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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Video Shows Last Minutes Inside Cabin Before Fatal Plane Crash; Sources: More Searches For Documents Possible At Locations Connected To Biden; McCarthy On Santos: I Always Had A Few Questions About Him; At Least 40 Killed In Single Deadliest Attack On Ukrainian Civilians In Months; Inside The NFL's "Emergency Action Plan" That Saved Damar Hamlin's Life; Italy's Most-Wanted Mafia Boss Arrested After 30 Years On The Run. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 16, 2023 - 20:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: An Italian Police tells CNN that the mob boss is now at a secret location.

Thank you so much for being here, everyone.

I'm Kate Bolduan. AC 360 starts now.

[20:00:15]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening.

We begin tonight with new developments in the crash of an airliner in Nepal and what video including from inside the airliner at a key moment could tell investigators about what happened.

Now, we're not showing that interior video lightly nor in full, only the part that might shed light on why this happened. We are also not showing any faces in the frame.

In addition, the three guests who will be joining us shortly, all experts in aviation air safety and crash investigations, they will be weighing in on what they see in this video, because whatever brought the Yeti Airlines flight down on approach yesterday to Nepal's second biggest city likely happened or became unstoppable in those seconds that you'll see.

Seventy-two people were aboard the twin engine European made ATR-72 airliner, at least 68 are known to have died.

Now, the last video is difficult to watch, the plane in the sky. We should warn you again, so is this video inside the plane.

The view is out the left side of the aircraft you see the wings trailing edge, the backside of the wing as the plane starts a bank to the left. Now, in a moment you'll see a white flash where we do an edit, then the plane levels momentarily and then just a few seconds later, it all goes wrong and then the plane banking again drops. Take a look.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS] COOPER: As only CNN can, we have live reporting and a team of experts on this. CNN's Ivan Watson in Hong Kong; CNN aviation analyst, Mary Schiavo. She is the former Transportation Department Inspector General. Also CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector, David Soucie and Les Abend, the retired American Airlines Captain and co-host of "The candid Cockpit" Podcast.

I want to go first to Ivan Watson for the latest reporting.

So what do we know now about this plane crash?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that the plane was an ATR-72 twin engine turboprop. It was only supposed to be flying about a 25-minute flight from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, and the last communication was about 18 minutes into the flight. It crashed into a deep gorge not far from the airport.

We've seen this video filmed by an eyewitness that shows how quickly the plane banks and then you hear the explosion. It's not even seconds after that moment that you see there, and the video that is so disturbing of the live stream from inside the plane, which was filmed by one of the five Indian passengers there, we've been able to confirm it with the gentleman's friend, his name is Sonu Jaiswal.

You can hear the people on board the plane kind of joking in Hindi, and then a moment later, sounding a little bit more alarmed and then it's all over, so very, very and tragically quickly.

The black boxes have been recovered, the flight data recorder and the cockpit recorder and they will be analyzed. The authorities in Nepal have called for a five-person investigating committee to report back within 45 days on this.

The weather looked good. Flying in Nepal can be tough on a good day. It's got some of the highest mountains in the world, difficult topography, unpredictable climate patterns, but also Anderson, the flight safety record in Nepal is not good.

No Nepali airline is allowed to fly to Europe. There's been a blanket ban for nearly 10 years, and there is just almost every two years, it appears, there is a deadly crash involving commercial airlines in Nepal.

COOPER: What do we know so far about the victims of the crash -- Ivan.

WATSON: Right. Well, most of them are Nepali. There were 72 people on board, four crew members. There were also five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, an Irishman, an Argentinian, a French citizen, as well. And condolences have poured in.

Now in a tragic twist of fate, the co-pilot of the plane was a woman named Anju Khatiwada. She is actually a widow, Anderson. Her husband was a pilot with the same airline Yeti Airline and he died in a crash in 2006. She took insurance money from that and got additional flight training in the US. That's according to a Yeti Airlines spokesperson and was one of the crew members aboard this doomed flight. The spokesperson says that she was a brave woman with courage and determination. She is gone too soon. And I think that just underscores the difficulty and the questionable flight record in Nepal -- Anderson.

[20:05:04]

COOPER: Ivan, stay with us. I want to bring in our panel.

Mary, the video from inside the cabin of this plane, how critical might it be in helping figure out why this plane went down? I mean, where we see the video from the ground, where you see the plane banking.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it actually will be very helpful. The NTSB and other crashes in the United States, at least has used video from passengers to help solve mysteries of air crashes, particularly where for example, key parameters are not captured on the black boxes.

Now, here, as we look out that window and that video is very useful, because we can see it does not look like -- now of course, it's a video and it's the odd angle, but it does not look like the flap is fully extended. The flaps, of course give you extra lift when you're landing. The investigators will be interested in that because, it is possible this black box didn't get the parameter. They would have gotten the parameter if the flaps were extended to land and you would need to do that.

So these videos can be very important, and the part that you didn't show mercifully was the very end of the crash and you can kind of hear an engine spooling down, at least what I think is an engine spooling down. So we know they had power to at least one engine. So, these videos can be very helpful and they are used by investigators.

COOPER: Les, I mean, from your experience, from the video inside the cabin, everything seems normal at least, inside the cabin, before the plane seems to bank abruptly to the left. What do you make of this?

LES ABEND, RETIRED AMERICAN AIRLINES CAPTAIN: Yes, I mean, what Mary says is quite true. I mean, essentially, the investigation team is going to use the arsenal of tools that they have, and one of them happens to be the unfortunate video that you see inside the cabin.

To me, the configuration of the airplane is interesting. It looks like only part of the flaps or partial flaps are down. In other words, they were just initiating the approach configuration, and what it says to me is that possibly, this airplane got too slow for that configuration and it induced an aerodynamic stall potentially.

Why that happened? It's hard to say. I mean, it's possible that, you know, Mary mentioned something about all the engines being operating. It is hard to hear in that audio, but it's possible if they lost an engine, they might have added too much power on one side being slow and it might have started that roll and the eventual aerodynamic stall. COOPER: Yes, David, before I get to you, I want to play that video again from inside, because I want to play the audio. We've just confirmed with our translator is that, the people are not panicking. So we think their sound is okay.

And again, important for you here or for investigators to hear it to get a sense of if people on board knew anything was wrong. Let's just play that again.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

COOPER: David, the plane that crashed was an ATR-72. Can you talk about that aircraft?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: It has kind of a sordid history with regard to icing, and some of the things that have happened all the way back to 1976, that model -- or 1996, excuse me. That model has had some difficulty with icing, of course, that did not come into play here at all that I can see.

It is just so difficult and tragic to watch this, Anderson. And you can get some information from those videos. But the other thing that I noticed about those videos, as Marie and Les had said, is that left flap is up higher than you might normally see during approach.

The only thing that I can think of, the amount of kinetic energy that is required to make that aircraft bank that quickly and have this in so tragically so quickly is a lot.

I mean, there has to be something in the airflow, whereas Les mentioned a possible stall. But if that left flap was split, we call that a split-flap condition in which one flap goes lower than the other, it can cause a very dramatic roll because that's a lot of mass out in the airflow to make the aircraft go one direction or the other.

So of course, it's too early to speculate that this tragic situation, as I said, it's after being on accident sites and going through this, it is quite emotional to have to go through that and see that, but it is necessary.

COOPER: Yes, David, do you know if that aircraft was -- had been used by the airline for a long time and was the actual aircraft itself old?

SOUCIE: I don't really know exactly how old it was, but I do know that that they have five different aircraft of that model. The 500 is not that old. It's one of the newer ones of the ATR 72 and that's the Dash 500, so I don't think it was a terribly old aircraft, but it's just too early to gather any kind of information at this point, Anderson.

[20:10:06]

COOPER: So Mary, the black box has been found. Mary, if you could just talk a little bit about what they can find out from that, I guess, focusing on the this left bank that it took, and also, there are various governments now involved, the Nepalese, the French, Russian authorities -- who takes the lead? SCHIAVO: Well, by treaty, by statute, by practice, the lead will be the Nepalese, but we have learned -- well, and it is various media reports have indicated that the French may play a very large role, because, of course, the plane was manufactured there.

The country of manufacture of the aircraft in addition, of course, to the airline, and then a third possibility is the accident site. So you have Nepal and France for sure, and I would suspect that France would play a very big role. They have extremely experienced investigators, and most importantly, they have a very good lab that can download those black boxes, they've already got them. They probably are in the process right now, and depending upon how many parameters, in other words, how many things those black boxes actually recorded, they may know as soon as tomorrow if both flaps were actuated, if both engines were operating, what the speed was, what the pitch of the aircraft was, the angle of attack, if you will.

So those black boxes will probably solve a good portion of the mystery, but they've already collected or are in the process of collecting the maintenance records and the operational records and information on the pilots.

COOPER: Les, I mean, you're a pilot. As the plane approached the airport just minutes before the crash, the pilot asked for a runway change. Why would a pilot ask for runway change?

ABEND: One of the reasons may be just a wind change that was reported. They reported winds potentially at a certain parameter and they would prefer to land in what it looks like to be on Runway 1-2. This is -- you know, this is a brand new airport and the concrete has barely been touched, so I'm sure it was obviously in sight, but that would be the reason.

The other aspect to it is, maybe what caused this was sort of a distraction in the maneuvering to change the runway that they were originally vectored to, to land on, and it sounds like this request come or did come from the pilot.

COOPER: Yes. I want to thank you all tonight. Thank you very much with the limited information that we have.

Coming up, new developments in the Biden classified documents case and whether more searches will be taking place.

Plus, the White House calling out Republicans for what they say is hypocrisy.

Also tonight, a new George Santos lie about his college career and new comments from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is suddenly for the first time sounding suspicious of Congressman Santos' past.

Also, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta getting a behind the scenes look at NFL's medical staff on Game Day and an update on the health of Bills' safety, Damar Hamlin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:16:21]

COOPER: There's new developments tonight to the Biden classified documents case. Multiple sources familiar with the matter telling us there could be more searches at other locations beyond the private office used by then former Vice President Biden and his think tank in his two Delaware homes.

Late today, the White House called out House Republicans investigating the matter as "shamelessly hypocritical." In a moment, we'll be joined by former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who is weighing in on the case.

First, though quickly what the White House is upset about, top Republicans accusing the administration of treating this case differently from the Mar-a-Lago case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): It shouldn't matter if it's a Republican or Democrat, yet, you see the double standard on full display.

They sure didn't treat Donald Trump's raid on Mar-a-Lago that way. In fact, not only did they raid Mar-a-Lago, they leaked photos of those cover pages of those documents. Where are those leaked photos? Of course, you don't see it because there's a double standard.

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We want to know the visitor logs to the residence. We want to know who had access to the Biden Center for Diplomacy because this is the same type of investigation that the Democrats were so outraged and launched and demanded happen to President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Just as a factual matter, official visitor logs are not kept in private residences for any former Presidents or Vice Presidents.

Additionally, the former administration ended the practice of publishing logs for the White House itself, something that President Biden reinstated.

Also, Representative Scalise was incorrect, the photos were not leaked, the Justice Department released them in a Court filing. That's how they became public.

As for pursuing both investigations with equal vigor, here's what Congressman Comer who now chairs the House Oversight Committee said back in November when asked about his Committee's interest in Mar-a- Lago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMER: I don't know much about that. That's not something that we've requested information just to see what was going on because I don't know what documents were at Mar-a-Lago. So, you know, that's something we're just waiting to see what comes out on that.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: But is it fair to say that investigation won't be a priority?

COMER: That will not be a priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Joining us now is Rod Rosenstein, when then Attorney General Jeff Sessions, recused himself, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller, Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections or allegations of it.

Mr. Rosenstein, appreciate you joining us.

If you are leading this investigation into President Biden's classified documents, what key questions do you think needs to be answered as soon as possible?

ROD ROSENSTEIN, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Well, there are a couple of different questions, Anderson that the investigators need to focus on. One, of course, is whether or not President Biden was aware that he was in possession of these classified documents. Another important question is just how sensitive are these documents? What information is in them? How dangerous would have been to US National Security if that information were released?

And then of course, there'll be interested in who had access to those documents over the past six years?

COOPER: How realistic is a potential sit down interview between DOJ officials and the President of the United States?

ROSENSTEIN: Well, it would depend upon the President's willingness to agree to that sort of an interview. I think, in a typical investigation where somebody is found in possession of classified documents, one of the key issues you want to know is whether or not they were aware of those documents, and if so, what was their understanding of whether they had the legal right to possess those documents?

So I would think that if the President were willing to talk, that would certainly be one issue the Special Counsel would want to look into. It wouldn't be the first thing that they do, but it would certainly be on their shortlist.

COOPER: Do you think a Special Counsel was warranted here?

ROSENSTEIN: You know, Anderson, I don't know what information Attorney General Garland had. There had been some preliminary inquiry conducted by a US Attorney Lausch, and I think it's appropriate to have done that inquiry.

Presumably, Mr. Lausch, when he came to Attorney General Garland and made his recommendation, it must have been based upon some he had found in the investigation, now, I don't know what that is. So looking at it from the outside, I just don't know what information caused them to make that decision.

[20:20:08]

COOPER: You do know that the newly appointed Special Counsel, Robert Hur, he was your top aide at the Justice Department for 11 months. He worked on the Mueller investigation. How do you think he'll take on this role?

ROSENSTEIN: Well, Rob approaches everything with a nonpartisan attitude, and with tremendous sense of urgency and commitment to excellence. That was really demonstrated in everything he did as an Assistant US Attorney in Maryland, as my top aide at DOJ, and then as US Attorney in Maryland.

Rob has a superb record and he has the right experience and expertise to conduct this investigation.

COOPER: How do you see the -- what the information that's so far available about the documents that then Vice President Biden had, and how the White House has handled thus far compared to how the former President has handled the dealings with the Department of Justice and the National Archives on the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago?

ROSENSTEIN: Well, every investigation is unique, Anderson. Obviously, these investigations are on different tracks.

President Trump's position, as I understand it, is that he knew he had those documents, and he believed he had a right to them. President Biden, as far as we've heard publicly, has not acknowledged that he was aware of the existence of the documents. So, those are really very different factual scenarios.

COOPER: There's also a level of cooperation. How do you judge the cooperation of this White House compared to the cooperation of the former administration in the months dealing with the DOJ and National Archives?

ROSENSTEIN: Well, what we're hearing publicly, Anderson, is that the President's team voluntarily produced these documents to the National Archives. We're hearing that they're cooperating with the Justice Department, which of course, is what you would want the President to do under these circumstances.

But, you know, we don't know how many other documents may be out there. What other searches may need to be conducted?

COOPER: President Biden's attorneys found the initial batch of documents just six days before the Midterm Election, notified the Archives. The National Archives notified the Department of Justice two days later. Should the Department of Justice have notified the American public prior to the election? What is the protocol for something like that? ROSENSTEIN: No, Anderson, that's not something the Department of Justice would do. Their investigations are typically confidential, and there would be no reason for them to publicize something like this. So if the decision were made to publicize this, it will be made by the President and the White House, not by the Department of Justice.

COOPER: Rod Rosenstein, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

ROSENSTEIN: You're welcome.

COOPER: Coming up now, the George Santos saga and specifically what top Republicans did and did not know about his lies before voters did.

As for the latest of the New York Republican Congressman's lies themselves, there's now audio out there of him claiming not just that he played volleyball for Baruch College, which he didn't because he didn't attend Baruch College, he also claims he went there on an athletic scholarship.

House Speaker McCarthy also weighed in today, so I want to go to CNN's Evan McKend.

So while we're hearing plenty from New York House Republicans on George Santos and their leader, Kevin McCarthy, he has been largely muted, we should say, I guess, in his response to the controversy. What is he saying now?

EVAN MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Anderson, a remarkable admission from Kevin McCarthy and sort of an understated response to a question from my colleague, Melanie Zanona.

He is now saying he always had questions about George Santos' resume, and this comes as CNN learned the President of a Republican Super PAC expressed concerns about Santos' background prior to the election, and contacted lawmakers and donors with those concerns.

Take a listen to the exchange with McCarthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: When were you first made aware about some of these allegations around Santos? Was it before they came out publicly in media? Were you given any indication that there might be something amiss there?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Which part?

REPORTER: Any of it. His resume, I mean, all the things that he said.

MCCARTHY: I don't know about his resume or not, but I have always had a few questions about him.

REPORTER: What about when you did the campaign pretending to be your Chief of Staff and this was taken --

MCCARTHY: I didn't know about that had happened, and I know they corrected, but I was not notified about that until a later date.

REPORTER: Did you speak to him about it all?

MCCARTHY: Yes, I didn't know about it until a later date though, unfortunately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So Anderson now, this just begs the question, who knew what and when. House Republicans are clearly trying to keep their distance from Santos, even those lawmakers who aren't explicitly calling for him to resign, just a handful of those suggest they have very little appetite to work with him.

COOPER: I understand you have new reporting on what Santos' constituents are planning.

MCKEND: Yes, so I have had ongoing conversations with his constituents. The latest that I've heard is that they're working on a strategic plan. They're planning to come to Washington after the House recess to speak with basically any House Republican who will listen to them.

They are curious about Santos' whereabouts at the present moment. Is he going to be in the district at all during the next couple of weeks before they are set to return back to Washington? You know, many members are back at home having Town Halls and other constituent- facing events, that would lead to like a massive spectacle if Santos were to do the same.

So just wondering what is he going to be doing the next couple of weeks? Is he going to answer questions directly from his constituents? I would also say, Anderson, don't underestimate the organizing strength of the residents in that district. They are pretty fired up.

[20:25:20]

COOPER: Eva McKend, appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up, we are live at the scene of the deadliest single attack on Ukrainians in months. What we are learning about the Russian missile strike on an apartment complex over the weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Word tonight that a former Commander with the notorious Russian mercenary unit is seeking asylum in Norway. He claims he escaped Russia after being blocked from leaving the Wagner Group which has been fighting in Ukraine along with Russian military forces.

That ex-Commander says he feared being executed by sledgehammer. That's how another defector from the group reportedly died.

Tonight, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accuses Russia of committing a war crime after a missile strike on an apartment building in Dnipro. The attack is one of the single deadliest for Ukraine in the war and the deadliest in months. At least 40 people were killed and more than two dozen are missing.

Our Fred Pleitgen is on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: While rescue crews are still sifting through the debris, the chance of finding any more survivors is virtually zero, a gaping hole where dozens of families once lived.

As you can see here, this building was completely annihilated all the way down to the ground floor. The Ukrainians say the reason why the damage is so extensive is that the Russians used a cruise missile called the KH-22. That had is designed to destroy whole aircraft carrier strike groups and when it hit the building, the building just completely collapsed and buried dozens of people underneath.

[20:30:10]

A miracle that anyone survived at all, Ukrainian authorities say. Katrina Zelenska (ph) was pulled from the rubble by rescuers hours after the strike, but her husband and one-year-old son remain unaccounted for.

And this video shows happier times for the Kornofski (ph) family. Father, Mihailo Kornofski (ph) was killed in their apartment, their distinctive yellow kitchen, like their family torn apart by the massive explosion.

15-year-old Maria was also killed in the blast. Dozens of relatives, classmates and teachers coming to pay their final respects.

She was an incredible child, her class teacher says. God is taking the best of hours. This is what happened. The Kremlin denies its forces were behind the strike, and instead claims a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile hit the building. The Ukrainian say that simply isn't true. And Dnipro's mayor tells me his city and the country need more Western air defense systems.

Western countries give us air defense systems, he tells me. But, unfortunately, it's not enough and it comes with delays. More air defense systems are the only thing that can save our civilians in our cities.

The Ukrainians say they had no chance of stopping dismissal that crashed into the residential building killing scores in an instant.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And Fred Pleitgen is joining us now live from Dnipro. So the missile strike on Saturday, dawn will soon break Tuesday morning there, is there hope there may still be anybody alive in the rubble?

PLEITGEN: Well, there isn't very much, Anderson, but still the crews here are actually working and they are still searching. I'm going to get out of your way for a second there so you can see. In fact, right now, they're using their crane to work up there in that building. That is actually the kitchen that you just saw with that family in it inside our report.

And you could see even right here in the middle of the night, it is 3:30 a.m. here, they are still looking and searching. And a senior Ukrainian official came out just couple of hours ago and said this will remain a search and rescue operation until everybody is accounted for.

Nevertheless, of course, they do acknowledge that finding anybody, you know, this late in the game would really be a miracle. And you can see they are already using this really heavy tech here to work in this area. And the Ukrainians have said, Anderson, that they've already moved away around 8,500 tons of debris in this operation.

So this is de facto turning more and more into a clearing operation even though the Ukrainians say that they are going to try and find more people if they can. there are still people who are unaccounted for. At the same time, of course, we are hearing that massive anger from the Ukrainian government, from the Ukrainian President about this strike saying that those who are behind it will be brought to justice.

And, you know, I can tell you it is really an imposing sight to see just that --

COOPER: Yes.

PLEITGEN: -- gaping hole, where a lot of families used to live and all that, of course, cause by just one massive missile, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes. Fred, if you can have your camera just push back into that shot just to see the work that's continuing to be done right now. You should point out, I mean --

PLEITGEN: Sure.

COOPER: -- given that it's been two -- more than two days, the temperatures there are freezing cold. So, obviously, if somebody was in the rubble, that would impact their -- the chances of survival, but it's certainly --

PLEITGEN: Yes --

COOPER: -- encouraging that they are still out there considering it a search and rescue operation.

PLEITGEN: Yes, it certainly is. And they're certainly still trying. And if you look up there, they seem to be doing some sort of work out there that's causing some sparks. I think one of the things that they're trying to do right now is they feel that maybe there's some room still in this building where someone might have been hiding out or someone may have been unconscious.

But as you say, with the temperatures the way that they've been out here, it's been around freezing pretty much every night and not much higher during the daytime either. It would certainly be a miracle to find anybody alive but, you know, the perseverance is certainly something that we are seeing here that is very, very large.

And you do feel that the authorities are doing their best. And as we can see here --

COOPER: Yes.

PLEITGEN: -- again 3:30 a.m. in the morning, working around the clock to see whether they can make a miracle happen, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes. Fred Pleitgen, appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up, an update on the health of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin who is now back at home. Also CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives us behind the scenes look at how an NFL medical staff prepare for game day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:38:22]

COOPER: Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was at home recovering and cheering on his teammates' playoff win Sunday, a day after he was actually healthy enough to visit them before their big win over Miami. It's now been two weeks since Hamlin took that blow to the chest while attempting to tackle during Monday night football game.

He suffered cardiac arrest and had to be revived on the field and he's made a rapid recovery since. Much of the credit for the recovery was given to the speed with which the Bills medical staff got Hamlin assistance.

On Saturday, our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta was in Jacksonville for the playoff game there. He got to read behind the scenes look at the NFL 60-minute medical meeting that happens before every game to prepare for emergencies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, the game stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now another Bills player is down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may be Hamlin.

GUPTA (voice-over): But for the emergency response team, everything was just getting started.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and go over to the cot. I don't like how he went down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to need everybody. All call. All call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring everybody. We need the air-way doc, everybody. Bring the cot with the medics. All of you. And get wheels out here.

GUPTA (voice-over): As rare as this all is, I'm going to explain now the remarkable chain of events that came together to save Damar Hamlin's life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is actually the EAP for --

GUPTA (voice-over): It starts with this.

(on camera): So, what is the EAP? What does that stand for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It stands for Emergency Action Plan.

GUPTA (on-camera): And that takes place for every game?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So basically any time or any place that players are going to be active, there has to be an emergency action plan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have been administering CPR.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The EAP was followed to a letter that night. In that moment, everyone knew what they needed to do, how they needed to do it and had the equipment to do it and felt comfortable.

[20:40:06]

GUPTA (voice over): Dr. Allen Sills is Chief Medical Officer of the NFL. He's giving me a sideline view of the preparedness that goes into every game day. And once you see this, you will probably never watch a game the same way again.

You may have missed this, pop-up blue tent. It's on every sideline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a medical exam room. Now we've kind of made this a medical space. Even in the middle of a very busy stadium. It's just so much easier to do things in here because, like I said, everybody's just more relaxed. You don't have the cameras. You don't have the fans.

GUPTA (voice-over): Or this, the injury review screen.

DR. ALLEN SILLS, NFL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: So we can be down here on the sideline and the spotter's booth, if they've seen an injury video, they'll cue it up for us, put on the video exactly what we need to see. We can ask them to run it back.

GUPTA (on camera): We can talk and we can talk (INAUDIBLE).

(voice over): The spotter's booth, they are the eyes in the sky.

(on camera): Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome, welcome.

GUPTA (on-camera): Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is another part of our game day medical preparations. And the real goal of this booth is to help spot any injuries or illnesses on the field. It can be hard to see the whole field from down here.

GUPTA (on-camera): Right.

SILLS: Probably to me one of the most unique things in sports is the spotter can directly communicate down to the referee. These people can stop the game.

SUE STANLEY-GREEN, CERTIFIED ATHLETIC TRAINER : So, we watch every - every play probably minimally four times, and then we'll go back and watch it again.

GUPTA (on-camera): Got it.

STANLEY-GREEN: And so, you know, we just want to make sure we don't miss anything.

SILLS: It's always about the right people, the right plan and the right equipment. We have almost 30 medical professionals. And everyone has a job to do.

GUPTA (voice over): ER doctors, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, paramedics, x-ray techs and airway specialists, like Dr. Justin Deaton.

DR. JUSTIN DEATON, NFL AIRWAY MANAGEMENT PHYSICIAN: So this is the bag that I carry. And it's got a number of things in here that we could use. The first thing is a portable video larynx (ph) scope. We have a portable ultrasound machine that we can use. And we also have the ability to perform surgical airways. I really have all the resources available here that I would have in an emergency room.

GUPTA (on camera): What's the biggest challenge of that scenario versus being in an emergency room?

DEATON: Well, the biggest challenge is the external environment and the chaos of the situation. When you have a larger-than-average size person that's laying flat on the ground and not able to be elevated to a certain level with extra equipment plus, you know, cameras and other people around, those are really the confounders and the things that make it more difficult to manage.

GUPTA (on-camera): How does everyone know you're the guy in charge?

DEATON: I wear a red hat on the sideline. And that signifies me as the emergency physician, the airway physician, so that even the other team knows when I come out what my role is.

GUPTA (voice over): Every game comes with new lessons. For example, on September 25th, when Miami Dolphin Tua Tagovailoa stumbled after a hit, he was allowed back in the game. That won't happen again.

SILLS: You know, we changed the protocol earlier this year when you and I spoke to say, if we see something that looks like ataxia on video, they're also done.

GUPTA (voice-over): And as the teams all warm up, there is one final, crucial step.

(on-camera): Every time I'm in the operating room we do something known as a time-out. Everyone stops what they're doing and makes sure that everyone's on the same page. This is the same sort of thing that's happening here behind me. It's called a 60-minute meeting. It happens 60 minutes before every game. A chance for all the medical professionals to make sure that they know who each other are, and make sure that they know who's going to do what if there's some sort of crisis out on the field.

DR. KEVIN KAPLAN, HEAD PHYSICIAN ORTHOPEDICS FOR THE JAGUARS: All right, so let's start with introductions so that everybody's familiar with the medical staff that's here at the game. I'm Kevin Kaplan, head team physician orthopedics for the Jaguars.

DEATON: Justin Deaton, Airway Management Physician.

KAPLAN: So, the most important thing, Justin is going to be on our 30- yard line. He stands just to our right. If a player goes down, obviously, he won't know if it's orthopedic or internal medicine. He'll step out onto the field. Our all-call sign is an x. So if you need him to come out, he will come out with an x.

All of the important equipment, airway, defibrillator, all the medications are all behind him with our paramedics on our sideline. If a player needs to get taken off of the field, the ambulance is going to be in the tunnel to your right. If you need anything at all, we'll be out there for you guys if you need us. Otherwise, hopefully we have a safe and healthy game. Good luck.

GUPTA (on camera): Now, keep in mind, the medical team was able to get to Damar Hamlin within 10 seconds. And speed really matters here. Every additional minute that someone in cardiac arrest goes without CPR, mortality goes up by up to 10 percent.

SILLS: This is a process that's in place for every single game. And we train in the off-season. And just like the players train and practice, we do as well. So, I have tremendous confidence. But you always want to see a game with no injuries and you want everyone to, frankly, be bored on the medical standpoint, that's a good game from my standpoint.

GUPTA (on-camera): I hear you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[20:45:04]

COOPER: And Sanjay joins me now. So you highlight how in an incident involving the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins he kept playing after he stumbled. Given the NFL spotters and elaborate protocols, how did that happen? GUPTA: Well, it's very interesting with that particular situation because they saw it. And when that happens when someone goes down, they're looking at what happened from several different angles. And in candor, you know, he probably should have come out at that point. I think that's what most people thought.

But there are these no-go criteria, Anderson, where they say, absolutely, if someone has these criteria, they're going to not be able to play for the rest of the game. Loss of consciousness, confusion, amnesia, something known as an impact seizure, that would be, you know, someone who has a seizure, obviously, they're not going to be playing.

Also, you remember the fencing response that -- to a hat and a subsequent game four days later, where his hands were curling up, that's, say -- that's a no-go criteria as well. But that stumbled that you saw, that's the fencing response you see on TV, but the stumble that you saw is something known as ataxia when someone has an imbalance.

And that wasn't a no-go criteria before September 25. They reviewed it and it is now. So, you know, this is the sort of evolution of the game.

COOPER: Yes.

GUPTA: There have been 50 rule changes in football over the last 20 years. It's fundamentally changing probably just about every year.

COOPER: Yes. That's Sanjay Gupta. Great. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Just ahead, Italy's most wanted mafia boss arrested today finally on the run for decades. We'll explain how authorities got him.

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[20:50:32]

COOPER: Italy's Prime Minister hailed the capture today of its most wanted man mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro as a great victory. Denaro had been on the run for decades convicted in absentia for dozens of murders, including that a two anti-mafia prosecutors, as well as the torture and murder of a young boy, the son of a man who gave evidence against the Sicilian mob.

CNN Contributor Barbie Latza Nadeau has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Messina Denaro was last seen publicly in 1993 shortly before he went into hiding after he was convicted in absentia for the assassinations of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, both killed in separate targeted bombings in 1992.

Police have been searching for him ever since. Messina Denaro is thought to have led the Cosa Nostra mafia in Sicily since the arrest of his predecessor, Bernardo Provenzano, who was captured near the infamous Sicilian town of Corleone in 2006.

Messina Denaro has multiple convictions for murder, including the kidnapping and death of a 12-year-old boy whose body was dissolved in acid. Despite evading police for so long, there was cause for celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAURIZIO BELLACOSA, LUISS UNIVERSITY: The arrest is a very, very important event. Obviously, Mr. Matteo Messina Denaro is the keeper of fundamental secrets in very delicate matter. As for example, the reasons of the most serious mafia crimes or the possible connivance between political subjects and mafia leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU (voice-over): Italy's New Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was in Palermo to celebrate the spectacular arrest. She said, the war against the mafia is not over. But this was a battle that was fundamental to win. And it's a hard hit to organize crime.

Now, the so-called Boss of Bosses will be held in a high security prison. And authorities fear his replacement is likely already on the job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NADEAU: And you know, Anderson, when you look at these authorities, you're going to be looking at a couple of different things. You're going to want to know who was complicit in keeping this man under cover for 30 years. They're going to wonder exactly who would protected him, but they're also looking at who's in charge now.

That's really important, because just because they've got him behind bars, doesn't mean that's an end of the criminal enterprise in Sicily. Anderson?

COOPER: Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Perspective now on this high-profile capture from our Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller, the NYPD's former Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence And Counterterrorism. How do you think he's been able to evade authority? I mean, Sicily is pretty small. Has he been there the whole time?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I don't think so. I think he has traveled out of Italy and back in but how. The same way El Chapo did for years and Mexico and then escaped, and then did it again. The same way Pablo Escobar did it in Colombia.

You have the resources, the money, the support people around you in the mafia, but you also have the allegiance of some people who romanticize the mafia, but the fear of all of them. So for the authorities, it's a real challenge getting through all those layers. COOPER: You've been covering them up since what, this seven days?

MILLER: Yes.

COOPER: Yes. And it's amazing to me that this stuff is still so powerful in -- I mean, obviously, there's still a presence, obviously, in the United States, but it's not what it was. It's certainly in New York, at least, that it's so powerful that somebody like this can stay on the loose for so long.

MILLER: Well, I think if you look at the power of what occurred today, in Italy, announced by the National Chief of Police, lauded in a public statement by the Prime Minister, this was a big deal, because in Italy, and we just talked about Colombia, Mexico cartel bosses very well, resource gangsters, you know, there has been a tradition going back to the -- well going way back.

Where the question is, who really runs the show? Is it the government or is it the mafia so entrenched, such a driver of fear and the Italian government and the people who work for the police and the magistrates have paid a tremendous price for this?

COOPER: I mean, this guy has gone after and killed others who went against him.

MILLER: While he was on the run. He was tried multiple times in absentia including for the bombing of the magistrates and the police officers who were targeting his father, another mob boss for whom he took over and then later him.

[20:55:14]

When he allegedly murdered the prosecutors who were targeting his mob family and his father, they couldn't get close enough to them to put a bomb under their car.

So they built a massive bomb underneath the highway that they took on the way home and blew up the whole highway, killing the prosecutors Judge Falcone and Judge Borsellino but that's the level and determination of violence. And Italy is taken that on by determination, courage, and then more courage.

COOPER: Does this apprehension have ripple effects in the mafia in the United States?

MILLER: So everything that happens in organized crime has a ripple that's felt in New York. Denaro's mob family dealt heavily in narcotics. They were hooked up with a subgroup called 'Ndrangheta which has an arm in New York City that deals with the Gambino family here.

So right now, whether you're talking about in Palermo, in Rome, with the government, what will be the reaction from the mob? Will there be more violence? Whether you're talking about certain houses in Queens, New York, people are watching this very closely to see what happens next. COOPER: So fascinating. John Miller, thank you so much.

In a moment, a special edition in 360, my 60 Minutes interview with Prince Harry about the release of his new memoir, "Spare." It's an intimate revealing portrait, obviously the British Royal Family and Prince Harry's lifelong struggle with grief. Since the interview aired, the publisher Penguin Random House reported that the Prince's memoir had the largest first day sales of any nonfiction book it's ever published when the 1.4 million copies sold.

Again, my interview with Prince Harry is next along with discussion of correspondents and guests of what he said about his family including his mom.

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