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Officials: No Survivors In Midair Collision; 67 Believed Dead; Recovery Effort Unfolds For 67 Victims Of Passenger Jet-Chopper Crash; Trump Lashes Out At DEI, Dems Amid Crash Recovery Effort; FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel Faces Confirmation Hearing. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 30, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We are anticipating a press briefing from the NTSB in the next hour or so.

Plenty more news to come on this and other things also on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. This is an unbearable mission now facing the teams trying to recover bodies from the scene of the disaster. We're going to find out more in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Welcome back. I'm Brianna Keilar at Reagan National Airport, where there is a recovery operation going on right next to the runway the planes have just resumed taking off of. It -- it's really an eerie scene that this airport is operational.

[13:35:01]

As you see these live pictures coming to you. This is the scene. This is what people who are flying into and out of this airport are seeing.

And inside, with so many flights canceled, it's really kind of stunning. There is a sadness at this airport. And it is just stunning what has happened here in this airport that services our community here in the nation's capital.

I want to bring in Dr. Ben Abo, who is an EMS and disaster physician.

Doctor, thanks for being with us.

This was just so tough. I mean, this was -- last night, this was what all of my friends were texting each other about. And we -- we're just thinking back to the 1982 flight and hoping, knowing that obviously that was a different crash, but just hoping there would be survivors.

Talk to us a little bit about this because there are no survivors, and these conditions were very tough for anyone to survive.

DR. BEN ABO, EMS & DISASTER PHYSICIAN: This is absolutely tragic. And in the immediate moments after, I was very cautiously optimistic about things. You know, if -- when you have traumatic injuries and things, you --

you have to hope and kind of see. And there are, of course, times where people can survive, but it's so unlikely in times like this, traumatic injuries, it's so cold being in the water.

This -- the really is reminiscent even to -- to earthquakes and even what we had the Surfside building collapse down in Miami where we were initially in that hopeful recovery rescue phase and then into the recovery.

But there's a lot of things that they had to battle against. And so the chances were not high.

KEILAR: Yes. And their -- rescuers speak to this. Rescuers are still battling against that today. What they do have on their side today for the recovery is that they have daylight.

But this is a really difficult mission. Talk to us about this as they're diving. I mean, the water yesterday when this happened was about 35 degrees. We've had this cold snap here in Washington. What are what are recovery folks up against?

ABO: So similar to if it was in rescue mode. But during recovery, we still have the elements that we need to battle. We're dealing with air supply issues.

You're talking about places where it could be anything from seven feet down to, I think, 24 and even more feet deep. Who knows what's in there. You have hypothermia to deal with. You have to have dehydration that we all have to deal with.

It's -- its a blessing that now they have daylight. But the daylight only kind of creeps through with where we have to search through a lot of things where -- you know, the daylight helps with the up top operations or surfside surface area, but not necessarily underwater.

So it really i's all of the elements coming together in something that's already very technical, very hazardous, and just truly very dangerous.

KEILAR: And, Dr. Abo, talk about the psychological toll. Because we saw so many people responding to this last night. They've been working overnight. They're continuing today. Such a sad outcome.

ABO: Absolutely. This -- the is only the beginning for a lot of the psychological stress for everybody. This is -- this is the rescuers. This is the recoverers. This is those who are trying to come in to help. This is the families. This is the survivors.

And it's going to be a very emotional roller coaster where there's a lot of things to deal with where we still have our jobs to deal with. And it's going to come back to haunt us time and time again.

Not to mention what it can trigger emotionally and psychologically for all of our recovery and rescue operators and investigators to other events.

KEILAR: Yes. No -- no doubt that it does that.

Dr. Abo, thank you so much. We do appreciate your time.

[13:39:27]

And up next, we have much more on our coverage of this crash at Washingtons Reagan National Airport. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: And we're back now with our breaking news coverage on the deadly collision between a jet and a military helicopter here in Washington, D.C., a crash that officials say left no survivors.

The NTSB is going to be holding a press conference here in the next hour. Pardon me.

And this morning, President Trump blamed this accident, without citing any evidence, on diversity initiatives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because I have common sense. OK? And unfortunately, a lot of people don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now, live, is Tennessee Garvey. He's a pilot and the chair of the Board of Directors for the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.

[13:45:00]

Tennessee, the president really taking aim at air traffic control in his remarks earlier. But I just wonder what your reaction is to what he said.

TENNESSEE GARVEY, PILOT & CHAIR, ORGANIZATION OF BLACK AEROSPACE PROFESSIONALS: Well, Brianna, thanks for having me.

And I will say his remarks were very concerning. Concerning because, when it comes to diversity hiring, diversity hiring initiatives have never been attributed to any aviation accidents or incidents.

So it sends the wrong information. And it also sends miscommunication about truly what diversity hiring is,

KEILAR: I mean, tell us a little bit more about it when you say it's never been used in this regard before. GARVEY: Sure. So when it comes to diversity hiring initiatives, it's

the -- the reason why organizations like OBAP, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, exists, it's really to create opportunities to under-represented communities for those that, you know, have that dream about pursuing a career within aviation, aerospace.

The intent by corporations to make an effort to reach these individuals is to, you know, give them access to an opportunity that, historically, there have been barriers that have prevented individuals from achieving these goals or from achieving these career aspirations.

So to say that DEI is a cause of, you know, the accident last night, it's -- its very unfortunate because that's not what DEI is. It's all about, you know, breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for those that may not naturally have access to these opportunities.

KEILAR: He seems to be saying that there's an indication that shows that you then have people in the career pipeline who are subpar when it comes to skills. And in this case, specifically, he kept narrowing in on like, psychological aptitude. I mean, have you ever seen anything like that?

GARVEY: Brianna, I've been in this industry for the past 22 years. I've never seen anything like that.

What I can say is that when it comes to any aviation aerospace professional within this industry, irrespective of your -- your skin color, your gender, your religion, we're all held -- we're all held to the same standard.

So there's very stringent standards in place that have allowed, you know, especially aviation within the United States, to be very safe. And you know, irrespective of your background and, again, or your skin color, everyone has to go through the same training program.

And whether you're a pilot or air traffic controller, there's also a current training built into the process to maintain a very high level of proficiency and skill set.

So to say that, you know, because its -- you know, because somebody may look like myself or, you know, they may be, you know, what's called DEI hirer, that's not the case. There have been never lowering of any standards.

So yes, you know, there's a conscientious effort, you know, across the industry to get more diverse individuals in this space. But when it comes down to, you know, having a skill set or, you know, possessing the necessary know how with the FAA, which is the governing body, they are standards in place. Those standards have never changed.

I will say, over the years, I've seen those standards increase just because we are all about learning from incidents or accidents that have happened in the past. So, you know, like this.

I will say our heart goes out to the families involved, of the 67 lives that were lost last night. But you know, we are going to be better. We're going to learn from this. And we're going to make sure that this industry stays safe.

KEILAR: And, Tennessee, you're a pilot. As you hear what has been reported so far, what we have learned from officials, what questions do you have about what happened here last night?

GARVEY: So with what happened last night, I've flown into DCA countless times. I've done that very same approach. So, you know, there are so many like myself where we're asking questions.

And I mean, right now, they're still in the recovery process. But I have very high confidence that, you know, with the investigation that's to follow, that some of those questions that myself and others have will get answered.

But you know, again, just like Senator Gary Peters said, I just want to emphasize it's very important that we stick to the facts. There's going to be misinformation that's going to be coming out.

And I think the investigation, just like any other accident or incident, you know, will basically tell the story as to why and how we can prevent this from happening again.

But as a pilot, first and foremost, to the crew that lost their lives and to the family involved, we just want to -- you know, that's where my heart is right now.

But with the investigation to follow, I know we're going to be learning from this.

KEILAR: Tennessee Garvey, we do appreciate you. Thank you so much for being with us.

One of the American Airlines pilots has been confirmed as a victim over --after the midair collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

[13:50:02]

And we've learned that his name is Samuel Lilley. He was 28 years old. Lilley was the first officer on the flight that crashed over D.C. last night.

His father, Timothy, tells the TV station in Atlanta that, quote, "This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life."

Timothy, who served 20 years as a helicopter pilot in the Army, was in New York for work when he realized that his son was in the cockpit at the time of the accident.

He said he initially couldn't believe it was his son's flight, but when Sam failed to check in, his worst fears were realized.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:07]

SANCHEZ: We'll have more on that deadly midair collision at DCA in just a moment.

But right now, we are following news on the Hill where some of President Donald Trump's most controversial picks for his administration are facing confirmation hearings today.

Among them, FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, who vowed to Senators today that there would be, quote, "no politicization at the bureau."

But Democratic Senators confronted him with some of his own words, including his list of, quote, "corrupt actors from the Deep State" detailed in his book, "Government Gangsters."

Now, Patel denies the names are an enemies list. He calls the allegations a quote, "total mischaracterization."

CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid, is on Capitol Hill following Patel's hearing.

Paula, bring us up to speed with what's happening.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, Patel has repeatedly been pressed about his prior comments about law enforcement and accusations that he is anti-law enforcement.

He's gotten a lot of questions about President Trump's decision to pardon nearly everyone involved in January 6th, including giving relief to those who we're involved in violence that day.

Let's take a listen to what Patel had to say about that clemency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: I'm asking, was he wrong to do it?

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE: As we discussed in our private meeting, Senator, I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement.

And I have, including in that group, specifically, addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6th. And I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: So somewhat surprising you hearing Patel put a little bit of daylight between him and the president, something that is rare in a nominee.

But he also pointed to former President Biden's decision to commute the sentence of a man who killed two FBI officers back in 1975. Now, Patel continues to face questions. He is trying to convince

lawmakers that he will not pursue any perceived political enemies. If he's in this job, he will only conduct investigations that have a, quote, "factual basis."

But it is unclear if that's going to be enough to convince his skeptics.

SANCHEZ: Now we'll have to wait and see during the vote.

Paula Reid, live on Capitol Hill for us, thank you so much.

We are continuing to follow the breaking news. A source telling CNN that more bodies have been recovered over the past hour from the wreckage of the plane and helicopter collision over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

Stay with CNN. We're back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)