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Crash of Germanwings Flight 9525; Co-Pilot Hid Illness from Airline; Nuclear Talks with Iran Hit Snag; Amanda Knox Cleared in Death of Roommate; German Airlines Adopt Two-Person Cockpit Rule; Is Iran U.S. Ally Or Enemy? Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired March 28, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[10:59:32] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good to see you both.

All right. We have a lot straight ahead. As you know, you've had a very busy morning, too.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Yes, yes.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN HOST: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Good to see you guys.

BLACKWELL: You're welcome. Likewise.

WHITFIELD: I appreciate it.

It's the 11:00 Eastern hour in the East Coast here. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The NEWSROOM starts right now.

And we begin with the latest on the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525. CNN can now confirm the identity of the captain of the doomed flight. It was Patrick Sondenheimer who tried desperately to get back into the plane's cockpit but to no avail.

Meanwhile recovery teams are battling treacherous terrain and high winds as they continue the painstaking hunt for crash victims. The weather is a little bit more favorable today and officials say they are making some progress.

Also continuing today -- the search for the critical second black box which contains the flight data recorder. And prosecutors have been sifting through the apartment of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. They're trying to find out why he apparently brought the plane down deliberately killing all 150 people on board.

We go to Germany right now where CNN's senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is tracking all of the newest information. Frederik -- what more do we know about the captain, Patrick Sondenheimer?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was confirmed to CNN by one of his relatives called Reiner Sondenheimer who, one of our crews met outside a residential building here, that, in fact, Patrick was the man who was steering that plane -- Patrick Sondenheimer. We've known from Lufthansa that he was a captain who had been flying with the airline both Lufthansa and Germanwings as well as another Lufthansa Airline named Condor for about ten years. He had 6,000 flying hours.

So by all means a very, very experienced pilot. He was also the one, as you said, who tried to get back into the cockpit, first knocking a little bit normally obviously and then trying to kick the door down in the end as the plane descended down there.

So we know his identity now. We have talked to his relatives. But they at this point say that they are not comfortable speaking in front of the camera because, of course, they are still in a state of grief -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And what about those who knew the co-pilot, particularly the girlfriend who has been quoted in a German newspaper there in interviews? What more is being said?

PLEITGEN: Well, they're still trying to piece together a mosaic of what this person was like and what might have driven him to do what he apparently did, which is, of course, fly that plane into the side of a mountain.

And the "Bild" newspaper here in Germany which is the largest tabloid here in this country has an interview with an ex-girlfriend of his. She claims that she was together with Lubitz for about five months last year. She describes him as someone who needed a lot of attention, who was very sensitive, someone who could also be quite flattering to her, who often gave her flowers. She apparently was a flight attendant on Germanwings as well.

But also someone with a very dark side, she said -- someone who would become erratic; someone who often fought with her; someone who became very angry when he spoke about the company; and also someone who had very bad dreams. Now, of course, it's unclear what all of this will mean to the investigation but it's certainly something where they're trying to piece together a profile of this person to try to determine why he did what he did, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And any more about the doctor who wrote the note that investigators say they found a torn up note that said he was unfit to work -- any more from the doctor even?

PLEITGEN: Well, the doctor is certainly someone that authorities are speaking to right now. It's interesting because the "New York Times" just a couple minutes ago came out with a new report saying that they have information that apparently Lubitz was getting treatment for some sort of eye problem that might have been a jeopardy to his flying career.

They say they have that from two sources and it's interesting because we've been speaking to the university clinic in Dusseldorf and they've acknowledged that Lubitz went there twice this year to get diagnostics, and they said that it was not for depression related issues. So it might have been that. It is still unclear at this point in time but certainly the doctor that treated Lubitz is someone that the authorities will very much be speaking to at this point in time. It's interesting because the medical records that were found inside Lubitz's apartment indicated that he had been getting treatment for an ailment for quite a while. This was an ongoing process and he'd already had several of these sick notes that said he was unfit to go to work which, of course, for a pilot means that he is unfit to fly and that he destroyed several of those, of course, tearing some of them up. They were later found in that apartment.

The prosecutor here in Germany has not said what kind of an ailment Lubitz had, whether it was a depression, whether it was maybe something with his eyes or some sort of other physical ailment. We're still trying to find out more official information from the authorities, but certainly it appears as though it might have been multiple things that he was suffering from. There are some outlets here in Germany that are also reporting that he suffered from depression-related issues in the past as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Frederik Pleitgen -- thanks so much. Keep us posted. Appreciate.

All right. So how will investigators piece together all this investigation particularly about the co-pilot's history?

Let's bring in our panel right now. Peter Goelz is a CNN aviation analyst and a former NTSB managing director; Jonathan Gilliam is a former air marshal and FBI agent; Mary Ellen O'Toole is a former senior FBI profiler and special agent; and Les Abend is a CNN aviation analyst and contributing editor of "Flying Magazine".

[11:05:11] All right. Good to see all of you.

So that we know -- Peter, you first -- that there was this note that investigators found and said he was -- Lubitz was unfit to work. What are the medical or maybe even mental conditions that would cancel out someone's ability to fly a plane?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, there's a wide variety of conditions or situations which would disqualify somebody from flying. For instance, the FAA has a list of knockout medications that if you're taking one of these medications you may not fly a commercial airplane.

There are medical conditions such as diabetes that the United States views as a nonstarter. Pilots cannot be taking insulin and have certain stage diabetes. So, there's a wide variety of both illnesses and pharmaceuticals that would prevent you from getting behind -- getting into the cockpit.

WHITFIELD: And then when we hear, Les, that possibly, at least according to the "New York Times", that there may have been some eye treatment that this co-pilot may have recently sought, what kind of eye problems perhaps would fall into the category of being simply unfit to work? LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I mean, there's certain vision

standards that we have. We have to be at least in the United States we have to have it correctable to 20/20, but it goes beyond that. We have to understand that most of the FAA limitations that keep us from flying are self disclosure things. Things as simple as a common cold we self disclose, I'm not good enough to fly.

When this gentleman allegedly went to a doctor for a vision issue, this was just a standard medical doctor for that particular issue. He is not required to disclose that to their version of the FAA nor is the pilot, in this particular case the co-pilot, required to disclose that. If it was a medical examiner specifically under the guise of in our country the FAA, that would have to be disclosed if it has the potential for disqualifying for flight.

WHITFIELD: And then, Mary, so much is trying to be uncovered about who he was by talking to his girlfriend according to a German newspaper, perhaps even his family members would be able to reveal a bit more about his behavior. But aside from the medical conditions that there is a track record, there will be doctors who will be able to uncover that. What perhaps observations might this airline be responsible for in your view in observing whether he was someone to be trusted in the cockpit?

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER: Well, often times people that have mental health issues are really able to present quite well and present quite normally, so just visually looking at someone or even having a conversation, if they have good impression management skills, if they know, hey, I have got to come across as really normal and plugged in, they can do that, and that's why self reported information can be so unreliable.

To me what's so interesting here is if this person was so attached to this job, he voluntarily went to these doctors. Most often you see -- or very often you see people with mental health issues really stay away from doctors because they're afraid of what they'll hear, so that tells me this individual, this co-pilot, did not anticipate the medical findings that he was going to receive.

WHITFIELD: And, Jonathan, while this may have been the practice to self report, I think any layman would begin to think, well, if you feel like you have a condition that is going to mean that you can no longer put food on the table, you won't draw an income from this particular profession, then you're not going to report that information. Does it seem maybe that it turns to the culpability of an airplane or even an industry to allow that kind of routine to be in place?

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER AIR MARSHALL: Well, as Mary can tell you in the federal government, you know, we're watched heavily in everything that we do so it's more than just self reporting. And self reporting, I guess it does play a part in certain things, but when you're talking about depression or you're talking about somebody who has suicidal tendencies and we have to look at these two different things, you know. Somebody who is depressed will typically isolate themselves if they're going to commit suicide. Somebody who has something going on inside the exterior, in their family, where they're having a problem with their job, they will a lot of times end up acting out and taking other people with them. And these are, as Mary said, these are things that you may not be able to catch if you're trying to find it and it's not things that people are going to want to report as well.

[11:10:06] And I know from being a SEAL or being in the federal government, you know, you don't want to report illnesses a lot of the times because you may get taken off of something.

WHITFIELD: Peter, it would seem there are an awful lot of people that he would come into contact with at Lufthansa or Germanwings, people who would be able to make their observations or might this be the case that he has this incredible ability to kind of mask his condition or mask his unfitness to work?

GOELZ: Well, the whole issue of voluntary reporting is going to be re-examined I think because of this accident, but you're right.

Mary Ellen hit it. I mean these are guys who can present well. And particularly if whatever malady he was facing was a career-ender, particularly to a career that he had wanted his whole life it's really a very difficult thing to come to terms with that. But I think the whole issue of how do you self report a problem and not have it be a strike against you in your career is very challenging. And so far we have very superficial responses to that.

WHITFIELD: Ok. All right. We're going to talk with all of you later. I want to talk more about how standard is that self reporting? Is that something that is commonly practiced here in the U.S. or is that something that's respected by the aviation community worldwide.

Peter Goelz, Jonathan Gilliam, Mary Ellen O'Toole, Les Abend -- thanks to all of you. We're also going to be answering some viewer questions when we see you again.

Also still ahead, a memorial service brings families close to the site of that tragic crash. And later we're going to be answering questions you have about the crash. You can submit them on Twitter at #Germanwingsqs@CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:15:21] WHITFIELD: The crash of flight 9525 has taken a toll on the families of the victims. Relatives and friends of the deceased gathered today in an area near the site where their loved ones died. They held prayers in Le Vernet near the Seyne-les-Alpes. There is a village there serving as a staging post for the recovery operation. Loved ones brought flowers and pictures as they mourn the lives lost.

CNN's Karl Penhaul joins us now from near the crash site. Karl -- you actually made your way to that crash site which we understand the terrain is very treacherous. You did it on foot, right? Tell us how difficult that was. KARL PENHAUL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right,

Fredricka, and the reason we did it was we thought it was so important to get to an area close to the crash site obviously without trampling on a crime scene. But to take a look and to try to understand a little bit better why this operation is so treacherous and why the recovery both of human remains and also fragments of the plane could take days or even weeks according to the investigators.

It was tough going. We did get there. Let's take a look at what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Swinging on a wire, they recover the remains. Hundreds of feet below emergency crews cling to the mountainside just so they don't fall. Investigators say the speed of the crash pulverized the plane and passengers. The recovery operation they say is bit by bit, bag by bag.

You can just pick out the small red flags rescuers dig into the earth when they discover new fragments. And that looks like a scorch mark.

The French prosecutor said the plane hit the mountain, bounced off and then disintegrated. It's a tough hike through rugged mountains and steep valleys.

It's still a little while before dawn but we're going toward a trail ahead.

In order to understand why some rescuers describe this as their biggest ever challenge we try to get closer to the crash zone.

There is a little bit of frost this morning. Now the sun is coming down -- certainly no sign of snow just yet.

"Few people except shepherds live up here, conditions are too inhospitable".

Getting up here is really hanging on to tree roots and grass. You can see why they're going to have to fly anything out of that crash site by helicopter.

The whir of rotor blades helps us pinpoint the site. From our vantage point high above we see forensic teams working with expert mountaineers to keep them safe. High winds make flying treacherous.

Saying farewell is never easy, but perhaps those grieving could find a little consolation amid these crags, peace of the running water, peace of snow-capped peaks. Peace to loved ones lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: I can understand that relatives may feel that as this recovery operation drags on that they could get a little frustrated at the pace of it, but having seen that work yesterday, if it is any consolation to them, the rescue workers are doing their damnedest to get the human remains out and get them ready for burial. It almost appears that at some stages the forensic investigators are clinging on with their fingertips to that mountainside so they don't fall off. The helicopter pilots as well.

My colleague Nic Robertson had been talking to one this morning, and he said when his helicopter was getting buffeted by winds so hard yesterday as he overflew those gullies and ravines, he looked away from his control panel and looked at the birds there and a piece of string that he had hanging in the cockpit really to get his bearings and judge the winds by his natural surroundings. They really are trying hard to do what is right -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, it's a herculean task, what they're doing.

All right. Karl Penhaul -- thank you much. Appreciate it.

Straight ahead, more on the crash in the Alps and this coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA KNOX, ACQUITTED OF ROOMMATE'S MURDER: You saved my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: New reaction from Amanda Knox as she is cleared in the murder of her college roommate. We'll show you more next.

[11:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Nuclear talks with Iran have hit a snag and that could jeopardize a deal ahead of Tuesday's deadline. Sources tell CNN Iran has refused to budge on some key issues. It's day three of the talks being held just north of Geneva.

Let's go live to CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott who is at the talks in Lausanne, Switzerland. So Elise it's crunch time but what are the hang-ups?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, there was a lot of optimism coming into these talks when they started on Thursday but it's getting down to the wire ahead of that Tuesday deadline for a political framework. And I'm being told by diplomats here at the talks that Iran is really playing hardball, particularly on some key issues such as the pace of sanctions that would be lifted against Iran once the deal is in effect and also the amount of advanced technology research Iran would be able to do on nuclear technology for the duration of the deal.

Iran wants the sanctions lifted right away, day one. International community saying, listen, you need to comply with parts of the deal and the sanctions will be lifted as they comply.

And on the research Iran wants to continue to be able to do advanced nuclear research while this deal is in effect. And again, the international community is saying you need to comply with your international obligations and then we'll talk about that research -- Fred.

[11:25:06] WHITFIELD: And indeed is Tuesday still the deadline or is there some wiggle room here?

LABOTT: I think there's a little bit of wiggle room, it could be a day or two, but the March 31st deadline is important really to the United States and Iran. For Iran, the Iranian foreign minister Zarif wants to go back to the Iranian people and say there's a path ahead for lifting those sanctions which is really why they're in the talks.

And for the United States, the administration really wants to fend off congress. Lawmakers are threatening to impose new sanctions against Iran in April which could really scuttle chances for a full accord at the end of June. So I think both sides really see this as a critical milestone. If there's a day or two they need, but they need to show the chance for a full deal to make sure the hardliners both at home and in Iran are put in their box a little bit -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elise Labott, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Amanda Knox says she's glad to have her life back now, now that her eight-year legal battle is over. Italy's Supreme Court overturned her murder conviction clearing her in the death of her college roommate. In 2007 Knox was studying abroad in Italy when police found her roommate Meredith Kercher slashed at the throat.

Knox and her boyfriend, Rafael Sollecito initially served four years in Italian prison. But they were acquitted and Knox then returned home to Seattle. They were retried and then found guilty again in 2013. Knox was sentenced to 28.5 years in absentia. She said she would never willingly go back to Italy and now she's expressing her gratitude at this latest court decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KNOX: Well, I'd prefer not to answer questions. I just wanted to say that I'm incredibly grateful for what has happened, for the justice I have received, for the support that I have had from everyone from my family, from my friends, to strangers, to people like you. You saved my life, and I'm so grateful, and I'm so grateful to have my life back. Thank you. And that's all I can say. Right now I'm still absorbing what all of this means, and what comes to mind is my gratitude for the life that's been given to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does the future hold for you now?

KNOX: I don't know. I'm still absorbing the present moment, which is full of joy. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, other than again we're so grateful. I mean I know that you're all here, but we really just need time as a family to kind of digest and, again, so thankful that everything is finally right.

(inaudible)

KNOX: Meredith was my friend, and it's -- she deserved so much in this life. I'm the lucky one. So thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really can't do that now. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Knox's former boyfriend was also cleared Friday night.

All right. As Flight 9525 plummeted toward the ground, it appears co- pilot Andreas Lubitz sat quietly at the controls. The cockpit door fortified for security kept the pilot from getting back in, the captain. CNN's Kyung Lah is inside a flight simulator with a look at how those final moments just might have played out -- Kyung.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we are inside an A-320 simulator. I'm with Pilot Buck Rodger who is this morning taking us through maneuvers. We're talking safety. That's coming up in a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:32:35] WHITFIELD: All right, good morning again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A major new development in the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, we're now learning the name of the plane's captain. A relative confirms his identity as Patrick Sondenheimer, the pilot who officials say can be heard on the voice recorder trying to bang down the locked cockpit door.

Meantime, investigators are trying to determine what may have driven the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, to crash the plane into the French Alps. Officials say they found a ripped up doctor's note in Lubitz's apartment declaring him unfit to work.

"The New York Times" and "The Wall Street Journal" are both reporting that Lubitz had a mental illness, which he kept secret from the airline. "The New York Times" is also reporting that he sought treatment for vision problems before the crash.

Crews rushing to recover the remains of the victims say they are making some progress and the weather at the crash site is now improving. So as the jet plummeted towards the ground, the only person capable of reversing course was the same man who apparently programmed the deadly descent, co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz.

Prosecutors say he was alone in the cockpit. European regulators are now recommending that at least two crew members be in the cockpit at all times.

CNN's Kyung Lah is live for us inside a flight simulator. So give us an idea how or what is the feeling among pilots about how crew members can help each other avert disasters?

LAH: Well, you touched on it, Fredricka. You're talking about two- person rule. We've been talking about it with pilot, Buck Rodger. We were in an A-320 simulator this morning. How critical is that two- person rule?

BUCK RODGER, PILOT: Well, the two-person rule really went into effect after 9/11 in the U.S. So we -- TSA has mandated all U.S. carriers to have a two-person rule, and what that means is when somebody leaves the cockpit, another crew member comes in, so there's always two people in the cockpit. It's for safety.

If the pilot were to become incapacitated, the flight attendant would be there to open the door to allow the other crew member back into the cockpit. It's also there to verify who is coming back into the cockpit to make sure that it's the right person.

LAH: But being alone, this co-pilot was cruising at 38,000. This is what we are at right now.

RODGER: We're right now at 38,000 feet. Autopilots are all engaged, and this would be a normal cruise scenario right now.

LAH: And the belief, the working theory, is that he may have set it to the lowest possible altitude. Can you do that for us?

[11:35:06] RODGER: Sure. There's many ways to descend the airplane. What's been reported is that he set in a lower altitude which I'm doing right now. Spinning it all the way down, and then initiating that by pulling this knob out. That commands the engines to go to idle which they're going to right now and then it will start our descent. Now, this is a very benign descent. The passengers wouldn't feel it.

LAH: It's very slow.

RODGER: Very slow. It's a normal type of descent. Of course, what's abnormal here is that we have 100 feet in the altitude window.

LAH: Tell me how deliberate that is to put in 100 over the Alps?

RODGER: That would be a very deliberate act. You would never do that unless you wanted the airplane to have a terminal descent and never recover. Now, he could stop this descent at any time by dialing in another altitude.

I could stop it at 37,000 feet. There is another way he could have descended the airplane and that would be by doing it manually, and what he would do is disconnect the autopilot, pushing in button, and just gently pushing the stick down.

Nothing -- again, the passengers would not feel this. It would be a normal descent and the airplane, he would just leave it. It trims itself. This is a very sophisticated airplane. That's an auto trend situation. It will protect itself from speed, and he would never have to touch another button. LAH: All right, thank you, Pilot Buck Rodger with us showing us how an A-320 works, very simple moves, Fredricka, but very, very frightening.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much.

All right, we've been asking for your questions about Flight 9725 that is and we'll be answering them straight ahead.

Plus, while Arab leaders meet in Egypt on the future of Yemen, the battle for control of that country is escalating and getting even more deadly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:33]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to the fierce battle under way right now for control of Yemen. A source tells CNN a coalition led by Saudi Arabia has taken out key military targets in Yemen controlled by the Shiite-Houthi rebels.

CNN's Becky Anderson is at the Arab League Summit in Egypt. So, Becky, one big bone of contention is the control of Yemen while at that summit, we understand that the President Hadi, who left Yemen a month ago was in attendance at that summit. What has he been asking for or what is he counting on?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting. As the conflict rages on the ground in his country, the almost, and I emphasize almost, unequivocal message is the failed party is due to the sustained interference by foreign parties.

This is the will of the Yemeni people said the new Saudi king in his speech a couple hours ago. He didn't mention by name his regional rival Iran, but Yemen's president did laying the blame squarely at Tehran's door.

He said you bear the possibility for what happened and what is going to happen, he said. Well, what happens next, of course, is the big question. Talk here of a long drawn out conflict with the possibility, Fredricka, of ground troops involved which could be very messy.

There are dissenting voices though amongst Arab leaders, not the least of which is Iraq saying that accusations that Iran is involved are nonsense and that the Saudi-led operation was a hasty decision, and I have heard this behind closed doors from others across the region concerned about the potential for what could be a very messy sectarian conflict.

And, of course, this just as the U.S. is at a crucial stage in these nuclear talks to bring Iran in from the cold, so what goes on in Yemen seriously does not stay in Yemen at this point. Watch this space, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Becky Anderson, thank you so much.

All right, so let's talk more about this, though it has no seat at the table, there is a lot at stake for the U.S. in this weekend's summit in Egypt there and on the battlefield in Yemen.

Joining right now from our Washington Bureau is Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer, who spent years working in the intelligence community. All right, good to see you.

LT. COLONEL ANTHONY SHAFFER, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: All right, so you heard from Becky there.

SHAFFER: Right.

WHITFIELD: Many of these Arab nations are saying, Iran, you are in large part to blame because the rebels in Yemen are being backed by Iran, but then there's some -- I guess, there's some debate, Iranians are saying we can't be to blame on this. So who is telling the truth or how do these Arab leaders get to the bottom of this and why is this important for the U.S.?

SHAFFER: Well, the Houthi have been attempting for years now to regain control or expand control of their area in Yemen. This is nothing new, but the last time this really happened was between '05 and '07. They were forced into a negotiated settlement with President Hadi.

And the big issue here, Fredricka, is ungoverned space. A large part of the country is now under al Qaeda control. The Houthi are a natural enemy of the alexander because the fact they're led by the Shia elements and funded by Iran.

The al Qaeda is Sunni, and they are completely opposite the other side of the Islamic faith. With that said, though, often said the idea of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, you may see the Houthi come together. They're threatening suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia as well as al Qaeda.

So what you see here are two natural enemies coming together to attack a potentially third enemy, Saudi Arabia. So I think that's why you have seen a concerted evident by the Saudis to get ahead of this, with the Egyptians moving in to put together an Arab coalition to go after this.

And I think it's a very serious situation, and I do believe the Iranians are behind funding the Houthi and encouraging them to do what they're doing.

WHITFIELD: It's all very complex because yes, it's about Yemen --

SHAFFER: It's very complex.

WHITFIELD: -- but at the same time, it's also about Iran showing a face in very different ways. I mean, here we are approaching a deadline of the U.S. and Iran trying to work together to work out some sort of deal, and then you've got the Iranians, who are backing the Houthis, which undermine the government that the U.S. has been backing in Hadi.

[11:45:11] And then you have Iran, who is also been an advocate to assist Iraq similar to how the U.S. is assisting Iraq so there is some stability. So help us understand the role of the U.S., to what extent, is this a diplomatic role?

Will there be any military commitment that the U.S. would commit to as it pertains to Yemen in particular. I know 125 embassy personnel left recently and there are no U.S. troops in Yemen, but why is this still important this nation would be stabilized in terms of U.S. interests?

SHAFFER: We've committed publicly, the White House has said publicly they will support Saudis through intelligence and logistical support. We actually rescued downed Saudi aviators within the last 24 hours who went down. So I think we're going to be helping them.

We will not have an active role in military operations. We have spoken about my think tank's idea to put together an Arab NATO to deal with this kind of things, to conduct military operations without the U.S. being involved directly.

I think that's where this is all going, which is not a bad thing. What that said, though, Fredricka, as you mentioned, the Iranians behind the Houthi, the problem with what's going on with the Houthi is simply we have the potential of seeing what happened in Libya, what's happened in Syria, and what's happening in Iraq become what happens in Yemen.

ISIS is recently within the last week attacked two mosques and wherever there's ungoverned space, ISIS moves into. So this may backfire on the Iranians much like in Iraq where you leave these ungoverned spaces, the potential and likelihood is you will have ISIS come in to fill it.

And that's what's probably going to happen here if we can't find a diplomatic agreement to bring the Houthi and President Hadi back together in some form.

WHITFIELD: Boy, All right, Lieutenant Colonel Shaffer, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SHAFFER: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, we know our viewers have a whole lot of questions about that Germanwings plane that went down. We'll answer your questions next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:01]

WHITFIELD: The Germanwings crash investigation is raising so many questions. We've been asking you to submit yours on Twitter. Let's bring in our panel in New York, Jonathan Gilliam, former air marshal and FBI agent, from Washington, Mary O'Toole, a former senior FBI profiler and special agent, and in New York, an aviation analyst and contributing editor for "Flying" magazine.

All right, welcome back to all of you. So Les, to you first, Eric asks this. Should air traffic controllers be able to override a plane if the plane seems to be hijacked?

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: It's kind of implausible for that technology to exist unless we get to a drone operation. But what, in this particular circumstance, what would anybody have done at this point, to take over the airplane. It was unfortunately written in the cards with this particular co-pilot.

WHITFIELD: And Mary Ellen, Macro Muse asking this, "Going forward, how does a passenger know that the person piloting the plane is certified, fit and proper for the flight?"

ELLEN O'TOOLE: They wouldn't know. They put their trust in the airline, and assume that best practices have been used to vet that individual to make sure they're suitable. So the passengers on the plane would not be able to know.

Again, because these overt signs of serious mental pathology are not -- are not obvious, and the person knows they have a lot to risk. There are a lot of stake for not showing those signs of mental pathology.

WHITFIELD: And Jonathan, this one goes to you, Twanna wants to know, "Are there air marshals on European airlines, something similar even?

GILLIAM: Well, I'm not particularly sure about this airliner and the Germanwings plane, but we do have federal air marshals in the U.S. that fly with U.S. flight carriers overseas in certain circumstances. But I really don't know any particular about this airline. I know Israel does for sure.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. And let's see here. I think this one is going to you, Les, Jeff has a question that a lot of people actually are asking on Twitter -- asking this. If OnStar can remotely unlock doors, why can't FAA or air traffic controllers do the same?

ABEND: Well, it's not a bad question. But remember, we have this door situation set up to solve another problem, which was a terrorism act. And we reinforced Kevlar, made the latches secure, we set up a system to open the door.

So now we're going to in a way have to reengineer this technology. So it's -- it isn't practical nor was this whole situation ever conceivable. It certainly wasn't conceivable by me.

WHITFIELD: And then because this is rare, this is a rare occurrence, I have to wonder, you know, Les, if it does seem that airlines will put into place some sort of mechanisms to address something that is such an anomaly as opposed to this being a new frequency. ABEND: Well, there is a mechanism in place and the airplane and the union at least in my airline works together to get a pilot help just by virtue of -- if you notice a fellow crew member that's got some family issues perhaps, you can bring them to the attention of this particular organization within the union, within the airline.

So there is a lot of -- there is a lot of avenues, but I mean, we come down to the point where we, you know, do I stop trusting the individual that I just flew across from London yesterday with.

That happens to be a Gulf War vet and had his own family to raise during the middle of this crisis. I mean, it seems almost implausible to have to set up a whole system for this anomaly that created this tragedy.

[11:55:12] WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much to all of you, Jonathan Gilliam, Mary Ellen O'Toole and Les Abend.

All right, coming up at the top of the hour, new information about the mental health of the co-pilot, who prosecutors say deliberately crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 into the Alps this week.

And Indiana passes a new law that allows businesses to turn away gay people. The protesters are not backing down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories, there is a new twist in the e-mail scandal surrounding former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. A Republican lawmaker, who subpoenad the e-mails says Clinton permanently deleted all of the emails on the personal server she used while in office.

Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina wants the messages as part of an investigation into the attacks at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Clinton's lawyer says she did keep copies of all work-related e-mails from that personal server.

A sickening attack on a commuter train in St. Louis is captured on cell phone and surveillance video. Police say an African-American man started throwing punches at a white man when he refused to talk about the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson. They say two more African- American men joined in on the attack. Police are asking for help identifying the suspect --