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NTSB: Missing Part Of Alaska Airlines Plane Found In Portland Yard; Source: Senior Hezbollah Commander Killed In Israeli Strike In Lebanon; GOP Candidates Campaign In Iowa With One Week Until Caucuses. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A violent explosive event. That is how the lead investigator is describing what happened in the air when a piece of the Alaska Airlines night just blew off.

[09:00:01]

The pieces the NTSB has now recovered and the new questions about earlier warning lights on this very same plane.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Gird your loins. The Iowa caucuses are next week. So, he has a big lead in the polls, but what does Donald Trump fear most this morning? A, Nikki Haley, B, expectations, or, C, the long arm of the law?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, questions and scrutiny at the Pentagon after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin kept his hospitalization secret, leaving President Biden, lawmakers and top Pentagon officials in the dark for days. The latest on that fallout.

I'm Sara Sidner. Our Kate Bolduan and John Berman are here with me. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(MUSIC)

BOLDUAN: This morning, Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets are all grounded, meaning hundreds of flights forced to be canceled as investigators are urgently trying to figure out why a big chunk of an Alaska Airlines plane tore off mid-flight. A huge hole and a ton of questions left behind.

Some of the new details today and the month before Friday's terrifying 20 minutes in the air, a pressurization warning light had gone off three times. That led Alaska Airlines to actually restrict the plane from flying over water on long-haul trips to ensure it could return quickly to an airport, if necessary.

On Friday, passengers describe a violent explosion when the plane's door plug blew off shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, and then head rests were torn off. Extra oxygen masks were sheered off. Some seats were even twisted from the force of the depressurization. One passenger says a child's shirt was ripped off from it.

Thankfully, the two seats directly next to what became a massive hole were not occupied on this plane.

Also this morning, a crucial piece of evidence has been recovered. The refrigerator-sized door plug found in someone's backyard in Portland but another key piece of the investigation has been lost, the cockpit voice recording. The NTSB says it was completely overridden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NTSB: We can learn a lot from that cockpit voice recorder. We have urged the FAA to extend the cockpit voice recorder time for two hours to 25 hours because we want to hear communications, noise, alerts on the flight deck which may help us prevent future tragedies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Mike Valerio is in Portland. CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is in D.C.

Pete, let's start with you. What's the latest on the investigation now?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, major developments here about this violent, explosive, and terrifying event. The NTSB has inspected the interior and the exterior of the plane featuring that twisted and contorted seat metal from that 400 miles per hour rush of air through that refrigerator-sized opening in the left side of the fuselage. The big development, this is the smoking gun here. The piece that fell off of the plane has been found.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy rushed back to the podium last night to announce that, found in the backyard of a Portland schoolteacher. We only know his first name. It is Bob.

That part is known as a door plug, and it fills a spot on the plane where an optional door could be installed at the Boeing factory. Finding this is key because it will hold some major clues. The NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy just told me, was this a mechanical failure? Was this a manufacturing defect by Boeing or its contractors? That is the key because the airplane is only months old, took its first flight October 15 and flew 150 flights for Alaska airlines.

Investigators also now say a pressurization warning light came on in the plane three times before this incident, once the just day before, it and that caused Alaska to restrict this plane from long flights over water like to Hawaii. Could have been an early warning, and it's something that investigators are probing but are still unclear about. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMENDY: That alert that illuminated those three times certainly is very disconcerting to our investigators, and we want to look at that, but it may have absolutely nothing to do with what occurred in the cabin of the aircraft on that -- during that event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: What is missing from this investigation? The audio from the cockpit voice recorder, that was overwritten automatically. Homendy calls that very disappointing. There's been a push to make recorders retain information for even longer, 25 hours.

Still a lot of info out there, though. During the depressurization, the cockpit door blew open. Investigators have been able to tell that. Also the pilots' headsets and checklists were thrown by the force of the depressurization.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only two U.S. airlines operating these Boeing 737 MAX-9s.

[09:05:03]

They are still grounded this morning, awaiting new details on inspections mandated by the FAA. United Airlines canceled 279 MAX 9 flights over the weekend -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Pete, thanks for being on top of it.

BERMAN: All right. CNN's Mike Valerio is in Portland, Oregon.

Where this investigation is taking place on the ground, Mike? What are you seeing?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know, I think it's important to mention here in Portland that there are two critical human dimensions that are playing out. There are members of the public who, of course, found the door plug that we've been talking about for the past couple of minutes and also the members of the public who found one but not two cell phones that fell out of the compartment blown out of there from 16,000 feet.

But I think it's the most important element of the story line at this very early morning hour to talk about the passengers who experienced these harrowing moments, our worst nightmare. So when this happened just a few minutes into the flight, it was a violent, intense feeling of an explosion happening 26 rows behind people who are sitting up in front.

And a lot of people did not know what was going on, Jon. It wasn't until the aircraft landed safely, thank God, that people turned around and saw a hole in the back of the aircraft.

So, we're going to play you a sound fight in a couple of seconds from a passenger Stephanie King, and she's describing when you listen to here of ice actually coming in the plane and being sucked out by the pressurized air coming out of that hole.

Listen what she told us over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE KING, PASSENGER (via telephone): It was really, really scary, as you can imagine, initially when the piece flew off, there was almost multiple explosions, and it -- at first it felt like all of the air from outside rushed into the cabin, and particles were flying everywhere. I'm not sure what that was, if it was ice or debris from the plane itself, but it came forward, and then it got sucked back out very dramatically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So in her video, which we watched all of, it continues on for another minute or two. It's such a beautiful poignant moment. When the plane lands and everybody erupts in applause, applauding the flight crew, the pilots who made the safe return possible.

And I will tell you such a dramatic cop draft from the intensity of the moment to how calm everybody remained in all the video that we've seen over the weekend.

So moving to the people, let's start with Bob. God bless Bob was the quote from the chair of the NTSB late last night when we were in the news conference. Everybody brought back into the room when the first news conference ended and the chair said and came become and say Bob found the door plug.

We don't have any photos as of yet. So, we're going to be looking for those later today. Two cell phones again found in perfect working condition, so we'll see what else the investigators are working on today. Probably hocking at portions of that door plug under a microscope and deciding which portions of the door plug to send back east to NTSB headquarters, John.

BERMAN: All right. Mike Valerio on the ground in Portland with Bob and many others -- Mike, thank you very much for that reporting. Keep us posted.

VALERIO: You bet.

SIDNER: All right. We certainly need to discuss this morning, I'm joined by airline analyst John Strickland. He's also the director of the air transport consulting firm JLS Consulting.

Thank you so much for coming in and talking about this today.

Look, so many of us fly. The 737s have been a problem in the past. They were grounded I think in 2019 for a year and a half after a couple of crashes involving the MAX 8 aircraft that killed 346 people.

I mean, can you give us some sense of is this a different incident? Is this something else wrong with the 737? Is this just a fluke, or is there a major problem with the 737s?

JOHN STRICKLAND, AIRLINE ANALYST: Well, yes, you're right. The 737 MAX family, at that time it was the MAX series 8 which had the two tragic fatal crashes that resulted in the 18-month grounding. The 9 was not in service at that point, but it is another member of the same family. The incident of the fuselage panel, that blocked off the optional

emergency door that detached on the Alaska Airlines flight is something quite different to the cause of those two fatal crashes and the reason for the grounding. That was a piece of software used by the pilots on the flight damage of the MCAS system. It was something which caused both crashes which had to be completely reworked before that aircraft was able to get back to being recertified as a safe aircraft and commercial operation.

[19:10:00]

It also, of course, affected Boeing as a company which lost an enormous amount of trust and confidence during that period, and they had to work hard to brick that back and rehabilitate the aircraft into service.

So, last week's incident quite different. We don't know what caused it yet. I think as one your reporters commented there.

It's important. This is also quite a new aircraft, only about two months off the production line. We wouldn't expect something like this to happen on any well-maintained aircraft be it old or young but certainly it's particularly surprising to get this news of a very new aircraft.

I don't think it reflects a wider problem with the 737. The 737 itself as a type goes back to the 1960s. It's a tried and tested aircraft which has been modified, updated into far more advanced technology versions such as the MAX that we're flying on today. It's delivered millions of hours of service and carried of millions of people around this. We need to get to the bottom of this problem as quick as possible and keep all folks safe.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, I've certainly -- and I know my colleagues have flown a lot of 737s in our lifetime with all of the traveling that we to. I do want to ask you something that "The Seattle Times" reported that according to Alaskan Airlines, in the days before this particular incident, pilots had filed several reports of warning lights that indicated some sort of loss of cabin pressure and that the plane was restricted from long distance flight over water as a result.

Should this plane have just been grounded, period?

STRICKLAND: Well, it's difficult to comment without knowing more than those facts. We have heard that, and we heard from the lead there in your report from the accident investigation team that this is something of interest, of concern, too. There can be many warnings generated on flights every day to pilots, largely these are quite routine.

Pilots report it or more and more these days automatically from data systems through aircraft flight jet decks to the ground engineering maintenance control teams. It's difficult to say what the significance of the pressurization warnings were. It seems potentially more than coincidental, but it could have been something very, very minor. It could have been something completely different. Pressurization embraces a lot of elements on a aircraft, but certainly

that needs to be checked out, worked out as quickly as possible.

SIDNER: Absolutely. There's a lot of people who fear flying is a real thing and to see this is terrifying.

John Strickland, thank you so much for giving us this analysis this morning. Appreciate you.

Kate?

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking us.

BOLDUAN: And we do have breaking news just into CNN. A senior Hezbollah commander has been killed by an Israeli drone strike in his car in southern Lebanon today. That's according to a Lebanese security source and also according to Hezbollah.

This is the most senior Hezbollah militant to be killed by Israel since the daily exchange of fire has been happening across the Israel- Lebanon border since the October 7 terror attack by Hamas.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv joining us now.

Nic, bring us up to speed. What are you learning about this attack and about this man?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, he was Hezbollah commander, senior commander from what we understand, and I think we get a sense of just how senior he was through the people, photographs of the people that he's met. He was photographed with Qassam Soleimani, the top Iranian general that the U.S. killed in a drone strike four years ago. He was photographed with Hezbollah's spiritual leader Hassan Nasrallah, top figure there. He was photographed with Imad Mughniyeh, responsible for a horrendous attack on U.S. forces back in the 1980s in Beirut, so he's been associated with some very senior figures within Iran, within Lebanon and within the fight against Israel.

So Israel is not saying they are responsible for this strike. Of course, it does bear their hallmarks. It does appear to be something of an escalation. They were operating fighter jets, drones in that area and helicopters as well where they have taken out a couple of sites where they said anti-tank mills were launched in their positions across the border inside of Israel.

So they were certainly operational there, and the reason that this will cause a little concern that this could look like a potential escalation is because over the weekend, Hezbollah fired 62 missiles, they said, at an Israeli military base on the top of a mountain near the border with Lebanon which they said was in response for the killing of that Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri, Wednesday last week in Beirut.

They said they would take revenge for it, and that was the biggest strike yet on an Israeli military base, so if this looks like potential for escalation, it may or may not be, but it's certainly going to feel hike it to a lot of Hezbollah people on the ground in southern Lebanon.

BOLDUAN: Nic Robertson, great to see you, Nic. Thanks so much for the update. Stay on top of it.

SIDNER: All right. Coming up, we are one week away, finally, the Iowa caucuses is coming up with Trump still way out in front in the polls. What the other candidates are saying about where they plan to finish?

And to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin still in the hospital this morning after complications from an elective surgery. Why it took so long for him to inform the president and his second in command.

Also, big wins for "Succession", "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" at the golden globes. We'll have highlights from the first show in a busy award season. That's ahead.

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[09:20:24]

BERMAN: The Iowa caucuses are next week, so what are the candidates doing about it?

CNN's Kylie Atwood is in Sioux City, Iowa, this morning.

Lay it out for us, Kylie.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A flurry of activity here over the weekend with Trump, DeSantis and Haley all in the state this morning. We're at a Nikki Haley event, and we should however, that over the weekend, DeSantis really -- Trump really escalated his attacks on Nikki Haley.

We've seen him go after DeSantis for a number of months here, but going after Haley, saying that she's going to sell out voters, being critical of a Democratic billionaire who's donated to her, a whole host of attacks, clearly trying to blunt her from gaining any momentum at the Iowa caucus if she were to do well and telling voters not to act like he's up by 35 percent here in Iowa but to act like he's up only 1 percent. And also telling him that he believes they'll still vote for him here in the Iowa caucus.

Listen to what he said to voters on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: You know, backstage, they say to me, sometimes, sir, don't tell them that they are going to vote for you. That sounds so demeaning. I said I got 'em $28 billion for their farmers. Of course, they're going to vote -- we're going to win Iowa so big. I got them $28 billion. Of course, I'm going to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ATWOOD: Now, DeSantis telling voters here in Iowa that he's in it for the long haul, effectively saying if he doesn't do well in the state he's still going to continue battling it out in the Republican primary process. And Haley for her part saying that she hears people who are telling her that she should hit Trump more but telling voters that she's just not going to do it.

She has hit Trump. She's defended herself on specific policy issue, but when it comes to questions about Trump's ability to defend democracy or about the four criminal court cases that he's currently facing, she really hasn't hitting him on those issues. She's been focusing on her electability telling them how she would beat Biden, if it were her versus Biden in the actually voting that's November of later this year.

And we're out with two ads, the Haley campaign out with two ads over the weekend, new ads, focusing on her electability saying she's not a name of the past like Trump and like Biden and also focusing on her pro-life position. Of course, that's important for evangelicals here in Iowa.

And we should note, guys, she has spent more than $7 million in the state since the beginning of the year. That's her campaign and those are the PACs that are supporting her. That's more than the two candidates combined, DeSantis and Trump.

BERMAN: If you've got it, you got to spend it.

Kylie Atwood in Sioux City, Iowa, this morning, thanks so much.

Kate?

BOLDUAN: No reason to hold on to it at this point.

Joining us right now is CNN senior political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings, and CNN political commentator, Republican strategist Alice Stewart.

The final week before the first votes, friends. Alice, we know one thing in the last seven days, they are important to say the very least, but what's the most important focus as someone who has been on the ground and you know Iowa strategy for a Republican campaign.

What is the most important focus for these campaigns in these last few days?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't know about you, Kate and Scott, but I couldn't be more excited about the next week ahead as we're all inside baseball on politics. So, the most important thing, all three of these candidates have done the job of getting out there -- of getting their message out there on television on the debate stage and in the newspaper and online.

The most important thing this last week is connecting with the voters, making sure voters understands, hey, this person really understands what I'm going through, this person understands what it's like to have to put food on the table because one of the most important characteristics of voters in electing someone is their policies for sure, but likability.

These candidates have to become likable to these voters for them to come out and vote and also, Kate, look, it's cold. You've been out there in these early states. Scott has been out there in Iowa and New Hampshire. It's really cold and we have snow in the forecast and single-digit temperatures next week.

You have to really motivate someone and get people to really be invested in your campaign to get them out in the cold tell tours on a cold Iowa caucus night to get them out there. So that's another thing is motivating and really boosting up the enthusiasm with your voting base.

BOLDUAN: Get the hand warmers ready for sure.

STEWART: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Scott, Kylie Atwood was laying out some of the final pitch, the final argument that we are hearing from the candidates. Part of that final pitch is also, I'm interested in, how they are responding to and attacking each other.

Let me play this for you from the weekend.

[09:25:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Nikki Haley and Ron aren't working for your interests the they are working for the interests of other nations and themselves and so are those two. Nikki would sell you out just like she sold me out.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you watch the speeches and compare that to the Trump of '16, this is not the same candidate by any stretch of the imagination.

NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For those who want me to hit Trump more, I just am not going to do it. I told you -- I'm not going to do it. If he lies about me, I'll call him out on it. If he's done something wrong, whether it's the economy or how he talks about dictators and those things, I'll call him out on every one of those issues. But I just think politics is personal enough, and I think let's focus on the issues and getting America back on track.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JENNINGS: Scott, what do you hear in all of that?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think DeSantis has been steadily building a case that he delivers on promises and Trump doesn't. That's obviously become the core of his message, and he's really delivered it quite well in his public appearances, so you're going continue to hear that. With Haley, you know, I still get the feeling she's trying to have it

somewhat both ways. She's trying to be the candidate that appeals to the folks who are desperate to move on from Trump but is also trying to throw a few lines in the water to Trump fans out there who maybe at the last minute decide to change their mind. I don't think there's many votes for her there in that fishing hole, but I guess we'll find out.

I do think the expectations for both DeSantis and Haley here are critical. I mean, obviously, Trump has had a massive lead in the polling. Haven't had a lot of polling out of Iowa since mid-December, however, and we may see more this week. We'll see if anything has changed.

But the real question for DeSantis can he reel in Trump? I don't know if he has to win the caucus, but if here to say reel him into single digits that would be a huge night.

For Haley, expectations were lower. If she were able to jump over DeSantis and do a surprise second place finish even if she was far back of Trump that would be a big night for her. So as much as the policy and the attacks and the juxtaposition, it's the expectation- setting that I think you're going to hear out of the campaigns this week.

BOLDUAN: That's interesting.

I also want to get you guys both on this. President Biden is headed to South Carolina today, and he's going to be doing -- giving a speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church. South Carolina's Jim Clyburn, he was on CNN Sunday, his words we know carry weight with the Biden team. He helped save Biden's primary campaign in 2020.

Clyburn says that he is worried about Biden's standing with Black voters right now. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): I'm very concerned, and I have sat down with President Biden. My problem is that we have not been able to break through that MAGA wall in order to get to people exactly what this president has done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Alice, what do you hear in that answer from Clyburn?

STEWART: Well, it's interesting. We're hearing the same thing from him as we heard from former President Barack Obama, and their concerns about Biden not being able to connect with black voters, also Hispanic voters. He's losing support amongst them.

But the reality is, look, they can blame it on the MAGA wall all they want. It's not the MAGA wall they need to break through. It's the perception by the people. Look, Biden is on the water on many cross-tabs with regard to

inflation, the economy, security, education. Those are issues that are real, and despite the fact that the Biden straights may tout these successes, people don't feel that way, and it's not a messaging issue. It's a reality issue.

So they need to make sure and hopefully turn these numbers around with regard to the economy, maybe hope for some type of cease-fire in Gaza and certainly progress on the border. Those kind of progress points will be able to help turn things around with Black voters and Hispanics and others.

But, look, they have a lot more to worry about than how these being perceived by the so-called MAGA wall.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. It's not just talking about it. It's make people hear it and believe it.

STEWART: Right.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you both. Lots more to discuss. Thank you so much, guys.

STEWART: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And a reminder to all of you, programming note, this Wednesday 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Jake Tapper, Dana Bash moderating CNN's Republican presidential debate live from Iowa.

SIDNER: And still ahead, the latest from the Pentagon as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized. He has now apologized for a lack of transparency. We know even the number two at the Pentagon learned of his hospitalization days after he was admitted to the hospital. We'll talk about it coming up.

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