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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Indonesia: Co-Pilot At Controls; North Korea Restarting Nuclear Reactor?; Costner Confronts Race In New Film; Super Bowl Caps Season Of Scandal
Aired January 29, 2015 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Also in world news, a major revelation today that might help clear up some of the mystery about AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed, of course, taking the lives of 162 people.
We now know that the less experienced co-pilot was in control when the plane crashed into the Java Sea. The plane wobbled and loud alarms blared. The word "stall" repeatedly as the flight quickly climbed more than 5,000 feet in 30 seconds.
Commercial planes, experts say, are just not designed to ascend that quickly. Meanwhile, a search and rescue team vowed to continue looking for bodies. This after Indonesia's military pulled its resources from the search.
CNN aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh, joins me now. Rene, what do we know about this co-pilot who was at the helm and why is this potentially significant?
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we know it is not uncommon for the co-pilot to be at the controls. But new details tonight suggest that the copilot was struggling to handle an aircraft that was making erratic moves midair.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH (voice-over): Indonesian investigators say the co-pilot, 46- year-old, Remi Emmanuel Plesel, was controlling the doomed jet while the more experienced captain monitored the flight.
ALAN DIEHL, AUTHOR, "AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS": The 2,000 hours in the airbus should have been enough time to make him capable of handling most emergencies, but this looks like it may have been an extreme emergency.
MARSH: Plesel flew for Airasia Indonesia for three years and had more than 2,000 hours in the A-320. But the captain had more than 6,000 hours, more than 13 years commercial experience and 10 years flying for the military.
One Indonesian crash investigator used a model Airbus A-320 to demonstrate how they believed things unraveled in just 3:20. According to Indonesian authorities, Flight 8501 was cruising at 32,000 feet when it veered left, tilted to its side, wobbled, then climbed to 37,400 feet in just 30 seconds.
The stall warnings which sound like this -- were blaring then suddenly the aircraft began to fall. Once below 24,000 feet, the plane disappeared from radar. Alan Diehl is a former NTSB crash investigator.
DIEHL: The fact that the aircraft was wobbling could be due to one of two things. One, the automation was shutting down and now they were having to take over and fly manually or two, the actual turbulence was inducing g-force movement in the pilot's hand on the control stick, causing the wobbling to get worse.
MARSH: Investigators say the crew was properly certified and the plane had no history of problems. Despite the Indonesian military's withdrawal, the hunt for the 90 bodies still missing will continue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH: Well, investigators have submitted the preliminary report, but they would not release it at today's press briefing. It's unclear if and when they will. But this really could just be investigators being very careful because the facts in the preliminary report very well could change -- Jake.
TAPPER: Rene, there is also some big news I want to ask you about a Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which has been missing now almost 11 months. What are you learning about the case? What's new there?
MARSH: Yes. Almost a year now since this plane vanished from radar and now we know today that authorities in Malaysia officially declared it an accident so what that means, it just allows families to move forward with the compensation claims.
This does not mean that the search will end. In fact, the search is still ongoing. There are four vessels searching the sea floor. Of course, not one piece of that plane has been discovered yet but again, this allows families to move forward with those compensation claims -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Rene Marsh, thank you so much.
Back to our World Lead now, new satellite images appear to show activity at North Korea's main nuclear sites, which were shut down months ago. Just what is Kim Jong-Un up to? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. In more world news, real fears today that North Korea may be taking more actions to further its nuclear weapons program, setting the world on edge.
It turns out that while we were all talking about the Sony hack tied to that movie poking fun at dear leader Kim Jong-Un, the rogue nation may have had more troubling plans in the works.
According to a U.S. think tank that monitors the regimen, satellite imagery seems to show recent activity of its main nuclear bomb fuel reactor, which was shut down, we thought, months ago.
Take a look at these before and after pictures released by the U.S. Korea Institute of Johns Hopkins University. On the left, it shows aerials of the reactor from December 24th. On the right an image from just a week later, there are signs of steam there and snow melt on the rooftop.
That seems to be an indication that something at the reactor was turned on, generating heat. I'm joined now by Gordon Chang, author of the book "Nuclear Showdown, North Korea Takes on the World." He is a columnist for forbes.com.
Gordon, thanks so much for being here. North Korea, as you know well, better than I, already has uranium enrichment sites all over the country. What do you think this might mean?
GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": I think they're looking for one of three outcomes. One of them is that the world doesn't stop them and they get to keep all this plutonium for their arsenal.
The second is we pay them to stop producing plutonium. But the third one, that's the one that really concerns me. You got to remember that Iran has agreed to freeze its plutonium program in its discussions with the international community and the North Koreans have sold them fissile material in the past going back to 2002.
I'm concerned that this plutonium will end up in the hands of the atomic ayatollahs.
TAPPER: So you think that even though these are theoretically two different dealings with the west trying to stop the North Korean nuclear weapons program and stop the Iran nuclear weapons program, alleged nuclear weapons problem, do you think that they are completely related?
CHANG: Yes, they have been running a joint program since at least the turn of the century. Every time North Korea has detonated a nuclear device, the Iranians have been on site in North Korea.
That Syrian reactor that the Israelis destroyed in September 2007, that was from North Korea. North Korean technicians were killed there and everybody thinks the Iranians paid for that reactor because the Syrians didn't have money.
You know, you go back, there's a series of interactions between these two rogue states. So clearly they are working together.
TAPPER: For those who aren't familiar with your work, Gordon, you have been critical of both the Obama administration and the George W. Bush administration. You think that the way they have dealt with North Korea has allowed them to develop ballistic missile and long range missile capability to develop a nuclear bomb. What should the west do now to stop this?
CHANG: Well, the first thing is to think of this not as two separate programs, but really as one program with a lot of coordination from Beijing. Until we do that, I think we are going to have piecemeal solutions that don't really help.
Unfortunately, I think we are going to have to have much tougher sanctions against both of these regimes and very difficult conversations with the Chinese because if we don't get China on board, there is no point in dealing with Iran or North Korea.
TAPPER: You said with a lot of coordination from the Chinese, from Beijing. Why would China want an Iran with nuclear weapons or a North Korea with nuclear weapons especially North Korea? That destabilizes Asia.
CHANG: One thing it does, every time North Korea acts up, we run to Beijing and ask for the Chinese to help and they extract concessions from us. This also keeps us off balance.
With regard to Iran, the Chinese compete with the Russians for influence in the Middle East and they also want the Iranians to give them oil which is very important for the Chinese economy, but also because they don't want Iran to support the Muslims in China's northwest who really resent Chinese rule.
There are a lot of reasons why China wants good relations with Iran and Beijing knows that the Iranians want nukes so the Chinese are willing to help them.
TAPPER: Very scary. Gordon Chang, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
We are getting some new information now about that deadly explosion at a maternity hospital in Mexico City this morning. The mayor's office says a delivery truck driver and two assistants are currently in custody. A camera captured the blast.
Authorities say that at least one woman and one child died in that explosion but little else is known right now. Rescue teams fear that more people, including possibly newborns, could still be at the very least trapped.
Emergency officials say more of the hospital could collapse at any minute. The supply truck was delivering liquefied petroleum gas when a hose started leaking and caused the tragic explosion.
When we come back, he is used to taking leaps of faith when it comes to his career but will Kevin Costner's personal investment in his latest film pay off? I will talk to him next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. A chaotic scene shows you how fractured St. Louis remains months after the violence in nearby Ferguson, Missouri remains. Take a look at this from a city council meeting last night.
The goal of the meeting was to try to help mend relations between citizens and St. Louis police members were listening to public comment when this all happened. The business manager for the city's police union says protesters were shouting over officers who had showed up to speak.
So he stood up and called for order. That's when a committee chairman took offense, people started yelling, pushing, shoving. The scene comes months after Officer Darren Wilson was cleared in the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen, who Wilson said was a physical threat to him.
The city has not yet decided if it will reschedule the public meeting. Race in America is the focus of our pop culture lead today. Kevin Costner is taking on this topic. His new film "Black or White" opens in theaters tomorrow.
It pits a white man against his biracial granddaughter's black relatives in a custody battle. Those who have seen the film have come away with very different views of the movie and the characters and the way race is handled. In it Costner hopes the film will get people talking.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't about black and white, all right? This is about right and wrong.
TAPPER (voice-over): When Kevin Costner read the screenplay for "Black or White" he had one of those Kevin Costner moments.
KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR: I thought this is perfect. I told my wife, I said look, I think we're going to have to make this, fund this. She said come again? And I said I think we're going to have to make this. She goes what is it with you, are you like some guy in a corn field, does a voice come to you?
TAPPER: Extraordinary leaps of faith have made Kevin Costner famous.
From building an unlikely field of dreams to blazing new trails in dances with wolves. Costner's confidence has catapulted him into stardom. A place where his pockets are deep enough to help fund the projects Hollywood studios shy away from. Millions given the dances with wolves, open range and yes, Waterworld were personal investments.
His latest is "Black or White" a film that takes on some of the nation's most divisive issues. Costner's character, Elliott, is raising his biracial granddaughter, all the while fighting for custody with the other side of her family.
(on camera): You don't want her down here. Do you, Elliott, down here with the black folks?
TAPPER: Studios rejected the film so Costner spent $9 million of his own dollars to finance it. Not only are you starring in a movie that at the very least is provocative and potentially controversial, but you are funding it.
COSTNER: Yes. Yes.
TAPPER: Why? COSTNER: Well, you know, I fell in love with it. This movie isn't politically correct and everything that maybe could have offended I think ought to be in there because it wouldn't have the weight. When we make movies that deal with racism, we are looking at something like 12 years a slave, like the butler. What I saw is an authentic look at where we are today.
TAPPER: The release of this movie comes at a time that there has been a lot of discussion of race.
COSTNER: You know, our problems didn't start in August. They didn't start on that street in New York. We have made a pact with the devil a long time ago and we are living the result.
TAPPER: When you made "The Bodyguard," it was controversial that it was an interracial romance. It's amazing to think about.
COSTNER: I had no idea that was a brave or controversial decision. I was thinking to myself I have to get the prettiest girl who can sing. OK? And the prettiest girl that could really sing in my mind was Whitney Houston. I thought to myself I can't imagine anybody not wanting to kiss her, right?
TAPPER (voice-over): A generation later, it will be interesting to see how audiences respond to "Black or White" and Costner's portrayal of Elliott. Do you think the character Elliott, who his lawyer describes him as much more articulate than the average Klansman or something like that, do you think Elliott's racist?
COSTNER: No, I don't. I mean, he loves this little black girl. This movie at its heart isn't racism. It's about the welfare of a child. What happens is race gets drawn into it. When it does, it starts to get ugly.
TAPPER: Others will view the Elliott character differently and that kind of discussion and debate is why Costner hopes "Black or White" will be a force for good.
COSTNER: I think it's a starting point for having dialogue. Not for solving, but for talking, for going forward. Not a single decision was made over business. It was made over the heart.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Again "Black or White" opens nationwide tomorrow.
Coming up in our Sports Lead, murder trials, domestic violence, deflate-gate, how has the NFL been able to stiff-arm every scandal that's come its way?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. The Sports Lead now, the NFL has released its new anti-domestic violence public service announcement that will air during the most watched sporting event of the year this Sunday and it is chilling. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPERATON: Ma'am, you have reached 911. This is an emergency line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A large with half pepperoni, half mushroom.
OPERATOR: You know you have called 911. This is an emergency line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know how long it will be?
OPERATOR: Ma'am, is everything OK over there? Do you have an emergency or not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: The clip is reportedly based on an actual phone call in which a woman dialed 911, but pretended to order a pizza because she didn't want her abuser to know she had called the police.
Of course, the whole no more domestic violence campaign came as a reaction to the league being accused of at the very least looking the other way when Ray Rice knocked out his then fiancee, now wife.
Another one of the league's former rising stars, an ex-Patriot, is now in court for his first murder trial, his first one. But bring on the dip. We already know the Super Bowl will be this year's highest rated TV program and as my friend and Pats fan, John Berman shows us, seems like no matter what the NFL does wrong, we are still all ready for some football.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): What do you call a championship game whose league and players have been accused of nothing less than attacking the brain, assaulting the body and compromising the soul of competition? Why, that's the Super Bowl. Yes, super, a fitting end to a season filled with defensiveness --
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter. And I'm sorry for that.
BERMAN: Denials -- and discipline.
ZYGI WILL, MINNESOTA VIKINGS OWNER/CHAIRMAN: We have decided the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian is to put him on the exempt list.
BERMAN: Star running back Ray Rice caught on video hitting his now wife. Star running back Adrian Peterson copping a plea to charges that he beat his son with a switch. Star quarterback, Tom Brady, dodging cheating allegations with a barrage of giggle inducing talk about ball inflation.
The head of it all, Commissioner Roger Goodell, facing questions about how he handled it all. You might think this would put the success of this enterprise in question. You might think that, but you would be wrong.
Attendance is up, record ratings for big chunks of the playoffs. For 17 straight weeks an NFL game was the most watched show on TV. Now teams are splitting more than $6 billion in revenue. Money, there is lots of it.
MARSHAWN LYNCH, SEAHAWKS: I'm here so I won't get fined. I'm here so I won't get fined. I'm just here so I won't get fined.
BERMAN: Money might explain why the Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch is there answering question when he doesn't want to. That's why he is there but why are we? The fans, if there is so much outrage over scandals with an s, why do keep watching? The fact is we do.
We like it, the game, at least. More than 100 million people will watch this Sunday and for the NFL, that simple fact can be described with one word. Super. John Berman, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Our thanks to John Berman. That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper in New York. I turn you over to Wolf Blitzer who is in -- where is he, "THE SITUATION ROOM."
