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NTSB Holds News Conference About Deadly Plane Crash in an Ohio Suburb; Lisa Ling Goes Inside the L.A. County Coroner's Office; Three Men Arrested in Virginia for Allegedly Plotting to Start a Race War. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 11, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:27] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: So the NTSB has just held a news conference about the deadly plane crash in an Ohio suburb. Nine people, seven passengers, pilot and co-pilot, died Tuesday afternoon just after their chartered jet smashed into this Akron apartment complex.

The plane, as you can see in the pictures, I mean, it is just totally erupted into this fireball, destroyed the building, really damaging two others nearby. Investigators say thank goodness no one was actually inside any of the apartments when this happened. But obviously the question is what happened. No distress calls were made. Federal investigators say they are reviewing a security camera video that captured the crash and the moments just before it happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BELLA DINH-ZARR, VICE CHAIRWOMAN, NTSB: The video shows that the aircraft was flying at a low altitude and banking to the left. We have also examined the accident scene. The left wing hit the ground first and left a witness mark. Then the aircraft hit half of an apartment building, destroying it, before running up an embankment behind the building and coming to rest.

As far as we know, the pilot -- this was a first approach, but we'll be looking into all of the records that show and all of the communications that show this. We'll also be looking at weather and weather, in fact, is one of the key area that's we'll be looking at very carefully in this accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general with the U.S. department of transportation, Mary Schiavo.

I mean, Mary, you heard, you know, the official just saying, obviously, they will look into weather, the jet company's CEO said he would be surprised to hear this would be because of pilot error. You know, no distress calls. Pilots were well seasoned. What kinds of questions would you be asking?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: You know, statistically, if you look at the cause of accidents in this kind of situation, your thoughts first go to something call control flight into terrain. And often that described to loss of pilot situational awareness or literally pilot disorientation. What that means is, when you're in bad weather, and I think the weather at this airport was approaching the airport minimums, meaning kind of the weather gets as bad as it can get before you are not allowed to fly in there. So they were still able to go in.

But what happens to the pilot can sometimes get disoriented in this kind of weather and literally drop too low or let the altitude come down too levels where they shouldn't be. And they literally can do what's called a CFIT, controlled flight into terrain.

However, with one wing dipping, one would suspect perhaps a problem with the engine on that particular side. And then eyewitnesses say they saw it hit a pole or wire, which means it had been dropped below altitude. Another then finally one of the ear-witness mentioned sputtering, which isn't a usual description for any kind of a problem with a jet engine. But that's more clues that the NTSB will have.

BALDWIN: We also know they're talking to a separate pilot safely landing a separate plane just before this plane would have landed, presumably asking about conditions and even weather. We know that this plane, the airport, there was no control tower? Is that fairly common at really small airports?

SCHIAVO: Yes, actually it is. You know, we have about 468 passenger service airports. And we have several thousand controlled airports. And if you look at all of our airports in total, we probably have 16,000 airports. So there are lots and lots of airports without air traffic control tower.

But for a problem where you're coming in to land and you're below where you should be on altitude, usually you are looking for some other problems. It's not a problem with an air traffic control tower. They were lined up for the runway. They were simply too low. So I think they are going to be looking at controlled flight into terrain, which is pilot error, or some problem with the engine given what ear- witnesses and eyewitnesses have said and that pilot who landed just before them is going to be very important to tell them about the weather and what they say when they broke through the clouds and saw the runway.

BALDWIN: We will follow the NTSB investigation. I understand family members are just arriving there on the scene in Akron.

Mary Schiavo, thank you so much.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, three men arrested in Virginia for allegedly plotting to start a race war. How an undercover FBI sting stopped them before they could carry out any of the vicious attacks.

Plus, somebody has to do this job. Our own Lisa Ling goes inside the L.A. county coroner's office. She joins me live to talk about what she found and what surprised her the most. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:29] BALDWIN: An alleged race war plot stopped after an FBI sting uncovered two Virginia men accused of being white supremacists. They were allegedly planning to bomb African-American churches and synagogues. The FBI says they were arrested after they tried to buy illegal weapons from an undercover agent. The FBI also says that these two men were plotting to rob and kill a jewelry store dealer with the help of a third man also arrested.

So let's go straight to our justice correspondent Evan Perez with more on this. What were they planning to do, Evan?

[15:40:03] EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It's a really remarkable story, Brooke. So these two men are alleged white supremacist who practice a pagan religion according to the FBI. They say that they were planning to rob and kill businessmen and use the money to create a race war. Now, the FBI says that back in September they learned that there was a meeting involving these two men and that there was going to be a discussion about carrying out shooting and bombing attacks on black churches and Jewish synagogues. That's when the FBI decided to set up a sting. And these two men allegedly met with an undercover agent who was acting as an illegal arms dealer.

According to the FBI, they placed orders for automatic weapons, explosives and a pistol with a silencer. And when these men allegedly attempted to buy the guns is when the FBI made the arrests earlier this week.

Now, the FBI says that it learned through confidential sources and wiretaps and surveillance that these men were concocting to kill a jeweler as well as purchase land to stockpile weapons and train for what they thought was going to be an upcoming race war. There was another arrest of another man for conspiracy to commit robbery, the third man arrested. The FBI says these men were a long way from actually targeting any religious institution, but we expect them to appear before a federal judge tomorrow. And that's when we might learn more, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Thanks to the FBI. Plot thwarted.

Evan Perez, thank you.

Indictments have finally been handed down here more than 100 people involved in that deadly, gruesome biker shootout in May. They are in Waco, Texas. We have the latest on that case coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:12] BALDWIN: More than a hundred people now indicted for engaging in criminal activity at the shootout at a biker rally in Texas. In fact, we have some of the video here, absolute mayhem after this whole thing gets going. This is back in May at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. So this gun battle erupts between these rival biker clubs. And when it's all over, nine people were dead, 18 wound.

Joining me now, Lisa Ling, host of "THIS IS LIFE" here on CNN.

I want to talk about your episode coming up later tonight. But first, I would be remiss not talking about, you know, the fact that you got incredible access to for your show to a biker -- the club the Mongols, which you know, not the group involved in this particular shootout, but take me back. You know, what did you learn about -- I don't know, is it the culture of silence that would make these cases so tough to prosecute?

LISA LING, CNN HOST, THIS IS LIFE: Well, I think one of the reasons why this case in particular, what happen in Waco, Texas, is so difficult isn't so much that culture of silence, even though there certainly is a culture of silence in the biker world, but most of the people who were involved, they are on gag order. They're not allowed to speak. And I know this because I actually spoke to the wife of the Bandido who was killed in that shootout. And she said that, we're all in the dark because no one involved is able to talk about it.

Now, there are allegations that some of those bikers may have actually been killed by police because there was such a heavy police presence. So as of now, until the trial begins, I think everyone is going to continue to be in the dark for a while.

BALDWIN: From bikers to, you know, this coroner's office. Here you are, new episode tonight "THIS IS LIFE," at 9:00 eastern. You take us inside the Los Angeles county coroner's office. Here is a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LING: In this room, who has the most bodies, Mike?

How many do you think you've collected?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between 11,000 and 13,000.

LING: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LING: But even more employees as seasoned as Mike, some cases still stand out. Are there case that's haunt you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes. I went to a call once. It was a little boy that ran into the street and he got hit by a car. So he was laying there. It was a little Hispanic kid. I was looking at a little boy the same age -- I could see my son there. And I looked across the street and I saw the parents. It could be me and my wife. It really affected me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wow. That has to be a special kind of person to be willing to do that kind of work day in and day out.

LING: Absolutely. The kinds of things they see and do and smell every day, it really does require a unique kind of person. You know, took us a year to get access into the Los Angeles county medical examiner's office, which is the largest coroner's office under one roof in the United States.

And you know, it's a nondescript building in downtown Los Angeles that I've passed many, many times because I live in L.A. And inside that building is a crypt that holds up to 500 bodies. And for every one of those bodies there's a story. And this episode even though it's about death, even though there are things that you will see that might make you uncomfortable, it's a very moving and emotional episode.

And it really changed me working on this. You know, my father has been getting very forgetful and I was living by -- by himself for a long time. And after I worked on this episode I moved him in with me because the idea of something happening to him while he was alone was just too much for me to fathom.

And because I followed coroner investigators to scenes in which, you know, people had been decomposing for days, having died alone. And so it's an episode, again, it's a very powerful. And at any given time if anyone in this country dies suddenly. If you get hit by a car or have a heart attack, you could end up be seen by a coroner immediately and taken to a coroner's office. We just happened to visit and spend time with the busiest one.

BALDWIN: Eerily fascinating, Lisa ling. Thank you so much for sharing. We will tune into the new episode of "THIS IS LIFE" 9:00 eastern and pacific here on CNN tonight.

Lisa Ling, thank you.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:04] BALDWIN: In honor of veterans day really have been looking forward to sharing this story with you of a veterans group helping other retired service members find a sense of purpose thousands of feet in the air.

Here is CNN's Chris Moody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: We're in the belly of a very special plane known as whiskey 7. It flew over Normandy in World War II. We're going to go sky diving out of it with the all veteran parachute team.

The all veteran parachute team is a team of retired military. We still have some active duty guys that have a passion for giving back.

It's a hell of a rush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do parachute demonstrations all over the world from the east coast to west coast. We basically jump out of airplanes. Veterans feel like once they leave the military that they're not

important anymore, that their mission is done. We want to show veterans that you can still use your skill sets. You still are important.

MOODY: Mike Elliot founded the group after serving in the army for 26 years. He took former president George H. W. Bush, also a veteran, sky diving multiple times for his birthdays.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one was aware not even the secret service was aware of it. You have a world leader in your hands and he trusts you to throw him out of an airplane. And when he told barb that he was jumping she walked up to me and said if you kill him, I will kill you.

MOODY: Today Elliot has teamed up with the national war plane museum in New York which owns whiskey 7.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whiskey 7 has a soul. A spirit and you can feel it.

MOODY: Last summer the plane returned to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Whiskey 7 was the lead plane in the second wave of the invasion. To this day veteran pilots who flew this type of plane still come to visit and reminisce like it was yesterday.

PAUL RAMSEY, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: It looks bigger than it used to. I never forget there was a front right between us. And it looked it front of me and it looks like a solid thunderstorm. So we headed straight into it. And you looked out and you had two disks of fire on each side. If you're in danger, you don't think about the danger. You think I'm going to get through it.

MOODY: Getting in this aircraft and hearing the engines start up, you get this bone chilling feeling that goes through your body. It's an overwhelming experience. And if we don't forget, this never goes away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Chris Moody, so good.

MOODY: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I love the Barbara Bush line, if you kill him, I will kill you.

MOODY: And that's classic Barbara Bush. Anyone who's ever known her she's very forward.

BALDWIN: So it was a bit of a rush. You did it. These guys have done it. What is it about -- I was talking to a veteran last hour who just summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, I mean, talk about like how incredible is that double amputee. And for these guys jumping out of planes, what is that about that that's so important to them?

MOODY: The founder of the organization mentioned to me a lot of service members may get out of the military and feel like, well, what's the mission now, what's my purpose? And he wanted to show them you do have a purpose. You learned skills while you were a service member that you can still apply. And also they work through a lot of service members who may be suffering PTSD, taking them sky diving. Maybe some may find it liberating. And it's really a wonderful mission that they have.

BALDWIN: What is it about that sense of purpose that you think -- you've talked to a lot of veterans. I have veterans in my family, I have a family member buried in Arlington. It's so important for the rest of their lives.

MOODY: Many people say while they're in that mission it's the most important thing on their minds and then they achieve it. And then it's over. And they have to channel that energy in the civilian world or somewhere else. And there's guys like the all veteran parachute team that really help facilitate that.

BALDWIN: Incredible. All veteran parachute team. Just quickly, this is -- I'll climb mountains, I will jump off of mountains, I will not jump out of planes. Quickly, you would recommend this?

MOODY: Absolutely. And this was out of a World War II plane that flew over Normandy. It was a very special experience. The plane is owned by the national warplane museum which has restored it and they fly all over the country.

BALDWIN: Chris Moody, thank you so much for sticking around New York and talking to me today. I appreciate it on this very special day.

Happy Veterans Day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done and do for our country. Thank you so much.

And that is it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. See you back here this time tomorrow.

In the meantime we go to Washington, D.C. "The LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.