should not. I knew. I knew it was going to happen. So, I tried to hold on to, you know, whatever I could. It was like, you know, bang. And the impact was so powerful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Rah helped others and walked away with cuts and bruises. He says despite flying so many times, he's now nervous to even hear a plane flying overhead.

BERMAN: We have another weekend plane crash to tell you about. This one was in Alaska, and it left ten people dead. Authorities say the air taxi went down on an airport about 150 miles south of Anchorage. The plane was apparently taking off at the time of the crash. Everyone on board, the pilot, and nine passengers were killed. Investigators right now looking into the cause.

PEREIRA: Company officials say brake failure may have caused a runaway train loaded with crude oil to derail and explode, destroying the center of Lac Megantic, a small Canadian town near the Maine border. At least five people were killed. Crews are now searching for 40 others still missing at this hour. Canada's prime minister visited the town Sunday. He acknowledged the death toll is likely to rise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HARPER, CANDA PRIME MINISTER: But I know there's going to be waves of emotion over the next few weeks as the extent of this, and this is a very big disaster in human terms, as the extent of this becomes increasingly obvious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: There's no engineer on board when the train derailed. Thousands of area residents had to be evacuated.

BERMAN: Breaking news now from Cairo and Egypt where a spokesman for the health ministry says at least 42 people are dead, another 300 injured after gunshots rang outside the Republican guard headquarters. That is where deposed President Mohamed Morsy is said to have been held. Reza Sayah monitoring the development for us in Cairo this morning. Reza, it seems as every minute passes, it dealt further and further out of control.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. Just an ugly, ugly morning here in Cairo. A lot of Egyptians were hoping the transition to a new government would be smooth and easy. But this is a strong sign that it's not going to be easy. At least 42 people killed. More than 300 injured in clashes between supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsy, and security forces.

Early this morning, before dawn, around 4:00 a.m., that's about seven and a half hours ago, it happened in front of the presidential guard headquarters. This is where reportedly Mr. Morsy is being held in custody. There's all sorts, about conflicting reports who fired first. Security forces saying this attack was launched by an armed group of terrorists. The protesters say they know this was the security forces who attacked first. They're also saying they fired either during or shortly after morning prayers. Again, all these claims, it's difficult to verify exactly what happened. The aftermath, bloody, chaotic. Hundreds of the fatal -- hundreds of the victims and many of the fatalities race to a nearby makeshift hospital as doctors try to treat the patient. Many of the fatalities placed on the ground covered with blankets were already seeing the fallout from this incident.

The ultraconservative Islamist Nour party, such an important part of the coalition that's here to form this transitional government, John, they have already said they're pulling out of that coalition in protest of what happened this morning.

BERMAN: All right. Reza Sayah for us in Cairo this morning. We'll check back in with you. Again, as we said, the situation is fluid and apparently deteriorating.

PEREIRA: A radical cleric who fought extradition from Britain for years is back in Jordan this morning facing terror charges. Abu Qatada is being held in a high security prison near Amman. Authorities say several prominent terrorists, including shoe bomber, Richard Reid, turned to him for advice and that his writings were consulted by some of the 9/11 conspirators. He insists, though, he's innocent of playing a role in two terror plots against foreigners.

BERMAN: A special remembrance for the team of elite firefighters who died battling the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona. Their remains are back home now in Prescott, Arizona where (ph) it will be laid to rest this week. A somber recession carried the bodies 19 fallen firefighters from Phoenix en route to Prescott in 19 white purses (ph). Thousands of people across the state pay tribute as the caravan traveled more than 100 miles beginning in Phoenix, passing through the town of Yarnell and ultimately ending in Prescott.

PEREIRA: Very moving image.

There was rain and a whole lot of it in West Virginia. The town of Kingwood suffered significant damage from the thunderstorm. The heavy rain and high winds brought down trees and power lines. Many people having to clean trees and limbs from their yards. Workers have been busy clearing lots of debris from the roads to make them passable. Quite a mess in the middle of the summer.

BERMAN: They are huge mess. And Chad Myers is tracking it all for us this morning. Hey, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's going to be another day where we're going to be good in the morning. That's where we are now. New York City, everything is kind of calming down. A great time to fly out of the big cities today, but big thunderstorms will again fire right along the Appalachians just as they did yesterday from New York down to Philadelphia and into New Jersey and some of those storms could slow down airplanes. And obviously, some of those storm could knock down trees again.

A line of weather coming into Chicago, that's going to pass on by next hour and a half. So, if you have a flight at noon out of Chicago, you'll be fine. But this morning, it could be just a few minutes late. Here's where we were last week and even this weekend. Brutally hot in the east. Brutally hot in the west and kind of mild in the Midwest. That changes this week completely. The jet that was down here will lift all the way to the north and so will our jet pattern for weather.

And the big weather will be farther to the north and that's where the thunderstorms will be. Always follow the jet. It's the road that the storms go on. So, the storms, the wetness, the rain will be farther to the north than it's been past couple of days. Atlanta 86 today, D.C. 89, Orlando mild at 91. Still muggy there. A little bit better in the city. Yesterday was 92, but it felt like 101. Today, 88. It feels like 96. I'm not sure I can tell the difference.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: I didn't know (INAUDIBLE) but appreciate it.

PEREIRA: Big numbers either way. Thanks, Chad.

BERMAN: Thirty-nine minutes after the hour where a two-year-old Alabama boy has one more reason to look up to his older brother. This is a big one. Eight-year-old Michael Myslinski saved his brother from drowning in their backyard pool last week. When Jaden suddenly went under, Michael had to think fast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MYSLINSKI, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I thought to pull him up and then yell for help because I don't want anything to happen to my little brother.

JAMES MYSLINSKI, VICTIM'S DAD: It can happen in a split second. You may be right there. You turn your back for one second and they can slip right into that pool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Jaden had to be hospitalized, but he's now back home. The parents have since returned the pool to the store. Now, they plan to buy a backyard play set for the boys instead.

PEREIRA: He's got your back, brother.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Very good. Very good.

Coming up, could a political daughter be running for the Senate? What Liz Cheney has apparently told a potential primary opponent? We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to EARLY START. A new start to tell you about this morning for a politician who last his last job, thanks to a prostitution scandal. Eliot Spitzer, the former New York governor now says he is running to be the top financial officer in New York City. You recall, he resigned the governorship in disgrace back in 2008 after admitting he routinely visited with prostitutes.

He's been a commentator ever since including some time spent working right here at CNN. Now, he says he's the right person to help keep an eye on New York City's spending and he's hopeful voters will give him a second chance.

BERMAN: Liz Cheney is said to be considering a run for the Senate in Wyoming. The "New York Times" reports the daughter of the former vice president called Wyoming's Republican incumbent, Mike Enzi, to say she's thinking about challenging him for the Senate seat in 2014. Enzi has been in the Senate since 1996.

So, let's take a look at what's coming up on the show called "NEW DAY".

PEREIRA: You sure you want to do this, because you know you're going to get grief from this one.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: This is becoming a thing, and he's got something to say about it.

BERMAN: But Michaela is on my side this morning, guys. Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, what's coming up?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: That was flavor and error, by the way.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: -- opportunity to be able to say flavor and error on TV.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: It's how I wake up every morning. Flavor and error.

BOLDUAN: You are flavor and error --

CUOMO: Berman usually comes with me. Just to set the record straight, we're all about the record here on "NEW DAY."

BOLDUAN: We have so much going on today.

CUOMO: We do. A lot of news. Obviously, the deadly crash. Asiana Airlines Flight 214. CNN has exclusive video, and you're looking at it right now. It couldn't be more fundamental to an analysis of what went wrong and why. We have the former inspector general of the DOT here, Mary Schiavo. She's going to talk to us about what this video shows from the perspective of pilot error. We're going to have the experts here. You're looking at them on your screen right now. Look at the video tape. Hear stories about the victims as well. We're going to do the story as only CNN can for you.

BOLDUAN: Deborah Hersman, she's heading up the investigation. She's a huge task to have her. She's going to be joining us live as well. And also, week three of the George Zimmerman trial, that is kicking off now. And now, the pressure is on the defense. What does George Zimmerman's attorneys need to do this week to prove their case, another critical week.

Some say maybe the final week of this case, of the trial. We'll see. Of course, we've got our experts that will be joining us, Sunny Hostin, Danny Cevallos, and Mark Nejame. They're all going to be weighing in. A lot to talk about as we kick off this big week.

CUOMO: It's a big deal unusual, because the defense has a burden on it. Usually, it's all about the prosecution. Here, they're arguing self-defense. How will they do that? We'll go through over (ph) the experts.

And there's the man. Bring him back. Come on, bring him back. David Hasselhoff back in the limelight again for good reason this time.

BOLDUAN: No, you're not dreaming. You're not still sleeping.

CUOMO: A commercial that's gone viral. We're going to talk to the man, himself. Look at that. Bam! If that doesn't make you want to drink iced coffee, nothing does, John Berman.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Nothing does.

BERMAN: You said we're not dreaming, but you know, I dream of David Hasselhoff so much like what's the difference between dream and reality here? It's like --

PEREIRA: It's hard to separate the two.

BOLDUAN: -- you're not dreaming unless you're John Berman. You are dreaming.

PEREIRA: It's the one-handed hang gliding that I really astounded by.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: We're going to spell a lot of -- this morning. Cuomo and David Hasselhoff at the same time.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. You can see what instigates the situation right there. It's a form of the little man to Michaela's right.

BOLDUAN: You kind of walked into this one.

CUOMO: No. No. I did nothing --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: All right. We will see you guys in just a few minutes.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Coming up here on EARLY START --

PEREIRA: Was that a raspberry? I think it was.

BERMAN: History made at the all England club. A local of sorts breaks a seven decade streak to take the Wimbledon crown. All coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: For the first time in 77 years, a Brit has won the men's title at Wimbledon. Andy Murray brought home the trophy with a victory in straight sets over Novak Djokovic. Andy Scholes joins us now with more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Quite a match, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes, John. It was quite the match. And for quite a while, you know, men's tennis has been dominated by victory of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, but with yesterday's win at Wimbledon, Andy Murray has now thrown his name into that group as one of the game's best.

Now, it's just one year after following Federer in the Wimbledon final, Murray was back again, and this time, he would not be denied. He battled back from down 4-2 in both the second and third set. And after three hours, he finally puts Djokovic away. The title was the first for Murray at Wimbledon and the first for a British born man since 1936.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY MURRAY, 2-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: It's a step back over the next couple days and sort of relax and think about what I did today. I realize it was a big day in our sport in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And the legend of Yasiel Puig continues to grow. The Cuban defector had another great game yesterday. The dodgers beat the Giants, 4-1. And a debate on whether or not Puig should be an all- star is now in the hands of the fans. The Dodgers rookie phenom has won a five players fans can vote on for the final spot on the national league roster. Puig's teammate, Adrian Gonzalez, was also picked for the online fan voting, but he said he's even voting for Puig. The voting on MLB.com ends on Thursday. Well, the New York Yankees continue to do whatever they can to help the community of Newtown, Connecticut. Yesterday, the team hosted more than 4,000 residents of Newtown. The Yankees displayed all of the names from the victims on the video board during a moment of silence prior to the game. And then, the Newtown youth boys' choir sang the national anthem to a standing ovation from the crowd. Great moment there at Yankee stadium.

Well, scary moment yesterday's Formula One race in Germany. Mark Webber coming out of pit, rode his right rear tire wasn't fastened correctly. And check this out, it comes off and barrels right into a camera man who wasn't looking that way. It looks like it hurt a lot. A broken collarbone for him and a broken rib. Webber's team fined over a little $44,000 for the incident. John, he's lucky that it didn't end up much worse than just a broken collarbone and broken ribs.

BERMAN: Yes. Those are some scary pictures right there. You're right. He is lucky. Nice to hear that. Andy Scholes, great to see you. Have a great Monday.

SCHOLES: You, too.

BERMAN: Coming up here, think you know everything about the soon-to- be royal baby? Well, ready to put your money on the line? We are live in London with the odds on the new prince or princess.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Royal baby watchers, the clock is ticking. A son or daughter to the duke and duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate due, you know, any day, really, any minute now. And a lot of people putting a lot of money on the outcome. Max Foster live outside Buckingham palace this morning. And Max, you people over there, you'll bet on anything.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: We do. And this is a classic example, as you'll see, John. These are the two main betting companies on this. We've got Jessie from (INAUDIBLE) and Rory from (INAUDIBLE). The big bet, of course, male or female. Everyone has been much decided a female is more likely, but that then takes you on to the names. And you've got Alexandra.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Alexandra and Victoria are joint force from favorites at the moment. And it's actually Victoria -- but we have to suspend betting just because we had so much money coming in. We thought hold on a minute. Someone knows we smell -- so we suspended betting and that's why we've now got victoria --

FOSTER: It's changing all the time, isn't it? Victoria looking down on you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

FOSTER: Rory, you got charlotte. So, what's the link on that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the Charlotte is coming from 40-1. It's kind of bit of royal credit. The name of King George III, his wife, but we're still taking bets on victoria. So, we're not running scheds (ph), so if you want a bet on Victoria, come on to Patty Pat (ph).

FOSTER: For selfish reasons, when is the due date, because I need to know. How long --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Due date upon to seem to think about the 16th or 17th of July.

FOSTER: You agree on that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. 8-1 favorite in a moment. They work out to be the 16th or 17th. So, just under a week to go.

FOSTER: Not long now.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Tell us about the money you've taken. What have you taken so far?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby betting is booming. It's shaping up to be one of the biggest novelty (ph) markets of the year. We're currently about 300,000 pounds, about a half million dollars.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the biggest novelty betting ever.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Well, novelty. You're talking about novelty. But hair color here, I mean, brown, blond, black, ginger. I mean, identify how Ginger got into the equation --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well Harry --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: So, are they popular as well?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. You can bet on pretty much anything. Where the baby is going to go to university? Will it go to university? Could it represent GB one day at the Olympics --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Do you have the name for the first boyfriend/girlfriend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have -- 40-1. You can have a shot on that.

FOSTER: As the first girlfriend of the royal baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. Yes. Or you can have what -- going to be first going into or who's going to be holding the baby outside of the church -- FOSTER: There you go, John. We're keeping ourselves busy as we sort of get ready for the news event.

BERMAN: A lot of serious stuff going on there. We'll see, Max. You know, lay down a bet for me. I'm going on for Bermania if it's a girl.

FOSTER: King John.

BERMAN: I think that, too. Sounds great. Max Foxster, thank you so much.

All right. I want to bring in "NEW DAY" anchors, Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan. What do you have on tap, guys?

BOLDUAN: Hey, there, John. Thank you so much.

CUOMO: Bermania.

BOLDUAN: I know.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: He's going to get a pass because it is the top of the hour and that means on "NEW DAY," it is time for the top news.