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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Co-Pilot Crashed Germanwings 9525; Yemen in Chaos; U.S. Airstrikes Pound ISIS Targets in Tikrit. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired March 27, 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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[04:30:38] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Suicide by plane and mass murder. Prosecutors painting a disturbing picture of the final moments onboard Germanwings 9525. The co-pilot locking his captain out of the cockpit, deliberately crashing into the mountains, killing himself and everyone else on board.
This morning, investigators are trying to figure out why he did it as crews recovering remains of victims face a daunting task. Live team coverage starts right now.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. John Berman is in Washington this week.
We have new answers this morning in the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525. But many more questions as well. A French prosecutor says the co-pilot locked the pilot out of the cockpit and then deliberately flew the plane into the mountain side, killing himself and 149 others. That co-pilot has now been identified as 27-year-old German national, Andreas Lubitz. The central mystery: why?
German police searching Lubitz's two homes, his family home and his apartment for clues. The FBI announcing it will help French authorities in their investigation.
For the latest on all of this, I want to bring in CNN's Rosie Tomkins. She is live at the Lubitz family home in Montabaur, Germany.
Good morning, Rosie.
ROSIE TOMKINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.
Yes, here we are, a day after the police arrived starting searching the family home which is behind me, as you can see, surrounded by media. As the focus has shifted away from how this could have happened and on to why -- why this young man apparently normal and happy young man who was realizing his dream of becoming a pilot would do such a terrible thing, standing accused of deliberately crashing this plane and killing all these people.
But the family here has been described by neighbors and local residents as a nice family, an upright family, a good family engaged in the local community. Lubitz himself, we spoken to people who knew him. We've spoken to people who flew with him at the local flying school.
And the words that keep coming up -- normal, polite, friendly, he was fun. But there are no clues to why he would have done such a thing.
And, of course, from the airline's point of view, we heard the CEO saying, well, they had no reason he was unfit to fly. He was deemed 100 percent fit to fly. They had internal systems where crew members can report confidentially if they had any reason to be concern about and other crew members.
So, really, just desperate for any clues at this point. And that is what the police are doing here at the family home and in Dusseldorf at Lubitz's apartment, searching for clues -- Christine.
ROMANS: And it was only two days ago, Rosie, that he was going through security, getting ready to be co-pilot on that flight.
Clearly, these are the early days of the investigation into every clue about his mental health. They will be scrubbing his records when he was training for this job. They will be scrubbing his records to see if there was any kind of psychiatric treatment, or psychiatric episodes -- no question. Again, only two days since this accident, I'm sure there's going to be more we're going to hear on this.
Rosie Tomkins, thank you for that.
Thirty-three minutes past the hour.
The crews now in the French alps facing a grim test this morning. They need to recover these scattered remains under daunting conditions. The crash scene, five acres across, accessible only by helicopters. Recovery workers must be lowered on cables because there is no place for there is no place for choppers to land here on these slopes.
Victims' family members, more than 250 of them, arriving in buses at a nearby village of Le Vernet, for a private memorial service.
International correspondent Erin McLaughlin is at the recovery base camp. She is about six miles from the site where the plane went down. And she's got the latest for us on the recovery efforts.
Good morning, Erin.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
People in the French Alps say they are absolutely shocked by what has happened. Let me show you the cover of the morning -- the local paper this morning. It has a picture of the co-pilot, 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz, as well as the headline that says simply "Why?"
People are really struggling to come to terms to understand what has happened. Meanwhile, the recovery process continues. The first choppers leaving the staging area you see behind me for the crash site to continue their work there. And there is much work still to be done. That plane was obliterated when it crashed into the mountain side, the wreckage strewn over a wide area, on very difficult, very icy terrain.
[04:35:02] And the priorities for the workers are to find the flight data recorder, which is still missing which could give them more clues as to how the flight -- the plane was flown in the last final moments. They are also looking for the bodies. Human remains being airlifted from the site to be taken for the identification process, that process expected to take weeks. The DNA alone, authorities say they will not return the bodies to the families until that DNA process is complete. So, there is a long and agonizing wait for those families ahead.
Now, they were here in the area yesterday. They participated in the private memorial service at a village near the crash site. There was also another prayer service later in the evening. We understand many of them have gone home, but all of them waking up to the grim reality that this recovery process continues and that their loved ones have yet to be identified -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Erin McLaughlin, thank you for that this morning, Erin.
The ability of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to lock the pilot out of the cockpit is raising concerns this morning about the in-flight policies of Lufthansa which owns Germanwings.
Our CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen spoke exclusively with the Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr. He asked him about the airlines policy, allowing a pilot to be alone in the cockpit.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the United States, for instance, if one of the crew members leaves the cockpit, there always has to be someone who goes in, a flight attendant or something. Why was the co-pilot allowed to be in the cockpit alone?
CARSTEIN SPOHR, CEO, LUFTHANSA AIRLINES: Also in the United States, to my knowledge, that's only true for very few airlines. Most airlines around the world follow the same procedures as Lufthansa that in flight phases with low workload, the pilot can leave the cockpit, especially for physical need, and then he returns to the cockpit as fast as he can. That's a global thing, most accepted procedure, which we have used at Lufthansa for many, many years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Regulators and airlines are reviewing their cockpit rules now. So far, Germanwings parent Lufthansa says its rules allowing the pilot or co-pilot to be alone on the flight deck for a short time haven't changed.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority is urging airlines to require two people be present at all time. That is already required in the United States. But Air Berlin, easyJet, and Norwegian Air Shuttle decided to change their policies. Emirates Airlines is also changing its rules. Canadian regulators are implementing that change country-wide.
So, what do these rules mean exactly? If a pilot or co-pilot has to step out, another crew member will stand on the flight deck.
To Yemen now, where the conflict is threatening to erupt into a full scale Middle East war. Saudi Arabia leading another round of airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overnight. The U.S. not participating in the attacks, but the Pentagon did provide the intelligence needed to launch them. And now, the Saudis, along with the Egyptians, are threatening to send ground troop forces, ground forces, into Yemen if necessary.
CNN's Ian Lee monitoring all of this for us live this morning from Cairo -- Ian.
IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Christine.
Fifteen air strikes in total from Arab coalition war planes last night struck Yemen and hitting targets, including weapons depots. We're also hearing that targets near the presidential palace were hit. And in the southern city of Aden on the city, we are hearing chaos in the streets as pro and anti-Houthis militias square off there.
Right now, we have foreign ministers from various Arab countries meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Shaikh to discuss the current situation in Yemen. It's going to be a high priority for them. We already are seeing this unprecedented coalition being gathered, something we have not seen in decades. Egypt mobilizing a large force, including airplanes, war planes, naval ships, as well as the potential for ground forces. The Saudi ambassador, though, detailed what the objective of this operation is.
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AMBASSADOR ADEL AL-JUBEIR, THE SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: We are preparing for all eventualities inside the kingdom, as well as outside the kingdom. We are determined to defend Yemen, defend the legitimate government of Yemen, degrade and destroy the capabilities of the Houthis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: If there is a ground invasion, we have seen this before in the 1960s. Egyptian troops went there and it turned into what many called their Vietnam. They sent up to 40,000 troops there, between 5,000 to 10,000 were killed in the bloody battle. So, a lot of these generals will be watching carefully to make sure something like that doesn't happen again.
But ultimately, this is a proxy war. One side, you have the Yemen president and Sunni tribes backed by Saudi Arabia and their Arab partners. On the other side, you have these Houthis rebels who are backed by Iran -- Christine. [04:40:00] ROMANS: All right. Ian Lee for us in Cairo, thank you,
Ian.
While the U.S. is supporting the Saudis in their battle against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, he's also trying to secure a nuclear deal with Iran at the same time. Secretary of State John Kerry heading up the talks in Switzerland, insisting the conflict in Yemen will not affect the negotiations.
The deadline to get the framework of a deal done four days away, and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is now intervening, sending a letter to President Obama and the leaders of other five powers involved in the negotiations, not clear what those letters say.
Turning to Iraq, where a U.S.-led coalition staged 17 airstrikes in Tikrit overnight. Until now, Iranian-backed Shiite militias were leading the offensive with Iraqi forces, trying to oust ISIS from the birthplace of Saddam Hussein. Now, the U.S. has entered the fight, those Iranian-backed militias are boycotting the battle, even threatening to attack Americans. Pentagon officials admit retaking Tikrit will be more difficult without those Iranian-backed militias helping with the ground fight. Very complicated set of alliances there, isn't it?
An explosion rocking the Lower East side. Dozens hurt when a building suddenly erupts in flames in New York City. What we're learning this morning, next.
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ROMANS: New York City's mayor says the huge explosion and fire that destroyed two buildings in Manhattan's East Village appears to be gas- related. Officials say two other buildings were damaged. One is in danger of collapsing.
[04:45:02] At least 19 people injured in this blast, four of them in critical condition.
Witnesses say the explosion rocked the neighborhood.
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RUHEN MIAH, MANAGES NEARBY RESTAURANT: I was inside. I was inside in the back. And we heard a big noise and then we come out. I thought it was a car accident. Then I saw, like, smoke outside. It started a fire.
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ROMANS: City officials say gas utility inspectors were at the building just over an hour before the explosion.
Federal prosecutors say the FBI foiled an alleged attempt by an Illinois army national guardsman and his cousin, a plot to attack a U.S. military base and kill scores of soldiers in the name of ISIS. Hasan Edmonds and his cousin Jonas are charged with conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization. Authorities arrested Hasan at Chicago's Midway Airport. He was, police say, trying to travel to Libya to fight with ISIS.
Prosecutors in the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev expected to rest their case on Monday. In court Thursday, jurors were shown six replica bombs built by the FBI. They viewed graphic autopsy photos, photos that had a number of jurors in tears. Tsarnaev is accused in the marathon attack, an attack that killed three people, injured more than 250. If convicted, he could get the death penalty.
From the big house to the halfway house, former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. arriving at a facility in Baltimore after his release from federal prison Thursday. Jackson has about six months left on a 30-month sentence after pleading guilty to using hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money for luxury items for himself and his family. A month after his sentence ends, Jackson's wife Sandy will begin serving a year in prison for filing false tax returns.
Gay rights proponents on the offence this morning after Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a religious freedom bill into law Thursday, permitting business owners to deny their services to LGBT people, citing their religion. Prominent names calling for a boycott of the state. The tech company Salesforce.com has cancelled all company travel to Indiana. The NCAA, which is hosting the Final Four in Indianapolis is concerned and has expressed concerns. Even a devout Christian group the Disciples of Christ now threatening to move its annual convention elsewhere.
Locked outside the cockpit with a killer at the controls, was there anything to stop Germanwings 9525 from crashing? We'll show you just how secure cockpits are and why getting inside may have been impossible, next.
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[04:51:16] ROMANS: Since the revelation of the pilot of the Germanwings Flight 9525 can be heard banging hard on the door, trying to get into the cockpit he's been locked out of, people are asking why he and the flight crew couldn't find a way to smash their way back into the cockpit. The answer: since 9/11, cockpit doors and locks have been drastically reinforced.
For demonstration, we sent Stephanie Elam to the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, we're inside of a cockpit similar to the A320 to give you an idea of what it looks like from the pilot's vantage point. As you see, we've got the cockpit door here. It's a slim door. But don't let that fool you. We've got the peep hole, you can see -- a pilot could see outside.
But there's more security to this door. I want to take you outside and introduce you to Captain Ross Aimer. Captain Aimer, if you take a look at this door, it is really thick. I
could actually feel it's heavy. What would it take to break down this door?
CAPT. ROSS AIMER, RETIRED UNITED AIRLINES CAPTAIN: Probably more than a grenade, because it has been tested with a grenade against it and it did not open it.
ELAM: Wow. So, it's really a fortified door.
AIMER: It's a fortress door. That's what we call it.
ELAM: But beyond that, there are other ways that a pilot can make sure that no one else can get in here, like this lock up top. Tell me about this lock.
AIMER: All right. This is a deadbolt as you can see. If that deadbolt is engaged, again, this door is completely locked.
ELAM: No matter what?
AIMER: No matter what.
ELAM: How would you get in there?
AIMER: You can't.
ELAM: Period, no one?
AIMER: Period, no one.
ELAM: So, if that is engaged, no one is getting in here at all?
AIMER: This, of course, there is a key back here if you like to show that. However, flight crews are no longer issued that key.
ELAM: That key. So, no one --
AIMER: Initially, we have the key, but TSA decided no key.
ELAM: No more keys. All right.
There is also, when you look at the door from the outside, besides that key, there is the fact there is no real way to break in here. There is a keypad.
AIMER: Correct.
ELAM: Tell me about that.
AIMER: That keypad is a code as you can see that flight crews are given that code. It changes periodically. I can't tell you how often or what. But you put the code in and you have 30 seconds to enter when that code -- if something happens and you don't get in within 30 seconds, that locks itself back out again. Now, it's finished. ELAM: It's finished. So, you can't get back in. And besides that,
the pilot on the inside, if he wanted, or she wanted to, they could make it so that you can't get in with a code no matter what.
AIMER: Correct. You saw that deadbolt lock. And there's two other buttons that would deny access. It basically does the same thing as that deadbolt. It renders the door inoperative.
ELAM: So, the question is, based on what we know so far about this Germanwings crash, do you believe the door operated the way it was supposed to?
AIMER: It operated exactly the way it was designed to. Unfortunately, this time, it kept the good guy out.
ELAM: That is very sobering.
Christine, back to you.
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ROMANS: Yes, Stephanie Elam, thank you for that, Stephanie.
Fifty-four minutes past the hour.
He was the father of the iPad, the genius behind Apple. But who was the late Steve Jobs really and the public fascination about this man just growing. A closer look, next.
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[04:58:00] ROMANS: Let's get an early start on your money this morning, this Friday morning. U.S. stock futures higher. But make no mistake, it has been a tough week. The Dow has been down four days in a row. Closing up or down more than 100 points every day in March.
And it could get worse. Profits for S&P companies are expected to drop this quarter. We're going to look at that starting next week. So, we could finally be in for the pull back everyone has been talking about that has taken years to manifest.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says he will give away all of his money, all of his money. He told "Fortune" magazine he plans to donate his estimated $800 to charity after paying for his nephew's education. Cook was also just named the world's greatest leader not long after many questioned, remember, his ability to fill Steve Jobs shoes. Now, "Fortune" names him the best leader in the world.
Now, the public is still so fascinated with Steve Jobs, the late Steve Jobs. But the authors of a new book say the conventional wisdom about Jobs is way off.
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RICK TETZELL, CO-AUTHOR, "BECOMING STEVE JOBS": It is all like a miracle pulled off by a guy who was basically a jerk and it wasn't a miracle and he wasn't a jerk.
BRENT SCHLENDER, CO-AUTHOR, "BECOMING STEVE JOBS": He was not bipolar, jerk, genius, he was a wide array of colors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Some Apple executives say the book "Becoming Steve Jobs" say this is right. But this isn't the last word written on a Apple genius. Aaron Sorkin is working on a movie, CNN premiers a documentary next year, and, of course, there was that Ashton Kutcher which these authors called, quote, "quite awful."
Fifty-nine minutes past the hour.
EARLY START continues right now.
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ROMANS: Motive for murder. Investigators trying to figure out why the co- pilot of Germanwings 9525 deliberately crashed the plane killing himself and everyone else onboard. The disturbing reality deepening the mystery and the grief this morning.
[05:00:01] Live team coverage starts now.
