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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Harrison Ford's Plane Crashes; Delta Plane Skids Off the Runway; Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc Across Northeast

Aired March 06, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Harrison Ford battered and bruised. He's in the hospital this morning, injured after crash landing his plane on to a golf course in California. New information about how he's doing, ahead.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Look at this, close call at LaGuardia airport. The Delta flight skidding off the runway, crashing into that berm, just feet away from the icy bay.

ROMANS: Thousands of flights canceled, roads icy and dangerous after a severe snowstorm pummeled the Northeast. What you can expect today, that's ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. A lot going on this morning.

ROMANS: Do you want to tell them it's Friday or should I tell them?

BERMAN: Go ahead, tell them.

ROMANS: It's Friday, everybody. Nice to see you this morning.

BERMAN: All right. With that, NTSB investigators on the scene where this happen: Harrison Ford's vintage airplane crash landing on a southern California golf course. Ford flying that plane. Like that plane itself, he was pretty badly banged up. He did walk away from the crash. He's hospitalized this morning with what we're told were moderate injuries.

Now, crews are going to move that plane to a different location so investigators can get a closer look. People near the Santa Monica airport could tell something was wrong seconds after the 1943 military trainer took off. They could hear engine noise. So, someone nearby was actually able to film it on their cell phone.

CNN's Kyung Lah has a report from the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, investigators have been here in the overnight hours, trying to figure out exactly why this vintage plane lost power in the engine.

What you can see over my shoulder is this extraordinary landing. You can see that the nose of this plane is bent into the ground. This is a small golf course you're looking at.

The propeller is ground into the grass but look at the body of the plane. It really wasn't that damaged. Harrison Ford was seated in one of those two seats. He did have some head injuries but some of the people here. Witnesses say that he was bleeding from the head but they managed to get him out, take him to the hospital.

He is pointed towards the runway. Neighbors say they actually heard the engine stall.

JENS LUCKING, WITNESS: I heard it having problems, then he turned around, when he was right by the house, the engine cut out, then he turned around. That's what I heard, he turned around, tried to get back to the airport.

LAH: That neighbor says Ford is quite a good pilot to manage right here, only about 30 yards from where I'm standing -- the houses are about 50 yards away. Ford's publicist says he is banged up but should be OK -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Kyung you for that. Amazing.

He's a good pilot. I mean, he's got experience doing this. A lot of people telling me that overnight.

His co-star from "Star Wars," Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, ribbing Harrison Ford a little bit, took to Twitter offered best wishes, said, "Get well soon." He added, "May all his future flights be green screen."

ROMANS: R2-D2 had no comment. But we're trying to reach out to see what kinds of --

BERMAN: I don't make jokes about "Star Wars", because it's so important.

ROMANS: I'm sorry. I apologize for making light of your favorite movie.

Another hair-raising landing, this one at New York's LaGuardia airport where a Delta jetliner slid off an ice say runway Thursday, coming to rest near feet from the frigid waters of Flushing Bay. This morning, two massive industrial cranes are moving that plane off the snowy berm where it came to rest, so flights can resume on that runway.

Will Ripley has the latest own the accident. He's at LaGuardia.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, throughout the overnight hours, work continuing here to move that Delta flight off of the runway where it landed, slid about 4,000 feet and ended just dangerously close to the icy water, Delta 1086. We saw pictures coming in of two large cranes that were intending to lift the aircraft, turn it around and bring it into a hangar, as the NTSB continues to investigate how this happened.

Passengers describe a really terrifying scenario as this plane from Atlanta was coming in on Thursday morning, around 11:00. Shortly after 11:00. They say there was no traction. They felt a thud, they were thrown and then the plane just kept sliding, again, 4,000 feet on a 7,000-foot runway. The nose crashed right through a fence and were it not for a berm that the plane became wedged on, the plane could have actually slide into the water which would have been a very dangerous scenario.

As it turned out, passengers were able to evacuate. There was a problem with some of the emergency chutes. They didn't deploy. So, firefighters climbed up on the wing and helped these people climb out, some of them without jackets out, climbed out, walked off of the plane, and then trudged through the snowy runway, through the cold, through the ice and snow to safety.

But remarkably, everybody was able to walk away from this. And another thing that's being looked into right now, just minutes before this plane landed runway conditions, the breaking conditions were reported to be good by two other planes. It just goes to show the dangers of taking off, in this case, landing in this icy weather. Winter weather that has caused a number of travel delays in the New York area and across the country -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Will. I know I will never land at LaGuardia quite the same way.

BERMAN: You think about it, as you come in over the water. You see the runway, you see what happened --

ROMANS: It's right there. You feel like you could touch the water. You always miraculously land nicely. Kudos to the crew and the flight crew.

BERMAN: And hat berm is there not to keep planes in, it's to keep the water out when it floods there. It's a good thing it was there.

All right. That accident at LaGuardia made the travel situation even worse than it already was across the country.

ROMANS: Yes, this huge winter storm led to the cancellation of nearly 5,000 flights in the United States on Thursday. That means more than 20 percent of all scheduled flights never left the ground. The icy conditions made travel just as dangerous on the roads. Look at the surveillance footage, hard to watch almost. This is from Rhode Island. You see an out-of-control hatchback

sliding into a parked car that then hits this woman. She walked away from the crash but we're told she was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

BERMAN: In Philadelphia, the weight of the snow and ice causing a roof to collapse in a five-story apartment building. One resident was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

ROMANS: In Connecticut, this barn collapsed under the weight of the heavy, wet snow. You can see the whole thing just caved in. Luckily, no one -- none of the rescue horses inside there were hurt. But now, they do need a home.

BERMAN: Look at this, a tractor-trailer carrying 93 head of cattle overturn in Maryland. No humans, no people hurt in the crash. At this point not known if any of the cows were.

ROMANS: Drivers in Kentucky stranded on interstate I-65 for hours. You can see the highway. It looks like a virtual parking lot. The governor says state officials did all they could to prepare.

BERMAN: Severe flooding in West Virginia. Look at the roads there. Some people who brave the conditions had a hard time getting around. You're not supposed to drive through water like that.

Similar scene played out in Virginia. Those are roads, actually, I'm told. I'm assured those are actually roads there. They look more like rivers. The storm put a lot of rivers over the banks.

ROMANS: The huge snowstorm moving off into the Atlantic but, of course, it's leaving something right behind it to come up in its wake, frigid, cold temperatures.

Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam for an early look at your weather this morning.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine.

For our viewers watching at home, along the East Coast of the United States, you'll want to be prepare for big changes in the weather heading out the door. Look at this -- we are running 20 to 35 degrees below where we were this time yesterday, believe it or not. In fact, we should be about 46 for daytime highs in the Big Apple. But we're going to run about 18 degrees below average for the day, 28 is your maximum temperature, 30 degrees only for the nation's capital.

Now, this storm that brought the heavy snowfall to Kentucky is moving its way up. We say good-bye and good riddance. Behind it, high pressure clears things out but brings in a very deceiving sunshine to much of the East Coast. I guess we'll take it, right? A few scattered showers expected across the Florida panhandle. There are signs of spring, though, if you're located in the Big Apple.

Look at this, temperatures on the increase through the weekend and early parts of next week. Many of us wondering is this the last of old man winter? Well, one thing is for sure, we have 14 days until the first day of spring. Enjoy.

BERMAN: We're actually fact checking that right now.

Meanwhile, authorities in South Korea are investigating a possible connection between the suspect who slashed U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert and the North Korea, see if there's any connection there. Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for 55-year-old Kim Ki- jong. He could be charged with attempted murder. Police are digging into his travel history, dating back over a decade.

We'll get the latest from Seoul. CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is there.

Ivan, how's the ambassador doing this morning?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's recovering in a hospital. Doctors say he's in very good condition, despite the fact that he's got a 4-inch gash, stab wound in his cheek, as well as stabs to his wrist and arm that he's recovering from.

Meanwhile, police here brought the suspect, seen by many people carrying out this attack, Kim Ki-jong, they brought him to a courthouse for a hearing today. He spoke briefly to journalists. He was in a wheelchair, one of his ankles bound. There are reports that maybe it was fractured when he was tackled shortly after the knife attack.

And he was asked if he had made previous trips to North Korea. He said no. He was asked if there was any coordination with the North Korean regime behind this attack? He said that's nonsense.

Well, the South Korean authorities are not so sure. They're investigating the possibility of links. They raided his apartment before dawn this morning, seizing his computer and they've pointed out that he has made, in the past, at least seven trips to North Korea.

On top of that, of course, he had a criminal record. In 2010, he was arrested and sentenced to two years suspend jail sentence for throwing a block of concrete at a Japanese diplomat.

So there's some questions then, how is this man allowed into this event early Thursday morning with the U.S. ambassador?

Well, the U.S. embassy tells us they did not ask for extra security. The South Korean authorities say there were dozens of police present but certainly they did not intercept the man in time. He was able to get a knife into the venue.

So, there's been criticism in the South Korean press about what, at least one major newspaper here claims, was a lack of security, a lapse in security. Meanwhile, the North Korean government has applauded the attack, state media went and called this a knife attack of justice -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Ivan Watson for us in Seoul. Thanks so much, Watson. ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this

morning.

U.S. stock futures are barely moving this Friday but they broke a two- day losing streak yesterday. Today, the focus, of course, the February jobs report. That's at 8:30 eastern, in less than four hours.

Economists polled by CNN money, they predict 235,000 jobs added, a little weaker than the job growth from January, but still a strong pace. The unemployment rate expected to tick down to 5.6 percent.

What we'll be looking for, wages. Wages have stubbornly lagged during the recovery. Annual wage growth was 2.2 percent in January. The Fed would like to see something between 3 percent and 4 percent, as the job market tightens.

So, pay attention. Wages should start to catch up. You're starting to see the retailers, some of the restaurant companies raising wages so they can keep people. They're noticing the tightening labor market. We hope, we hope, we hope that wages will finally start to rise.

BERMAN: That's the news we're all waiting for.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: All right. New warnings from the FBI about ISIS, how the terrorists are recruiting American teenagers. That's next.

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ROMANS: A chilling warning from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, more American teens than ever are being drawn to ISIS. Law enforcement agencies across the country, they're being told to stay alert, especially after the arrest of a Virginia teen accused of being an ISIS recruiter or recruiter for ISIS, a teenager in Virginia.

We get more from CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, I talked with a terrorist analyst who said the reason ISIS's lure is so powerful for young people is it draws on a misguided religious belief that the terrorist group is fighting a legitimate holy war. Second, it is happening in a world, the world of cyber communication where this message has largely gone unchecked. So, the FBI and Homeland Security are warning law enforcement about young Americans wanting to fight with ISIS.

This warning comes just days after a 17-year-old from the suburbs of Washington, D.C. was arrested, accused of recruiting for ISIS.

Authorities say he was also helping a man travel to Syria to fight for the terrorist group. A Twitter account, consistent with the young man's name and profile, include this cartoon of a man apparently dreaming of becoming a jihadist. And another with a photo and caption East Asian mujahidin fighting for ISIS.

According to federal law enforcement officials, more than 180 Americans have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria and Iraq to join militant groups, including ISIS. Some are as young as 15.

The Virginia teen is just the latest case of young Americans believed lured by ISIS and their powerful propaganda. Just last month, three men living in Brooklyn, including a 19-year-old were arrested for allegedly attempting to wage jihad with ISIS. Just last fall, three teenage girls from Denver were caught in Germany, not far from their alleged goal of joining ISIS in Syria -- Christine, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you for that, Suzanne.

BERMAN: Meanwhile, ISIS is destroying an ancient Iraqi city, so much history just being destroyed, bulldozing over priceless artifacts. We're live with the latest, next.

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BERMAN: Iran is gaining new influence and new traction inside Iraq. Iranian-backed militias are taking the lead in the offensive to retake Tikrit from ISIS.

Senior Iranian military leaders seem to be openly directing the mission. The U.S. on the sidelines, really not involved in this particular mission. This is all going on as ISIS fighters have destroyed a new key piece of Iraqi history. They've bulldozed an ancient Assyrian city.

I want to bring in CNN senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman.

Ben, what can you tell us?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, as far as the city of Nimrud which dates back to the 13th century BC. Yesterday, we got a statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities saying ISIS had dispatched bulldozers to this town, about 18 miles of south of Mosul and was in the process of destroying it.

Now, this is just the latest such act by ISIS. Just last week, we saw they proudly posted video on the Internet of their people smashing priceless ancient statues in the Mosul museum. Now, we have yet to see any video posted by ISIS of what's going on in Nimrud, but I'm sure it's merely a matter of time before they issue it.

Now, as far as the battle against ISIS in Tikrit goes, we were on the front lines, just about two miles south of the center of that city. We saw outgoing fire from Iraqi forces, forces that, yes, include these Iranian-backed military groups like the Badr Brigade and the Hashid Shaabi, otherwise known as the popular mobilization unit.

Now, we didn't see Iranian advisers on the ground. I spoke to one member of the Iraqi parliament who was highly critical of the American role or lack thereof as far as the battle of Tikrit goes. And he told me that on the other hand, Iranian assistance is practical and although they don't necessarily have boots on the ground, there are at least 100 Iraqi advisers, one of the Iraqi militias actually posted or provided us with video of Iranian advisers looking over a map near one of the battlefields around Tikrit.

As far as the battle goes, we heard from officers there that ISIS may be beginning to pull out of that city, just leaving behind a lot of IEDs and snipers -- John.

BERMAN: Not to mention a complicated situation.

Ben Wedeman for us in Baghdad -- thanks so much, Ben.

ROMANS: All right. How does 16 weeks paid maternity leave sound? Sixteen weeks. Then when you come back, you can have up to six months full pay even if you work shorter hours.

BERMAN: That can't possibly be happening here.

ROMANS: I'm going to tell you where it's happening, next.

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ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning.

Stocks looking a bit cautious ahead of the February jobs report. That's out at 8:30. European stocks aren't moving much. Everything is very, very calm this morning. Yesterday stocks broke a two-day losing streak. The Dow climbed almost 40 points.

You know, all the banks, U.S. banks, passed their stress test. That's important. But stocks very close to Monday's all-time highs.

A strong jobs report this morning could send stocks to records. Who knows? That's coming out at 8:30.

The big story this morning, corporate story, Vodafone will give employees 16 weeks paid maternity leave, paid 16 weeks no matter where they live around the world, if you work for Vodafone. That's a small break in Europe, where the British telecom is based. The universal policy, huge perk in some countries.

For example, the United States does not guarantee paid maternity leave. Vodafone says this policy will save the company money because it will help with recruitment and retention. And beyond the 16 weeks, what I think is fascinating about this, for another six months, you're guaranteed your pay even if you work some reduced hours as you transition from having the baby and the maternity leave to transitioning back to work.

BERMAN: It's a good way to keep your employees. ROMANS: I think it's International Women's Day this weekend, so I think also the timing of this is tied to that, but you'll hear a lot of discussion about policies in different countries and whether they favor women and families.

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.

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