Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Rescue Officials: Missing Jet at "Bottom of Sea"; The Search for AirAsia Flight 8501; Rescue Efforts Underway from Burning Ferry

Aired December 29, 2014 - 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: The breaking news this morning, the huge search that is happening right now for missing AirAsia Flight 8501. It disappeared with 162 people on board. What went wrong? What is being done this morning to find this vanished jetliner?

We have live team coverage from the key locations far away. This is our big story this morning. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour. We welcome all of our viewers here at the U.S. and around the world. The search continues for AirAsia Flight 8501. It vanished Sunday en route from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board.

Indonesian officials are not offering families much hope at this hour. Those leading the search and rescue efforts say they suspect the jet is at the bottom of the sea, their words. That has not been confirmed.

Indonesia's vice president says it is still a search and rescue operation. The window for finding survivors is closing quickly. CNN's Andrew Stevens is live for us this morning in Surabaya, Indonesia. Bring us up to speed.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, that window is indeed closing quickly. We have gone 30 hours. The vice president, Jusuf Kalla, who we spoke to earlier on EARLY START, said when we get to 40 hours, the chances of finding survivors, if the plane hit the sea, is very, very remote.

He is here. He is in charge. He is the government leader in charge of the whole what he still terms a search as rescue operation. He is here at Surabaya Airport. He's been talking to the families of the victims saying that they are doing all they can.

But he really cannot offer much more than that because there is still so little to go on. There were reports that some objects had been spotted by one of the Australian reconnaissance aircraft, which has joined the search team.

I asked the vice president about that in the interview here. This is what he had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: There have been reports of objects floating in the search zone. Can you tell me, do you know if they are linked at all to the missing plane?

JUSUF KALLA, VICE PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA: Yes, until now, to answer not yet. Some report from Australia, but we are not yet clear the object is from the plane or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: So, not yet clear whether that has been actually or will be part of the plane or linked to the plane. I've been speaking to aviation analysts and experts here and indeed around the world.

They do express surprise really that we still have not had any sort of wreckage identified at all. Also, we have to take into account today was the first day the search really ramped up. We have 30 surface vessels in the area and 15 aircraft.

People I spoke to say we could have news in the next couple of days, but obviously enormously frustrating and so, so painful for the families here. The frustrations are growing. They want information and they want it now. The government and authorities at AirAsia cannot give it to them at the moment.

ROMANS: All right, Andrew Stevens for us this morning in Indonesia. Thank you, Andrew and come back to us when there are new developments. Thanks.

ROMANS: As Andrew said the hours are ticking away right now. More than 30 hours since the last contact with AirAsia Flight 8501. Now there are more ships and planes and helicopters joining in the search.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from the staging area, an island in the Java Sea. Paula, give us latest on what's happening there.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the air search is certainly winding down. In fact, we have not seen any helicopters or planes come in here from the search and rescue operation for the past couple of hours.

So certainly we can see the end of the second day, the search operation from the air at least is going to be winding down. The ships can stay on the water. They can put spotlights on, but of course, when it is pitch black, it is really very difficult to be able to see anything.

Now I spoke to the first marshal who is in charge of the search and rescue operation here on Belitung Island. This is really one of the closest islands to where that plane lost contact with air traffic controllers.

He basically said that they haven't managed to narrow down the search yet. It is still 240 nautical miles by 240 nautical miles. He said that they don't have the data to be able to hone in on a particular location.

As soon as they have that, he says they will do it. I also asked him, does he think there is a possibility there maybe survivors. He told me if this plane landed or crashed into the water, it is highly unlikely.

This was several hours ago, he told me this, but he said that it is possible if it managed to crash on land. There are jungles to the east of here.

There is a small possibility of survivors managing to live through that crash if they landed on land. But if it did land in the water, he said it is highly unlikely that we will see survivors -- John.

ROMANS: There are reports this morning from the Australia search plane that there was some debris spotted in the sea. Of course, we do know from the search for Flight 370 that the debris can be almost anything, almost anywhere in the ocean. What are officials saying now about these sightings?

HANCOCKS: Well, at least here on the ground on this island, the official I spoke to said that he had not heard that report or at least he wasn't giving it much credibility. Of course, the fact is we don't know what that debris is.

This is a very busy shipping channel. There could be plenty of debris in the water from many of the ships that are passing by. We did see in those early days, weeks, even months of MH-370 that there is an awful lot in the ocean that is not supposed to be there.

It is obviously a decoy when you are trying to find anything from a missing plane. I think all of these sightings and reports have to be taken very carefully.

Of course, there are many relatives of passengers and crew who were desperately hanging on to hope. Desperately listening to any piece of information that might suggest their loved ones will be OK. We have to be careful when talking about these sightings.

And of course, I think in the next couple of days, we'll have many more reports just like this -- John.

BERMAN: Paula Hancocks for us in Belitung Island right now in the Java Sea, thanks so much.

ROMANS: No mayday call, no sounds yet from the flight recorder, no pings at all, an oil slick that is not related at all and still trying to figure out if there is debris. There are just a lot of questions this morning. It seems to surround weather as well, the weather at the time this plane disappeared.

CNN meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, now takes a look at the weather the search and rescue teams are up against.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. The weather across portions of the Java Sea at this moment is finally improving. You know, we have not seen conditions this clear in quite some time. In fact, there are some storms in the area of the last known point with the aircraft.

But to the north, generally partly cloudy and to the south, similar story, but when you talk about an area that in its wet season, December being typically the wettest time of year, you know storms will be blossoming in the next coming couple of days.

I'll take you through Tuesday and Wednesday. Storms certainly develop right again toward that last point known of contact region. That is where we think more strong storms and gusty winds and visibility is worth noting in the couple of days.

Good news with this is when you look at the sea surface temperatures in the Java Sea, 82 degrees or so Fahrenheit. So survival in the waters would be a possibility, but of course, the longer time passes, the more unlikely scenario that becomes. Back to you.

BERMAN: All right, thanks to Pedram Javaheri for that. Let's talk now more about AirAsia Flight 8501. The possibilities about what happened to it especially in that area.

Joining us now live on the phone, former pilot and aviation consultant, Alastair Rosenschein. Alastair, you have flown in this area, in the Java Sea, around Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

These busy, busy flight path, these busy, busy sea lanes, what is it like to be a pilot in that area particularly this time of year with these monsoon-like conditions that can arise?

ALASTAIR ROSENSCHEIN, FORMER PILOT AND AVIATION CONSULTANT (via telephone): You have radar from the moment you takeoff right through the moment you touchdown at destination because of the thunderstorms that are lay in that area. This is a common thing.

The captain has a great deal of experience in operating in that area for 6,000 flying hours, which by any (inaudible) is an awful lot of experience. So, you know, it is a question of whether you get caught out in one of these storm cells or not.

You know, the speculation and that is what analysts have been doing, speculating as to what happened. Most people seem to think it is a weather-related incident. There could be other factors involved. I just want to put one fact out there.

That is the aircraft had a fuel range that would allow the aircraft to go up to 600 miles or so from the point at which it last disappeared. At the moment, the search area is 240 by 240 nautical miles. So, there is an outside possibility it could in fact be outside of the general search area.

From a flying point of view, you know, there is nothing particularly, you know, extraordinary about that area, I mean, generally speaking, the weather's quite good and you are able to get around these thunderstorms. It is only when they are so packed tightly together that you end up with rough ride. There are areas of the world where the line of thunderstorms are so tightly packed that you can't always guarantee a smooth ride. Over Africa, the ITC bed is particularly bad. My personal experience it is worse there than it is over the Java Sea.

ROMANS: Let me ask you this, Alastair, the significance of no mayday call. You are a pilot. You have flown that very route. Under what circumstances would there be no mayday call? This is speculation. We are trying to find this plane. There was no mayday call. There's been no sound from the flight recorders. Why would a pilot not do a mayday call?

ROSENSCHEIN: Well, there are several reasons. I mean, first of all, if the pilots are having to basically handle the aircraft and all their concentrations on that. Making a radio call would be a much lower priority. Radio call is made when you need immediate assistance.

When the flight load allows you time to make that radio call, you will do so. There are other scenarios. Radios can fail. In the hijacking scenarios, you don't have radio calls. There can be a number of reasons why there was no radio call.

I'm speculating here, if it was they have control difficulties in the storms, it is unlikely they will put out a radio call because they concentrate on managing the aircraft and flight profile becomes an absolute priority.

ROMANS: All right, Alastair Rosenschein, thank you so much, a former pilot aviation consultant, who has actually flown that route. Great context in this situation, great context he has for us for MH-370. Ironic, interesting, sad, that you had these two -- three major disasters this year.

Investors are selling shares of AirAsia this morning. The stock is down about 8 percent right now, the biggest one day decline in three years. The missing jet is damaging AirAsia's reputation as a reliable low-cost carrier. The airline has had no fatal crashes in more than a decade of operations.

This is an airline that is regularly named the best low cost airline in Asia. AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has been reaching out to the public using social media since the jet disappeared. He called this his worst nightmare.

This morning, he tweeted, quote, "Keeping positive and staying strong. My heart bleeds for all of the relatives of my crew and our passengers." You think of the low cost airlines, they have really transformed these Boeing A-320s. They transformed many parts of the world in their ability to travel. It's really sad turn of events there.

BERMAN: It's 43 minutes after the hour right now. We will continue to follow the breaking news in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. We will follow that all morning. But there is more news this morning, a frantic rescue at sea. Hundreds on board a burning ferry. This dangerous situation has turned deadly. We are live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: We are following breaking news this morning in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. This plane disappeared Sunday with 162 people on board. It was headed to Indonesia from Singapore. The plane's final communication, the pilot asked for a higher altitude due to bad weather. He was denied because of air traffic above.

Indonesian rescue officials say early indications are the plane is at the bottom of the sea. Still, ships, planes and helicopters are searching. And families of those on board are anxiously awaiting answers.

We are also following another breaking story, a rescue from a burning ferry off the coast of Italy. Nearly 300 passengers have been taken to safety. Almost 150 others still on board that smoldering ship. Rough weather has slowed the rescue efforts here.

CNN's Elinda Labropoulou is here with us. We are talking freezing cold temperatures and very difficult as they try to choreography of helicopters to pluck people off the burning ferry two by two. It is taking a very long time.

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Choreography is a very good way of putting it. It's exactly what's been happening for hours now. I mean, the fire broke out 30 hours ago with the first ships trying to approach not very long after that. It has been so difficult because of the weather conditions in the area.

The operations are underway. Two-thirds of passengers have now been removed from the ship. About 150 more remain. Some of them have reached the port in Italy and others taken to Greece. There have been operations to try to tow the ship, but that has also been impossible because of the weather conditions.

As a result, the operations are progressing, but they are quite slow because everybody has to be moved by helicopter. The good news is that rescuers have managed to get on the ship. Doctors are on the ship. They are saying the passengers are fine in health.

They are reporting a few minor problems with hypothermia for being outside for so many hours and also with the smoke. A lot of smoke on the ship because of the fire and many of them are terrified and scared.

We had a lot of people call into the Greek media stations and talk about that ordeal and describe horrendous scenes out there. It seems operations are progressing and most people will be off the ship soon.

ROMANS: Freezing cold, windy, smoke, a terrible ordeal, but you're right, a huge rescue operation. This has been a very successful operation with 340 taken off the ship. Thank you, Elinda. We'll take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Michaela Pereira joins us now. I'm sure you're going to be following that as well as the plane, won't you.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": We certainly will. There are two big stories that we are watching. Of course, we are going to bring you the latest developments in the ongoing search, Christine, for the AirAsia Flight 8501. Not much daylight left in Southeast Asia.

We are expecting the search to either slowdown for the night or to be called off for the night. Officials making a grim assessment this morning, one saying, the plane is likely at the bottom of the sea.

Search crews though still hopeful that they are going to find some sign of the jet as they search a busy shipping corridor so far no luck, all of this, of course, just months after MH-370 went missing. We cannot forget that. That plane has not been found.

How similar are these two accidents? We will compare and contrast when we bring you the very latest updates on "NEW DAY" at the top of the hour.

ROMANS: Michaela, thank you for that. I'll tune in and be with you and doing the news for you.

We're continuing to follow the search for missing AirAsia Flight 8501. What we know now about the 162 people on board that flight. That's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: We are following breaking news this morning in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. That plane disappeared carrying 162 passengers and crew. CNN's Nick Valencia has more on the people on board that flight.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We want to give you meaning to these numbers, 162 souls on board the AirAsia Flight that disappeared, 162 people with their unique stories. We know they were from a number of backgrounds.

Majority of those on the flight, 155 passengers, seven crews, from Indonesia with a handful from South Korea and others from Malaysia and Singapore and two people from Europe, one U.K. national and one from Europe. The media reported the name of the co- pilot, Rammi Emmanuel Rassel.

They are working with the Indonesian government to try to find the whereabouts of the missing plane. Another number confirmed is that of the British national who is Indonesian based executive named Cho Chiman.

It is a heart breaking story when you learn he was traveling with his 2-year-old daughter, a Singapore national, who is one of the youngest on this flight. Earlier, one of those who had a loved one, her fiance was on the flight and she talked to local media, and talked about how she found out that the plane had disappeared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I listened to radio and they said his plane was missing. That's all. It was supposed to be their last vacation before we got married which was to be his last vacation with his family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: At daybreak, the search resumed locally. Right now, for all of those who had loved ones on this plane, it is for all intents and purposes, wait and see. Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

ROMANS: All of them passengers of a popular low cost airline, some of them employees. What is happening to the stock of AirAsia following the disappearance of Flight 8501. We will look at the company next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Investors selling AirAsia shares this morning as the search for this missing jet continues. The stock is down 8 percent right now, the biggest one day decline in more than three years. The crisis is a blow to the airlines good reputation.

AirAsia had a spotless safety record. No crashes in more than a decade of operations. The confidence rattled this morning. AirAsia's CEO is using social media. In a series of tweets after the jet disappeared. Tony Fernandes called this his worst nightmare.

Overnight, he tweeted, quote, "Keeping positive and staying strong, my heart bleeds for all of the relatives of my crew and our passengers." The post had been re-tweeted thousands of times.

He is staying strong and my heart bleeds for the crew and passengers. We will continue to follow this search for missing flight 8501 and the 162 people on board. "NEW DAY" continuing that coverage.