Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
France: "No Theory Ruled Out" In EgyptAir Crash; First Images Of Debris From EgyptAir Flight; Clinton: EgyptAir Crash Appears To Be Terrorism; Clinton: Trump Not Qualified; Bernie Sanders Rips The Superdelegate System; Interview with Congressman Brendan Boyle. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired May 21, 2016 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It should be noted, this is not the last transmission from the cockpit. We're also getting, however, first images of debris from the airplane, seats, life vest, suitcases have been found in the Mediterranean Sea.
I want to bring in Les Abend. He is a contributing editor of "Flying" magazine and a Boeing 777 captain, and Peter Goelz is a CNN aviation analyst and former managing director of the NTSB. All right, good to see both of you.
All right, so we're listening to that first audio transmission, pilot to air traffic control in Switzerland. So to most of us who are not privy to this kind of conversation between pilot and air traffic control, it sounds routine.
But then you tell me what it means when he says squawk number 7624 and then followed by numbers. At what stage does this kind of contact tell you they are in flight?
LES ABEND, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "FLYING" MAGAZINE: You're absolutely right, Fredricka, this is routine conversation with a professional colleague. What he's basically saying, looking at the screen here, is he's acknowledging a frequency change, 1-2-0 decimal 7-2-5.
And he's also acknowledging the fact that they're going over to another air traffic control center, which in this particular case, it started with a "p," I don't have that in front of me, and the squawk number is the transponder code, 7624.
Peter will tell you the same thing that it's very, very routine. The squawk code, the transponder is a discreet code so that air traffic control knows that that's the very airplane that they're talking to and sees it on the radar screen.
So Peter, at this stage, what you don't hear -- you don't any distress, you don't hear any language that conveys that there's a problem. At this juncture, it sounds like everyone is very relaxed, meaning the pilots and air traffic control, with what is taking place.
Is there anything more that you can discern from this or an absence of any particular information that you think would be important to know, Peter?
PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: No, this looks absolutely professional, absolutely normal. The pilots sounded in good spirits. You know, there is an emerging investigative field looking at stress analysis of voice communications and I am sure that they will take the entire communications transcript and listen to it.
And they might try to apply that to it to see if there's any increased stress at any given time. But this looks entirely normal, entirely professional, just as Les said.
WHITFIELD: And then, you know, Les, earlier, we were talking about, you know, the signals that the plane was sending to the ground in terms of, you know, heat on the windshield, smoke from a lavatory, those sorts of things.
And when we were talking and Mary was part of that conversation, I promised that I really wanted to know a bit more about reaction time.
You know, that these pilots, when something like that is happening, in this case, literally trying to put out a fire, is there time for a pilot to convey that in some manner, while they're also trying to address the problem?
ABEND: Well, I would say in this instance, no, there wasn't, and the priorities were being established in flying the aircraft. What you're referring to, Fredricka, are the ACARS malfunction messages.
If you have smoke coming, you may not necessarily be having a fire situation, but you're -- if you do have smoke in the cockpit, we are trained very intensely to operate with those oxygen masks on.
And that's what we would be doing, putting on the oxygen masks, which is also, in this age, is integrated with a goggle, just for that purpose. So that we have visibility in front of us. Just like you would when you scuba dive.
But it's a very, very restrictive environment, and it's, we love the exercise, because it teaches us, in the simulator, how very difficult it is to follow a checklist and to be able to communicate.
But our primary purpose is in life, what we've learned from day one of flying, aviate, navigate, communicate, and they may not have had a chance to communicate, or what was happening in the electronics bay was knocking out the communications down there and that's where it originates.
WHITFIELD: And again we don't know the space of time between these new audio transmissions, between pilot and air traffic control, and the ACARS signals that indicated something was wrong, that this plane was in distress. We still don't know exactly why and the cause of all of this.
Peter, any final thoughts on that especially with that space of time between these two bits of information that we have? [12:05:00]GOELZ: Yes, I think the ACARS messages perhaps indicate why the pilots were not responsive to the air traffic control handoff request that came just two minutes before the plane went into real distress.
So I think Les is right. These guys were facing a very serious challenge. Their hands were full. They were trying to save this aircraft.
WHITFIELD: All right, Peter Goelz, Les Abend, thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll, of course, continue to follow this angle of the story.
Now let's bring in CNN international anchor, Becky Anderson, joining us from Cairo. So Becky, you just spoke with Egypt's foreign minister. What are the challenges that they're facing? What are they willing to communicate right now?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. Numerous challenges and this is incredibly difficult. But let me just tell you through what we gleaned from the interview.
On the search, I know that you've just been discussing the search that is, of course, ongoing in the Mediterranean at present. He said, it isn't clear how long these searches for the aircraft will take, but that Egypt is grateful.
He said to me, for the international cooperation that the Egyptians have received. He said it is clearly essential, now, to retrieve the black box and the data recordings, as soon as possible, to provide clues as to what happened and why.
And he stressed, not least, to provide some closure for the families of the victims. We also discussed the claims of the smoke in the cabin of the aircraft before the crash.
And he said while he couldn't personally verify those claims, the information he said, was an important element in what he called a jigsaw puzzle that has to be fully compiled so far as the investigation is concerned.
And on the issue of coordinating on the investigation, with other countries, he told me the following.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMEH SHOUKRY, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, primarily, it is the location of the aircraft and the ability to extract from potentially very deep waters the black box and the data recorders and we do not, I think, have the technical abilities to operate in such deep waters, where many of our partners might have the this facility, and various aspects of the investigation.
And this will conform to regulations, where all who are involved, whether it is the producer of the aircraft, the producer of the engines, which is an American company, Pratt and Whitney, or the nationalities of those who have lost their life.
So it will be conducted within the international rules that govern such investigations and we rely on the full cooperation of our partners in this regard.
ANDERSON: And the technical experts who may be willing to offer their help from the U.S. and France, for example, you would be willing to engage with?
SHOUKRY: Of course, definitely. And there are a lot of capabilities that I think we have to take advantage of in forensic science and the ability to extract the parts and to resemble the aircraft quite a burden and an arduous job, but one that has to be taken.
And I think the more that is expertise and knowledge and ability in this regard and the more collaboration, the better off for everyone to be able to come to a final conclusion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Yes, Fredricka, I cannot overstate how hard this has hit to Egypt and the foreign minister also did caution about speculating about what these scenarios might be. He said, with respect to the families, the search continues, the investigation will be ongoing. Things will take some time, but they will get to the bottom of this -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and economically, Egypt has been hit pretty hard, especially, maybe, at least since 2010. All right, Becky Anderson, thank you so much.
Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson on the Greek island of Crete. Nic, searchers now having to deal with deteriorating weather conditions as they look for more wreckage from that plane. Describe the conditions. What are they up against?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, they're up against increasing winds. They're up against rougher seas. You look out to the sea here. There are more white tops ton waves. The dips between the waves, the swell is getting bigger.
As we've seen, the recovery so far has only found pieces of debris that are relatively small. And as the seas get choppier and choppier, and remember what you're looking at on the screen, we're 100 miles more from right out in the deep Mediterranean where the ways and the swells are much greater.
So the wind and the conditions is going to make it much harder to see those small pieces of debris. Yesterday, this was much calmer, much flatter, much easier environment for recovery.
[12:10:09]So it's going to slow it down. But what we do know from the Greek Air Force here, of course, they've got two c-130 military transport aircraft on standby to get involved again in the search effort, is that they've been able to refine the area. About 5,000 square miles big, but smaller than they were initially looking at. This is a help. The challenge, of course, locating, really, as much debris and therefore where the plane disappeared, and therefore, the black boxes -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Nic Robertson, appreciate that, from Crete.
All right, we're going to have much more on this breaking news of the first air traffic control audio now that has just been released. You heard it just minutes ago and you'll hear it again. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Wear continuing to follow the breaking news this hour in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804. We're getting the first audio transmissions from that flight. It's a very small portion of audio from the pilot to air traffic transmissions out of Zurich, Switzerland. These happened between a pilot and air traffic control fairly regularly. Listen in.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PILOT: Hello, hello, EygptAir 804 flight level 370 squawk number 7624.
CONTROL: EgyptAir 804 radar contact.
PILOT: Thank you so much.
CONTROL: EgyptAir 804 contact Padova 1-2-0 decimal 7-2-5, good night.
PILOT: Thank you so much. Good night
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. So they're talking about changing frequency and then switching to a different air traffic control. So, this should be noted that this is not the last transmission from the cockpit.
Meantime, we're also getting some of the first images of the debris from the plane. Seats, life vests, and suitcases have been found in the Mediterranean Sea.
[12:15:04]All right, staying with this tragic crash now, it has sparked a political firestorm on the campaign trail here in the U.S. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump pointing toward terrorism as the likely cause but in very different ways.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It does appear that it was an act of terrorism. Exactly how, of course, the investigation will have to determine. But once again, it shines a very bright light on the threats that we face from organized terror groups. DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What just happened about 12 hours ago? A plane got blown out of the sky and if anybody thinks it wasn't blown out of the sky, you're 100 percent wrong, folks, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So let's talk more about this with CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, and Washington correspondent for "Time" magazine, Jay Newton-Small.
All right, good to see both of you. So we just heard from a lot of our analysts this morning. Everyone says, all options are on the table. It's unclear whether, for certain, it's terrorism.
Unclear, you know, whether it's mechanical, although some, based on what we know, some of the analysts are leaning now more towards some kind of mechanical problem within the plane.
So, Ron, you first. You know, how a president handles language when something tragic of this magnitude has happened. So, what do we read from the candidate and how they handle their initial assessments?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: This is a fascinating little miniature, you know? Because in politics, as in life, your strengths and weaknesses are often two sides of the same coin.
You know, presidents are extremely measured in their language on issues relating to national security, historically. Donald Trump went out, immediately tweeted, you know, this is terrorism, and then made the statement that you showed in the tape.
And for the people who like Donald Trump, that is a sign that here is someone who says what he thinks, who kind of breaks the fourth wall of the conventions of politics. He's a straight shooter.
For those who are uneasy about Donald Trump's temperament and whether he has kind of the judgment, the stability, the kind of temperance to be president, I think it is another indication of, this is, you know, raising the doubt about whether this is someone you trust in the oval office, as the leader of the free world.
So I thought it was just an incredibly revealing moment and with Hillary Clinton, you get kind of the opposite. You know, you get kind of that steady approach, but, again, I think it really is more about whether this one -- this one is more about Trump.
WHITFIELD: And so, Jay, the style differences, are these things that voters are examining closely?
JAY NEWTON-SMALL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": Absolutely. And this has been his play, particularly, with women voters, that Donald Trump has done to sort of say, I'm strong, my opponents are weak. They are going to fail you. I'm going to protect you.
I'm going to be the big man and this is certainly what he's doing now is he's portraying Hillary Clinton as weak, he's portraying Barack Obama as weak. They won't even say the words, you know, Islamic fundamental terrorists or Islamic radicalism.
And that's sort of been his ploy to try to appeal to women, which certainly is one of his biggest in this election, is to get more women voters to like him. He's down in some polls by 50 points, in other polls by 73 points with female voters.
So, things like this, I think, whether it's a terrorist incident now or not, with EgyptAir, or coming up in future incidents is that will more than likely come up abroad or at home, this is always going to be his ploy. I am weak, I am strong, I am going to protect you, and I'm going to lead the country.
WHITFIELD: So this is what Hillary Clinton said during an interview on how she assesses things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Whether it's attacking Great Britain, praising the leader of North Korea, a despotic dictator, who has nuclear weapons, whether it is saying pull out of NATO, let other countries have nuclear weapons.
The kinds of positions that he is stating and the consequences of those positions, and even the consequences of his statements are not just offensive to people, they are potentially dangerous.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": How so?
CLINTON: If you go through many of his irresponsible, reckless, dangerous comments, it's not just somebody saying something off the cuff. This is a pattern. It's a pattern that has gone on now for months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Now, that's Clinton on her assessment of Donald Trump, that he's dangerous, and then let me read you this tweet from Trump. He says, "Crooked Hillary Clinton looks presidential? I don't think so. Four more years of Obama and our country will never come back. ISIS laugh!"
So, Jay, this kinds of back and forth, again, we are seeing style differences in how they are critical of one another.
NEWTON-SMALL: It's so interesting, Fredricka, because you usually have the female candidate is the one that people have questions about, can she be emotional and still be a commander in chief? Can she, you know, have her finger on the button at that time of the month kind of thing? And now, it's the absolute inverse.
[12:20:09]She's being very calm, very steady, and she's questioning whether Donald Trump is too emotional and too unstable to be president. And so it is a very interesting inverse for role playing in terms of genders.
WHITFIELD: And Ron, I want to get your take. We're going to take a short break for now. Hold your thought. Remember where we are. We'll revisit it.
Trump, meantime, has been calling the election system as a whole rigged. Now Sanders is making similar suggestions. We'll talk about that as well, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The establishment determined who the anointed candidate will be before the first voters got into the process. I think that that is a very, very bad idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders hitting the campaign trail later on today. Sanders is still lagging behind Clinton when it comes to delegates, but Sanders says the system is rigged. Here's how he laid it out, math wise, last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Now, we have received, up to now 46 percent of the pledged delegates. We have received all of 7 percent of the superdelegates.
[12:25:06]Secretary Clinton has 525 superdelegates. We have all of 39. So she has 93 percent of the super delegates. And here is what is really very, very interesting and I think not a good thing.
Over 400 of these superdelegates indicated their support for Secretary Clinton before anyone else was in the race. They indicated their support for Secretary Clinton before the first ballot was cast, before the campaign even began.
In other words, the establishment determined who the anointed candidate will be before the first voters got into the process. I think that that is a very, very bad idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. So let's bring back our panel, CNN political analyst, Ron Brownstein, and Washington correspondent for "Time" magazine, Jay Newton-Small.
OK. So this is very interesting, isn't it? Because you've got, Ron, you know, Trump calling the system rigged. Now you've got Bernie Sanders calling the system rigged.
You've got Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton crooked, and even now, he's also, you know, saying she is heartless Hillary. Is it Sanders and Trump kind of using the same playbook now against Hillary Clinton?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Some similarities. Let's finish the last point real quick. Again, an incredibly revealing exchange between Clinton and Trump because it really goes to the heart of the choice voters will face.
What's the bigger risk, continuity or change? Clinton wants to argue that the big risk is that Trump is too risky a form of change. He's too erratic to be president.
Trump wants to argue that the big risk is continuity, basically going on the same path that we're on, basically the outsider argument. It's losing a little bit of steam as President Obama's approval rating moves up to 50 percent.
Back to the Democratic race, the key fact in Bernie Sanders speech there was 46 percent. He's won 46 percent of the pledged delegates. That is not a majority.
He has done incredibly well in this race, better than anyone could have expected. But Hillary Clinton leads him by 3 million votes, 18 of the 20 largest states have voted. She's won 14 of those 18.
He has done very well, but he has not cracked the diversity of the Democratic Party, and even without the superdelegates, she would be clearly in the lead at this point.
So, you know, to say the system is rigged seems awful strong, given that they've run this race and she has won 3 million more votes than he has and has won virtually all of the biggest states.
WHITFIELD: That's what she keeps reminding him, but that whole continuity issue, which is really very big. I'm glad you brought it up. Because when you talk about continuity, and Donald Trump is saying, Obama, Clinton, they're synonymous, especially when it comes to the war on terror. Remember, it was, you know, then Senator Obama who did not vote for the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton did.
There's a real distinction and difference between these two people, even though say served in the same administration. But somehow, Donald Trump is managing to make the argument that they are one in the same. Is that an effective -- has it become an effective argument for him?
NEWTON-SMALL: It is an effective argument --
WHITFIELD: Ron on that first, sorry.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, no, look. I think that as the out party, the strongest argument is time for a change, especially after eight years. We've only had, you know, 1988is the only time since World War II that one party has held the White House for three consecutive terms.
Hillary Clinton can distance herself from Barack Obama in big ways or small, but she will, inevitably, be seen as greater continuity with him than Donald Trump represents. But, again, the difference is that President Obama's approval rating is hovering right around 50 percent, which is much higher than we saw, for example, with President George W. Bush in 2008.
If it is a referendum on continuing in his direction or choosing an entirely different direction, Democrats are much better positioned to fight on that ground than they were, say, a year ago.
WHITFIELD: OK, so, Jay, what do you think? Are these two -- the Bernie Sanders, the Donald Trump, using the same playbook, almost, you know, their styles morphing as they go after Hillary Clinton?
NEWTON-SMALL: They are. And it is, I think, when you talk to the Hillary campaign and talk to Hillary supporters, that's what really concerns them right now. A lot of people will say, that she wants to give Bernie Sanders every opportunity to go all the way through June.
The way that she was given the opportunity by Barack Obama to go all the way through June, 2008. And yet, she's now fighting a dual front. She really is fighting both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders at the same time, and that is doing damage to her.
[12:30:00] It's a very hard fight to pivot and to do both sides and so there is, you know, increasing number of Hillary supporters who are calling for Bernie Sanders, if not to get out to at least tone it down, right?
Why do you have to be so sort of strident in this, if you know that this is mathematically impossible for you to essentially win the nomination at this point, why are you still doing damage to the party?
WHITFIELD: All right. Jay Newton-Small, Ron Brownstein, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.
NEWTON-SMALL: Thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And stay with us CNN as we continue to follow the breaking news on the mystery surrounding EgyptAir Flight 804. We have the first audio from air traffic control and we'll play more of that, next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We're continuing to follow breaking news this hour in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804. The first audio transmissions from that flight have been released. It's a very small portion of audio from the pilot to air traffic control out of Zurich, Switzerland. It sounds relatively routine. These transmissions happened between a pilot and air traffic control regularly. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, hello, EgyptAir 804, flight level 370 squawk number 7624.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EgyptAir 804 radar contact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EgyptAir 804 contact Padova 1-2-0 decimal 7-2-5, good night. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EgyptAir 804 7-2-5 Padova control 804, thank you so much good day. Good night.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, experts I've been talking to say that this kind of transmission simply acknowledges that there was a frequency change and that perhaps there was an acknowledgment from air traffic control that the pilot and that plane. We're now moving to a new air traffic control conversation. But also, let's note that this is not the last transmission from the cockpit. This new audio comes as we're also getting the first pictures of the debris from the airplane. Seats, life vests, and suitcases have been found in the Mediterranean Sea. Things that you're seeing right there on your screen.
[12:35:11] So while clues are continuing to emerge, the biggest questions remain, what exactly happened to EgyptAir Flight 804.
This morning, the foreign minister to have France says all scenarios are still a possibility. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-MARC AYRAULT, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER, (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): At this time, when I'm speaking to you, all hypotheses are being considered. And none is favored. Our objective is doubled, solidarity with the families, but also transparency to them about the circumstances of the disappearance of this flight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, joining me right now is CNN Contributor, Tim Lister in Paris.
So Tim, let's talk about these possible scenarios, one being mechanical problem, another potential scenario, terrorism. What more do we have about those scenarios and any others?
TIM LISTER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, let's just run through them, Fred. First, as you say, the possibility of a terror attack, twice in recent months, bombs have been smuggled on to planes. It is not impossible. Terror groups are constantly working for ways to beat the system either by more and more ingenious devices or in some cases, by getting an insider to assist in getting a bomb onboard. So that's one.
Technical error of some description, some malfunction or other, electrical or mechanical. That's a possibility even in this day and age of very advanced aircraft. There are still problems with maintenance. That happens, too.
And on top of that, you've got the possibility of pilot error. We saw that, for example, with the crash of the Air France Flight a few years back in the mid-atlantic after leaving Rio.
And then finally, weather. Well, I think we can probably discount weather, because all of the reports from the time of the crash were, the weather was fine. There was no conversation between the pilots and air traffic control that they needed to re-route, so that one probably can be excluded. But the others or a combination of them are very much still on the cards, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And when you say a combination, because this ACARS system admitted signals that there was a problem, there was smoke, there was, you know, a windshield that was hotter than usual, smoke also coming from the lavatory. So that potentially compounded by maybe even the way in which the crew reacted. Those are scenarios, too, that are being considered? That kind of combination?
LISTER: Those are amongst many scenarios. Remember we've just got a couple of pieces in a jigsaw that may be a thousand pieces large. Certainly with the Air France Flight, wrong readings on air speed were compounded by the wrong reaction by the pilots in the cockpit.
You have to remember, also, nowadays, these planes are so automated that the pilots are used to allowing the computer to do the work. When they suddenly have to go manual, they're bombarded with information that comes from all these computers. Some of it's difficult to prioritize. So sometimes the pilots can be literally overwhelmed by the amount of information coming at them. We don't know in this case. But we do know that those ACARS messages, as they're called, only lasted three minutes. The first sign of smoke at the front of the aircraft, in the front lavatory, perps in the avionics said, "Underneath the cockpit."
And then just three minutes later, too, the major systems just closed down, the auto pilot and the system that runs the rudders. So they had very little time to react. Even so, that smoke is a symptom. What caused it? That's the biggest issue, could be anything from a short circuit to an incendiary device.
WHITFIELD: Great point. Thank you so much, Tim Lister in Paris. Appreciate it.
All right, the crash of EgyptAir has some in the U.S. questioning our own airport security.
[12:38:50] Coming up, we'll take a look at changes being made here in the U.S. and we'll get a live report from LaGuardia Airport in New York, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Breaking news this hour in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804, we're getting the first audio transmissions from that flight. It's a very small portion of the audio from the pilot to air traffic control out of Zurich, Switzerland. It sounds fairly routine. They're talking about frequency changes and moving on to another air traffic controller. These transmissions happen between a pilot and air traffic control fairly regularly. So let's listen in. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, hello, EgyptAir 804, flight level 370 squawk number 7624.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EgyptAir 804 radar contact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EgyptAir 804 contact Padova 1-2-0 decimal 7-2-5, good night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EgyptAir 804 7-2-5 Padova control 804, thank you so much good day. Good night.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, it should be noted, that this is not the last transmission from the cockpit. We're also getting the first pictures today of debris from the airplane seats, life vests, suitcases, all of it found in the Mediterranean Sea.
So the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 is raising new questions about airport security right here in the United States.
CNN's Rachel Crane is live for us at LaGuardia Airport. Rachel?
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, well, the TSA is taking steps to alleviate some of these congested lines that passengers have been stuck in. They're hiring more agents. They're trying out new automated technologies. We spoke to one passenger today who did miss his flight because he was stuck in one of these lines. But he was quick to point out that while frustrated, he was OK with it, because he did think that the security protocols were effective in keeping us safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRANE: The crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 is raising questions not just for investigators overseas. But also among security officials here in the United States.
PETER NEFFENGER, ADMINISTRATOR TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: We still don't know what happened here. We're following the investigation closely. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the people who were lost. But most importantly, it's a stark reminder that what we do is really important. And we need to do it well and we need to do it efficiently.
CRANE: In recent weeks, the TSA has been plagued by consumer complaints of long lines, hour-long waits and in some cases, missed flights.
Sixty to 90 minutes is the average wait time across the country, according to an industry group. But some passengers in Chicago said they waited nearly three hours and ended up missing their flights. [12:45:06] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were just in security for almost two hours and ran to our gate and it was three minutes shy of the door closing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got here about three, two and a half hours early and it still wasn't enough time.
CRANE: In a press conference Friday, the agency's administrator apologized to passengers and reiterated the focus on security.
NEFFENGER: That is the most important job of TSA. And events over the past eight months have reinforced and reminded us that individuals and groups do remain intent on attacking the aviation system. Our officers understand that and they work very hard to protect you, please, please thank them for the work that they do. The long lines are not their fault. The long lines are caused by lots of other things.
CRANE: Tougher security protocols and increase in passengers ahead of summer travel season and baggage fees driving people to carry on more luggage are all factors leading to security line congestion. And the solution might not be more agents according to one former official.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: The whole focus seems to abandon from avoiding terrorist attacks on TSA and let's add more TSA people standing around as we walk through the magnetic detectors. That strikes me as perhaps not front and center of the things one needs to do.
CRANE: Despite that, the TSA is added more than 750 officials this June, hoping that it will bring down wait times and increase security.
SEN. DICK BURBIN, (D), ILLINOIS: Each country is different. What I want to make sure of is that we do everything humanly possible to make airline travel safe for passengers and their families that get on the airplanes. I wish we didn't have to face this madness, but we do.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
CRANE: And just yesterday, the head of the TSA urged Americans to sign up for TSA pre-check. He said around 2.5 million people have already signed up for the program, hoping to get that number up to 25 million to help speed up the security process. Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right, Rachel Crane, thank you so much, at LaGuardia, New York.
All right, Pennsylvania is traditionally a Democratic-leaning state, but Trump has a growing popularity there, so could he flip the state from blue to red? We'll talk with one state rep who is on the fence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:51:21] WHITFIELD: All right. We're continuing to stay on breaking news this hour in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804. We're getting in the first audio transmissions from that flight. It's a very small portion of the audio, from the pilot to air traffic control out of Zurich, Switzerland. And it is a routine conversation. Just really talking about frequency.
But these transmissions happen between a pilot and air traffic control very regularly, and we'll have more on it, coming up. But again, that is not the last recording of the pilot. Just a portion that we have, thus far. We're also getting a picture today of debris from the airplane, seats, life vests, and suitcases all found in the Mediterranean Ssea.
All right, meantime, let's talk out the race for the White House. Donald Trump's Republican red is starting to seep into many Democratic leaning blue areas of the country, triggering alarm amongst his Democratic opponents. Trump is performing well in traditionally Democratic-leaning states like Pennsylvania, which has given Democrats their vote since President Bill Clinton's run in 1992.
President Obama won just 13 of 67 Pennsylvania counties four years ago, but his big win in blue counties and major cities overwhelm the Republican vote. But a recent Quinnipiac university poll shows Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Trump, Donald Trump, neck and neck in Pennsylvania. With Trump just one percent behind Clinton.
So let's talk more about it with Democratic Congressman, Brendan Boyle, who represents Pennsylvania's 13th district, and does endorse Hillary Clinton. Good to see you.
REP. BRENDAN BOYLE, (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you. Good to be on, Freddy.
WITHFIELD: So Congressman Boyle -- I love that. My brother and sister call me that.
All right, so how do you explain what's happening here - I like it. How do you explain what you think is going on here, what some or seeing is going on here which is, you know, Trump red is bleeding into traditionally some Pennsylvania district blue?
BOYLE: Well, first, the last couple of cycles you've seen states like Colorado and Virginia be more of the swing states that decided the presidential election and less so Pennsylvania. I think it's going to be different this year. Pennsylvania, which has been Democratic but reasonably close, I believe, will be one of the key battlegrounds this year, along with our neighbor to the west in Ohio.
I'm confident that we're going to carry, certainly, Philadelphia, as well as the Philadelphia suburbs, that have been trending Democratic, but the fact is that in Pennsylvania, in the western part of the state, it has increasingly become more Republic as the eastern part of the state becomes more democratic.
So, last election, for example, Obama carried Pennsylvania. He carried it by five points, which was the same margin he carried Colorado. I think demographically, we're more likely to be a closer race this time around than states where you have a larger, newer areas like Colorado and Virginia.
WHITFIELD: So what do you suppose is behind what's happening in Pennsylvania, especially northeastern and central Pennsylvania known for its deep-rooted coal-mining history. And then it didn't help, did it, Hillary Clinton's comments on coal mining, which may have turned off a lot of voters, not just in West Virginia, where we saw that, you know, during the primary race, but potentially now here in Pennsylvania.
BOYE: Well, part of it is beyond the personalities of the two candidates. We are structurally a close state, and I think increasingly, becoming closer. So that's all the more reason why my area is in the Philadelphia suburbs is so important for us to do well.
[12:55:06] Now, in the end, I do think we are going to do well and carry it, because people, particularly voters in my area, really look and study the issues. For example, I was just speaking at a Senior Citizen Center not too long ago, and the number one issue that they brought up to me, believe it or not, was student loans.
I met three different seniors, who were very worried about the amount of money they just had to take out in loans to help their grandkids pay for college. That is a very important issue to me, as a younger member of Congress, who's still paying off student loans myself. So when i went -- yeah?
WHITFIELD: So how is that issue that, you know, on the presidential level? Because, I mean, everyone can relate to that. I mean there isn't anybody who says, yehey, you know, student loans are really high. Everybody wants it down. But on a presidential level, the person who ends up in the White House and how is that going to be the linchpin of whether student loans go away or whether tuitions go down at state and private universities? Help people understand why there are some voters who are hoping it's a president who's going to, you know, have the answers on that change the dynamics.
BOYLE: Because this issue, this issue, while it's more pronounced in a state like Pennsylvania where the second-most expensive for public colleges and universities in the country, but this is a national problem. It's not just one state. And as a national problem, it needs a national solution.
So when, for example, I go on Hillary Clinton's website and I see that she has a very impressive plan to help with higher education and student loans, and then literally, I go to trump's site this morning, and he has zero. Not one word on the subject, not one plan, nothing. When the independent and smart, sophisticated voters of suburban Philadelphia delve into these issues and look at that, that is going to make a real difference between one candidate who's highly qualified and another candidate who just isn't qualified at all.
WHITFIELD: All right, Congressman Brendan Boyle, thanks so much. Good to see you.
BOYLE: OK. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, we'll return to our breaking news. For the first time, we are hearing from the pilot of EgyptAir flight 804. We'll play a portion of that audio, coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
