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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Latest in the Malaysian Flight 370 Mystery; Trump Campaign Examined. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 30, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to "Early Start." I'm John Berman. 30 minutes past the hour. We do want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. The breaking news right now. A possible turning point. A major development in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Sources close to the investigation tells CNN that a piece of debris on the shore of an island in the western Indian ocean appears to be from a Boeing 777.

A Boeing 777, the same model as MH-370 which disappeared with 239 people on board, 500 plus days ago back in March of 2014. The debris apparently a flaperon flap from a wing. It was found on reunion island. That's about 2,300 miles from the area where the plane is believed to have gone down at 2300 miles from where they have been searching more than a year now.

CNN's Robyn Kriel is live for us on Reunion Island. Not easy to get to. Robyn, we are lucky to have you there. What's the very latest?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, John. Well, yes, this piece of debris picked up by civilians who were just trying to clean up the beach. They then called the authorities. The police then taken that into custody where it remains at the moment. And we just have confirmation that the B.E.A., those are the French authorities over the Island, will be coordinating the investigation.

So that means when the Malaysian authorities come into Reunion Island when the Australian authorities, have been charged with the search and rescue operation in and around Australia very - very far away from where we are right now looking for this wreckage, that the French authorities will be handling and coordinating this investigation.

Obviously though, the Australians and the Malaysians will have a lot to do with it since they have been coordinating the search for the past 500 days. John, an incredibly far distance from Kuala Lumpur which is where the plane took off. It was due for Beijing, but went missing in March of last year. Here's what the Australian Deputy Prime Minister who oversees the transportation board coordinating their search had to say.

WARREN TRUSS, AUSTRALIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: This is obviously a very significant development. It's the first real evidence that there is a possibility that a part of the aircraft may have been found. It's too early to make that judgment, but clearly we are treating this as a major lead. KRIEL: Now in terms of the civilians on the flight to the source on

board. The Malaysian authorities had declared them presumed dead and said that this was an accident. But this will be - cause of a major development if it does turn out to be part of MH-370. The civilians on the plane, a number of Chinese, some - three Americans and some Australians which is believed to be why the Australian Transportation Board has to come so involved as well the fact that the search area was around their country.

BERMAN: Robyn Kriel for us on Reunion Island. Robyn, give us a sense of where this piece of debris is right now. And just help us understand exactly where Reunion Island is and what resources are there to begin with?

KRIEL: Well, Reunion Island is a French island. It is - there's a French air force base here. So this is currently with the French police and in their custody. In terms of what resources they have, it is a French Air Force. So they will have some aircraft that they can use to search around the perimeter. They will not have nearly these types of equipment needed to conduct a search like this. So that the Australians have really have been very vested in the last 500 days that they have searched.

And the Malaysian authorities as well, you do need very - very specific equipment for going very deep under the sea and looking at various, I guess currents and gyres of the waves to be able to understand how a piece of debris like this washed up where it might come from. Australian transport authority saying it is not inconsistent with where they thought the plane debris could end up, but it doesn't necessarily mean the entire wreckage is nearby.

BERMAN: Robyn Kriel for us on Reunion Island. Again, CNN at the scene where investigators right now looking at that piece of debris trying to confirm if it is from MH-370. Robyn, thank you. Anxiously awaiting word right now and what the investigators find the families of the passengers and crew missing since the plane disappeared. These folks have been in a state of limbo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If ultimately this is a piece of the wing, then that little thread of hope I have been holding on to will have to break and reality will have to take over. Up until now, I and most of the family members have continued to believe until we have a body, we can't give up hoping they will still come back.

[05:35:00] BERMAN: For so many families, they made clear there will be no closure no matter what happens in this investigation. Most of the passengers on MH-370 were Chinese citizens, the crew was from Malaysia. CNN's Andrew Stevens has been in contact with many of the families over the last 500 days since the disappearance. He is in Malaysia this morning. And this morning, Andrew, these families seems quite weary.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are, John. They are not going to accept anything until there is absolute proof. 100 percent proof that this is in fact, linked to MH-370. The Malaysian deputy prime minister down here just a couple of hours ago, saying that he was almost certain that this part of the wing was part of the Boeing 777. But not relating it to MH-370.

The people I have been speaking to a person John say we cannot accept this until it is absolutely beyond doubt that this is the plane which does prove that MH-370 did come down in the great southern ocean. Southern Indian ocean and we can then actually grieve before we know what has happened. As we heard from Sarah Bajc, the American woman who actually lives here in Kuala Lumpur. There is this thread of hope that they all have. This is very common amongst everyone. They cannot give up, obviously they can't give up. And they cannot accept until they are shown there is no other way that anything else could have happened.

It is not just here in Malaysia. As you mentioned, a lot of Chinese nationals on the flight. 153 Chinese nationals, including many infants, too, John. Chinese have been very vocal over the past 500 days in trying to get information from the authorities which has been very difficult to come by. That's another common story here. They are just not getting the information. The Chinese put out a statement a while ago. I want to read it for you. It captures what the families are thinking.

This is what the Chinese family statement said, "We will follow the developments and hope to receive the official confirmation as soon as possible." We do not want to hear of guarantees of 99 percent likelihood from certain authorities. We need confirmation of 100 percent certainty. That 100 percent certainty allows them, Sarah Bajc was saying, to let go of the thread of hope. That is going to be a very difficult moment.

One young woman I spoke to, a lawyer, she said we have been down the path before. At the moment, this is another link in the chain until I see proof. Until a 100 percent. I can't believe anything other than my mother is still missing somewhere in the world. That's what I got to live with at the moment. I have to live like that. John.

BERMAN: Andrew Stevens for us in Kuala Kumpur. Thanks so much Andrew. So let's ask the questions in these families are asking right now. Joining us is Justin Green is a former aviation pilot and former military pilot. Now, the president of the International Air Transportation Safety Bar Association. Justin, thank you much for being with us.

This piece of debris about seen feet long, three feet wide, it's a flaperon they think. What is a flaperon?

JUSTIN GREEN, PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BAR ASSOCIATION: Well, a flaperon is essentially a flap. But it does the duty of an aerulon which helps the airplane turn and roll. And so that's why the name has flap in it and air in the last part of eron, flaperon.

BERMAN: And if it is confirmed that it is from a Boeing 777. No other 777 has gone down in the Indian ocean. It would almost have to be in the MH-370?

GREEN: Right. I mean, there is not a lot of parts of MH- 777s in the world. Certainly none other than this one, MH-370, in the Indian Ocean. If it is a 777 part. It has been in the water, the evidence indicates, it has been in the water for the right Amount of time.

BERMAN: And there was a maintenance number on it which they are looking at it today. That maintenance number, I have to believe would be fairly easy to tie to at a minimum, of Boeing 777 right away.

GREEN: Well, the part will have a serial number on it. Stamped by Boeing at the Boeing factory. Once they read that, they will not know it is the part.

BERMAN: And they may already know?

GREEN: I think they probably do. And the question is, is when and how they officially let people know. One way or the other, if it is not a part from a 777 or it is a part, one of the things the families need to understand is whether their loved ones are missing forever because they, like you or I, they have been holding on hope for a miracle.

BERMAN: The size of the piece of debris, you know, in other markings on it, it could give some clues too what happened to the aircraft?

[05:40:00] GREEN: I think it's going to - one of the things will indicate is what impact forces the plane experienced when it hit the water. It will confirm the investigators are right. There has been a crash. The crash happened in the Indian Ocean. The impact forces will also suggest whether or not the crash was survivable. It may tell a very significant story about the last minutes of the flight.

BERMAN: You think we will get confirmation today?

GREEN: I don't think so. I think - I hope they tell the families first so they have to set something up to let the families know. It could be later today.

BERMAN: Justin Green, thank you so much. Appreciate you're being here.

GREEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: The breaking news this morning, the piece of debris on Reunion Island. Isn't from missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. We are waiting official word perhaps a news conference coming today. But first, Donald Trump calling for the deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants. He tells CNN why he thinks he is the one, the only one who can get it done. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Donald Trump explain how a president Trump would reform immigration. The republican frontrunner says, he would deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country and let what he calls the good ones back in. CNN's Dana Bash spoke with Trump exclusively.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Donald Trump is of course leading in the polls for lots of reasons, but probably the thing that propelled him early on was his stance against illegal immigration. The fact he took on the issue at a time when the dozen plus other republican candidates really didn't want to talk about it as much as they have in past election years.

[05:45:00] So the question has been for Donald Trump what exactly are his plans beyond building a wall with Mexico and so forth. So I started by asking on that issue the

question about the 11 million or maybe more undocumented immigrants in this country. What would he do about it? Listen to part of that.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to get the bad ones out. Not only the ones in prisons, but they are never coming back, not only the ones in prisons, but the ones in San Francisco in shooting Kate and shooting Jamill and shooting people that should not you know, that should be with. Then we have a law. You are supposed to come in legally. I would get people out and I would have an expedited way of getting them back in to the country so they can be legal.

BASH: Hold on that point right there. You say get people out. Are you talking about a mass deportation?

TRUMP: We don't know who these people are. We have to find them. Politicians aren't going to find them. They have no clue. We will find them. We will get them out.

BASH: When you say, still, get them out. Just the process of that. There are a lot of smart people focused on this for a long time saying it is not feasible.

TRUMP: It is feasible if you know how to manage. Politicians don't know how to manage.

BASH: So you see John, not a fully form position on illegal immigration and what to do with the undocumented people in the country so far. When it comes to the idea of dreamers. The young people who came to the country through no fault of their own. It is interesting to hear Donald Trump say out loud, almost think out loud, about what his position could be. It will be interesting to see how that plays out when he is standing next to nine other candidates, competitors, for the republican nomination next week.

John.

BERMAN: Interesting. Serious discussion there. Dana Bash, thank you so much. The breaking news right now. A piece of debris found on an island in the Indian ocean 2,300 miles from where they have been searching for MH-370. Is this a major breakthrough? We have a reporter live on the scene right after this.

[05:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking news. A major development in the search for the missing Malaysia Airline Flight MH-370. A piece of debris recovered in the Indian Ocean thousands of miles from the search zone. It appears to be from a Boeing 777. CNN's Tom Foreman has more and how investigators can figure out it is

from the missing jet.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This piece of debris is seven feet long and three or four feet wide. We are now told it is consistent with what you would find on a 777 made by Boeing. Let's bring up a model of the missing plane and talk about where you would find it on the plane. Our aviation analysts say it would be on the back side of the left wing. A controlling flaperon. It is the right type of piece to find. It is also the right color and in the right condition. It has barnacles all over it. It is consistent with being in the water for 500 days. We have to check out the identifiers. Almost every part of the big aircraft has serial numbers on it like this seat cushion from a different plane. If they find the serial number on the part they just found and it matches the Malaysia airline flight, that is a deal. They will have evidence of what happened to the plane. It doesn't answer the question of how it ended up where it did.

Remember, all of the search areas for the plane were over the coast of Australia over here. How did this get all the way over there some 2,300 miles or more away? That's where they have to look at the currents and see if ocean currents were strong enough to push it over there to Reunion Island and give us maybe the first physical piece of what happened to the missing plane.

BERMAN: Fascinating. Thanks, Tom Foreman for that. We will follow this breaking news all morning on missing Malaysia Airline Flight 370. The piece of debris found on Reunion Island. We have a reporter there with the latest developments. Stay with us.

[05:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's get an early start on your money. I'm Alison Kosik. A mixed bag for stocks. Stocks in China are falling 2 percent. European stocks are higher. So far, U.S. futures are barely moving. Yesterday, the DOW climbed 121 points. The fed reserve upgraded the economic outlook.

Facebook is now the world's most popular tech product. 1.5 billion people use Facebook at least once a month. That is more than the windows operating system. Facebook built features that capitalize on data it collects on you and uses it through targeted ads. Ad sales got close to $4 billion last quarter. That is up 43 percent in a year.

The government is going after the University of Phoenix. Federal trade commission investigating it for the for-profit college in deceptive tactics. University of Phoenix must hand over marketing and tuition and military recruitment practices going back to 2011. The school is losing half students in the past five years. This is part of a crackdown on for-profit schools that leave students with loads of debt and few real prospects.

Has Malaysia airline 370 been found? "New Day" starts now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News. ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And do want to welcome our viewers in

the United States and around the world this is New Day. We begin with a very significant element in the search for missing the Malaysia Airline Flight 370. The reunion island debris is a major

lead.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The investigators have been sent to investigate. Could this be the breakthrough? We have this story covered the only CNN can. We start with CNN's Robyn Kriel on Reunion Island. Quite a voyage to get you there, Robyn?

KRIEL: Yes, Michaela, it would be a voyage for the teams due to jet in from Malaysia and Australia and coordinating the efforts here are the French. It is a French Island with roughly 800,000 people on it. A group of people found this piece of debris and reported it to police. Let's take a look at how that unfolded. A possible crucial clue and major lead in the 17-month old mystery of missing Malaysia Airline Flight MH-370.

TRUSS: This is obviously a very significant development. It is the first real evidence that there is a possibility that a part of the aircraft may have been found.

KRIEL: A piece of debris, possibly what appears to be part of a Boeing 777. French authorities dispatched teams to Reunion Island near Madagascar to investigate the debris which washed up more than 2,300 miles from the current search zone off the Australian coast in the southern Indian Ocean. A group of people happened upon the wreckage during a beach cleanup.

The debris bearing the marking BBB670 which could help in the identification process.