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NTSB Gives Interview to Reporters About Plane Crash at Denver International; An Update on Recovery of Little Youssif; A Look at Viewer Email of Visits with Santa.
Aired December 21, 2008 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Two thousand feet short of the end of the runway, the Boeing 737 veered off into the grass there and it ended up on fire in a ravine, 200 yards away. Fire fighters say it's a miracle that nobody was killed. And again, we are awaiting the news conference from the NTSB and we'll bring that to you as soon as that happens.
In the meantime, our Susan Roesgen is there in Denver. And she's been hearing from a number of people will be able to get back with her momentarily to find out exactly what those passengers actually went through. It's still unclear whether it was all weather-related. But we do know across the country, weather is terrible.
Let's check in with our Bonnie Schneider who is in the weather center.
And so, Bonnie, a little mixed bag. We've got snow; we've got sleet, rain. Yes.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And wind -- wind is a big factor in the weather-makers because we're getting some huge travel delays due to brisk winds behind different storms, at least there's three of them that we're tracking right now across the United States. What you'll find right now is still some rain sweeping across coastal New England. And then to the Northeast, we are getting more heavy snow. We already had a batch of snow Friday night in this region. Now, we are getting more of it.
And to chronicle this all for you, we have Shawn Ramsey who is an iReporter. And he has some great pictures of what it looked like in his area in Arundel, Maine. This is just next to Kennebunk Port. That's his home. It doesn't look too bad.
Let's move these pictures along and we can show that you we've got more to show you in this iReport. There's three other pictures. This is his backyard, the deck. And now you can see how the snow is really piling high. And we can't forget what makes us love the snow, our pets. There's Shawn's dog, Dixie, pretty much leg deep in snow, just there enjoying it. And that's I-95 in the distance covered with snow. What a popular roadway to be covered in snow right now.
Take a look at what's happening along the I-95 corridor. We're getting rain, sleet and snow, for those of you traveling. Be careful out there because we're also getting some very strong gusty winds as low pressure tightens off the coast of Long Island. We'll see those winds really wrap around and just get more intense. And that's really producing some wind-whipped snow in many locations. So, we are expecting even more to the north, right along the Canadian border in Upstate New York as well.
So, watch out for that and watch out for this wintry weather that could ice over, certainly, tonight as we get the cold air blowing in behind the system. And it's not just the Northeast, we have blizzard warnings right now across northern Iowa all the way into Illinois, and then watch out for some more snow more tracking into northern Indiana across the region. Currently, it's snowing in northern Michigan and it's feeling bitterly cold there.
We have heavy snow across the Cascades right now. Blizzard conditions for this region. The blizzard warnings will persist straight through the evening hours as well. So, we are looking for heavy snow up to 18 inches in some of the higher elevations in Washington and Oregon.
On the big picture for the USA region, absolutely frigid, windy weather, cool to the south with some wet weather and extreme southeast. That may affect your travel. And as you can see for tomorrow, it just gets colder. All this cold air, Fredricka, will push further up to the east. So, the whole country will be feeling it. Today, winter began. But tomorrow is the first full day of winter, and boy, are we going to feel it. I'll have more on that plus your travel delays in just a bit.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie. Appreciate it.
Well, of course, it's snowy in Denver, Colorado, too, but it's unclear whether or not that has anything to do with the Continental Airline jet flight 1404 that actually veered off the runway and then there was a fire involved, too. One hundred fifty people were on -- 115 people were on board but all managed to escape, some with some serious injuries, some with some minor injuries.
Our Susan Roesgen is there in Denver.
You've had a chance to hear from a number of those passengers who had some really frightening moments on that plane.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boy, Fredericka, you think about it, you are on this plane. You are just starting to take off. You know, you listen to the flight attendants and how you are as opposed to get of on the plane in case of an emergency. But this plane had barely started down the runway when for some reason it slid off into a ravine, and suddenly, at least the right side of it was on fire.
And when you look at the pictures of it, the aerial pictures, it is cracked. The fuselage is cracked right down the middle like an egg shell. So, people on board were just terrified. Some people were screaming "The plane's going to blow up, the plane's going to blow up" and others said that they were crushed by the mob trying to get out. We talked to one couple who has a one-year-old baby, and they were really terrified. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABRIEL TREJOS, PASSENGER: On my side of the plane, I could see the engine. I noticed it was on fire. I could feel the heat coming from the window because I was on the window side of the plane.
MARIA TREJOS, PASSENGER: I was just worried about my son, just making sure that he was OK. We just, we saw the -- I looked to the side and I saw my husband and there's this thing like fire ball out the window, and I was just, you know, it was surreal. I didn't know what to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: And something else that happened here as the rescuers were trying to get there, they actually raced past the accident. The fire crews went to the wrong side of the runway. Then he had had to get back to it. There was so much smoke; they couldn't even see the plane, Fredricka. Inside, more panic as the luggage bins overhead started to melt onto the passenger seats.
Now, we are waiting any minute now for National Transportation Safety Board investigators, their go-team has just arrived here in Denver. We don't know if they'll have much updated information.
But, Fredricka, you know how you always hear about a passenger who misses a plane and then is so glad that he did. Well, there were at least two University of Ohio skiers on that plane. One guy didn't make it. He was so relieved he wasn't on it. He said his buddy had smoke inhalation but was OK.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Some frightening and harrowing moments there. We are glad that, as far as we know, no one has endured any super serious injuries, but we know that some people are still hospitalized. Susan Roesgen, thanks so much.
Again, we are waiting for that NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board news conference to take place somewhere within this hour of 5:00 o'clock Eastern Time when it happens there out at the Denver International Airport. Live pictures right now at the place where that press conference is to take place and when it does occur, we'll be able to take that live and bring it to you.
All right. In the meantime, we've been talking about bad weather all across the country. Well, some pretty frightening and very sad moments taking place in Massachusetts. Two teens are alive today after falling in an icy pond in Massachusetts. It happened yesterday when the boys tried a shortcut that nearly cost them their lives.
Jim Morelli with our CNN affiliate WCVB has more on the water rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just heard screaming. I was shoveling my house and I heard people screaming. JIM MORELLI, WCVB REPORTER (voice-over): An icy pond, two teenagers, a near tragedy, in Natick, if it weren't for an extraordinarily rescue efforts by the Natick Fire Department.
MIKE ARIES, NATICK FIRE DEPARTMENT: Just another day's work. This time it was a little different. It wasn't fire. It was ice.
MORELLI: The ice was on Pickerel Pond. About 1:20, two boys, ages 15 and 16 were crossing the frozen pond on foot and fell through. They managed to claw their way to shore but shore was a place deep in the woods.
DEPUTY CHIEF JAMES SHERIDAN, NATICK FIRE DEPT.: We are very fortunate an off-duty fire fighter was plowing in the area, plowed the access road, allowed our rescue crews to get in there and save these kids.
MORELLI: The first rescuers to reach the teens firefighters Mike Aries and Brian Linton, they gave up their rescue suits to keep the nearly naked boys warm.
BRIAN LINTON, NATICK FIRE DEPT.: Our concern was really with those two kids. You know, they were out there for quite a bit longer than we were.
MORELLI: Other firefighters waded through heavy snow and hip- deep water to bring the boys to safety. The teens arrived on shore hypothermic, but alive.
ARIES: One of the mothers was up there, it was emotional. Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: President-elect Barack Obama and his family are vacationing in Hawaii. They will spend 12 days in Oahu. The Obamas have often spent the holidays in Hawaii, visiting the president elect's maternal grandmother. However, this time, a very tough visit for them. The grandmother died just two days before the election, and president elect is also trying to pay homage to his late grandmother on this vacation, plus, working vacation.
Our Ed Henry is there in Honolulu.
Very difficult times I imagine for the Obamas, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Fred. Certainly, we expect the president-elect will attend a private memorial service for his grandmother at some point into this week. Obviously some sad times, but also a chance for them to celebrate her life. She helped raise Barack Obama, make him the person that he is now, to rise all the way to this historic ascension to become the next president of the United States. But also, he'll be mixing this vacation, as you said, a working vacation in the sense that he's keeping focus on the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HENRY (voice-over): Home to Hawaii for President-elect Barack Obama and his family. Twelve days of relaxation to ring in the New Year. But there's no rest for his economic team which has been ordered to think bolder after the president-elect received dire private forecasts suggesting the nation could lose 4 million jobs next year without drastic action.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: What have we learned is the economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in. It is -- this is a spiraling effect. There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking.
HENRY: So, transition aides are now huddling with Democratic leaders in Congress to craft a stimulus plan of up to $757 billion to try and jolt the economy. Republicans are wary about the price tag on top of Friday's rescue of automakers, the latest in a string of taxpayer bailouts.
REP. ERIC CANTOR, (R) VIRGINIA: What I'm concerned about when we hear these staggering numbers, close to $1 trillion right now in spending. Where is that going to take us over the long run?
HENRY: Team Obama argues the short-term spending will reap dividends long-term. The emerging plan includes billions for backlogged transportation projects, to beef up construction jobs, and improve the nation's infrastructure, modernizing crumbling public schools to create jobs while also investing in education, and weatherizing 1 million homes, money to upgrade furnaces, fix windows, and seal leaky air ducts to boost the industry while also cutting energy usage.
REP. BARNEY FRANK, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: That if we don't do this, it will cost us even more. This economy is now in the worse shape since the Great Depression and if we do not respond in a very firm way, it gets worse and worse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now more than anything, this time in Hawaii will give the president-elect a chance to recharge his batteries after that long, brutal presidential campaign and also give him a chance to get ready for the challenges ahead, not just on the financial crisis but national security challenge, these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much -- Ed Henry there in Honolulu.
All right. Well, President-elect Obama had invited evangelical pastor, Rick Warren, to actually carry out the invocation during the inauguration and there's been a little bit of heat that both Rick Warren and President-elect Obama have received ever since. Well, now, we've actually heard from Rick Warren and his response to being under fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICK WARREN, EVANGELICAL PASTOR: Now, this one will shock you, I happen to love Democrats and Republicans. And for the media's purpose, I happen to love gays and straights.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)
WARREN: So -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Obama, earlier this week, defended his choosing of Warren, saying it's impossible for all Americans to agree on everything.
All right. Meantime, we're still following up on that -- I guess we can call it an accident involving an airline last night in Denver. A Continental flight 1404 veering off the runway, and then somehow there was fire on board as well. One hundred fifteen people on board. Some are still being hospitalized.
Well, the NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board is expecting to hold a press conference there from Denver momentarily. Another live picture perhaps of the location where that press conference is to take place. Can we show that?
All right. There it is right there, they are getting ready for that press conference to take place involving the NTSB. And, of course, when it does happen, we'll be able to take that live for you.
All right. Well, let's talk a little more about the economy. Retailers are feeling it and families are feeling it. The spirit of the season, with a huge economic pinch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
WHITFIELD: Oh, better not pout, better not cry, really? OK. Our iReporters who are sending in their favorite Santa photos, and we are sharing them with you. This one comes from John Cardillo of Pittsburgh. That's his 17-month-old son A.J., not so happy.
John tells us that A.J. was fine while waiting in line but suddenly panic when it was time to actually sit on Santa's lap. A.J. grabbed his dad and then held on tight. He actually had to be peeled off. That's when the screaming actually began. Some classic photos there we couldn't wait to share with you.
All right. Well, call it a one-two punch for retailers this holiday season -- a souring economy and wintry weather. But people are still getting out to fill those wish lists, or are they? We actually caught up with a few shoppers in McLean, Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kids are making a couple of presents for grandma and grandpa. And our holiday party had a little bit more pot luck to it than usual. But overall, I think we're not cutting back as much as we thought we would. But definitely, I mean, everybody is feeling it. People are shopping less and spending less.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like the sales, I've just been walking through the stores today, that they are like the after- Christmas sales. So, we're getting some really good deals. We already had to take a box-full of things out to the car so we can have free hands to finish our shopping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So, Christmas is good for some. Well, Christmas is just four day away. And with the economy in recession, many people are making their cuts for their holiday budget.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Josh has been fielding a lot of e-mails of folks who are saying they are being a little industrious, sometimes a little frugal. And maybe some are still being a little frivolous, too.
LEVS: And some people are seeing the silver lining in all of this at this time.
WHITFIELD: Yes, good.
LEVS: It's kind of nice, you know.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: And this is what we're doing. We are getting e-mails all day today. We are inviting you to do that right now -- Weekends@CNN.com. We're talking to you about how your holidays will be different this year. What I like doing about this so much, Fred, is that we are always telling everybody the big macro view. Your e- mails tell us the micro view. What it is for you. And then in the end, that's what America is.
So, take a look. Well, some of those we've been getting today. We're going to start right here. This is one of the most moving ones, from Gail. "I'm 64 years old and this is the first time in my life that there are no presents under the tree -- if you can call a small six-year-old artificial plant a tree."
WHITFIELD: Oh.
LEVS: And I really feel for her. I hope it helps that at least CNN wishes you a "Merry Christmas."
"I've spent more on charity, more on the food. I plan to serve my family on Christmas Day and less on gifts for them. The economy has made me thoughtful. It gives us all the opportunity to rethink our priorities and celebrate the original meaning of Christmas." That's from Sharon. Let's head for a couple more here. "Each year," I like this, "our only grandson receives more gifts than he can open. We decided to anonymously give to a poor family in our grandson's name. So, instead of one child getting more gifts than he knows what to do with, each child of this impoverished family will get a gift."
This reminds me of Joe the Plumber. We call it redistributing the wealth with credit going to God at this special time of the year.
Let's end on this one right here. "We are staying home this year and Santa will be on a budget." That's from Chris Salerno.
So, folks, let us know, are you not traveling? Are you going to travel? Or once you are traveling, are you going to stay in more? Maybe it's a little more family time. Maybe it's really tough because some family can't travel to you. Or more gifts? Less gifts? How is this economy impacting you at this time of the year? Let us know, Weekends@CNN.com.
And, Fred, I'll be back in just about 20 minutes with some of those responses we get right now.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I'm looking forward to that.
All right, thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate it.
LEVS: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, we've been talking about Christmas. So, what about Hanukkah?
It officially begins this evening at sunset. And just moments ago, as we've been waiting, the actual, there it is -- the lighting of the National Menorah. And there it is now, sundown there in the nation's capital. And you can see, have the lights there. Well, those chairs were filled moments ago. Now, the menorah has actually been lit, that ceremony is over, but there were quite a few dozen folks who came out to enjoy. The lighting of the menorah is now beginning the eight-day Jewish holiday season of Hanukkah.
All right. Well, much more on the NEWSROOM straight ahead. The holiday is certainly a family time, but in today's recession, family time can be pretty hard to find.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Straight to Denver right now, that NTSB, National Transportation Safety Board, news conference taking place as a result of the accident involving the Continental Airline jet flight 1404 last night. This is Robert Sumwalt.
ROBERT L. SUMWALT, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: Approximately 6:18 last night, as we said, it was Continental flight 1404, Boeing 737-500. The aircraft began its takeoff role on runway three-four right and departed the left side of the runway right prior to the intersection that is labeled as "whiskey charlie" at the airport. We have not done a detailed measurement of exactly the point that it departed the runway. We will begin that very early tomorrow.
Now, the aircraft, as it departed the runway, the airplane went into a ravine that is approximately 40 feet deep. The airplane rested there. The aircraft is essentially intact.
We do know that both main landing gears have been sheared off of the airplane. The nose gear is collapsed. It may be sheared off. If it is sheared off, it would be underneath the wreckage. So, as the airplane sits out there right now, it is not resting on any landing gear at all. Its belly is fully on the ground.
There is extensive fire damage to the right side of the aircraft. And the interior is quite burned. The left engine is separated from the aircraft. The right engine is still attached to the pylon and the wing.
The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, they were located last night. They were secured, and they were intact. They appear to be in good condition. However, they are sooted. Those recorders are being flown back to Washington right now.
The aircraft that brought our go-team in from Washington has turned around and is taking those recorders back to Washington. They will be auditioned this evening. The cockpit voice recorder will be auditioned this evening just to get a preliminary listen of what may have happened.
We do know there were 110 passengers and five crew members on board the airplane. And as far as the status of persons on board, we understand from Continental that there have been five occupants of the aircraft who have been admitted to the hospital. And that's all we know at this point.
Our team on scene that we have here, the go-team, consists of experts who will be examining the following areas: operations. And we'll be looking at the crew training, conducting a crew interview. We'll be looking at the company policies and procedures, and things related to the operations of the aircraft. There will be a human performance group set up to look at the performance of the crew, might be set up for -- to look at the performance of anyone else who may have been involved in the mishap.
We will form a structures group to go out and document the structural condition of the aircraft -- a systems group. We'll be looking at all related systems of the airplane. We'll have a power plant group to look at the engines. Survival factors group which will look at factors including the flight attendant training, the evacuation, the condition of the slides for evacuation slides. The emergency response.
We'll have a meteorology group to determine what the exact conditions were at the time that the takeoff roll was initiated and at the time of the accident. And in addition, we will have two groups that will be formed in Washington, D.C. Those groups will be our recorders groups, one to look at the -- I'm sorry, there will be an aircraft performance group that will do some work here on scene and do some work back in Washington to look at aircraft performance, basically, to look at the acceleration of the aircraft and things like that.
And we'll have the recorders group which will be a flight data recorder group to download and interpret the flight data recorders. And also, there will be a group formed to listen to and come up with a detailed transcript of what was said in the cockpit of the airplane.
As far as the on scene work, I want to emphasize that we are just now beginning our investigation. When I say "just now," yes, we were on-site last night, on scene, and we have been working there. We've already started collecting data. But our actual full-on-scene portion of the investigation will commence tomorrow. We've only got about another hour of daylight right now.
And so, as far as going out and documenting the wreckage, measuring things, precise measurements, that will begin at daybreak tomorrow. And they will work until we run out of daylight tomorrow.
I think that anyone knows that everyone would recognize that today would be the shortest day of the year, so daylight is something that we are facing. And also, a short daylight, and also, anyone who is here knows that it's cold out there. So, these are some of the challenges that our investigators will be facing as we proceed. There is a heated building and a heated tent nearby so the workers can go in periodically and warm up. But those are some of the challenges.
Throughout the next few days, the NTSB experts will work on the on-scene phase. And what we are here to do is to collect what we call the "perishable evidence," the information that may go away with the passage of time. So, we are not here to do any analysis. We are here on scene only to do one thing, and that is to collect data.
We will not begin the analysis. We will not speculate. The safety board does very methodical, intensive investigations. We deal with the facts, and the first phase is to collect the facts.
Again, I want to reemphasize, we are just in the very beginning stages of the investigation. We will keep you updated as we learn more. I think you've met Terry Williams and Peter Knudson. When I leave, they will give you their contact information. We will plan to have at least one press briefing tomorrow evening.
The process will be: the folks will go out into the field and work all day tomorrow. Then we will come back and have a -- what we call a progress meeting where everybody reports what it is that they learned during the day and what their work plan is for the next day. So, after the progress meeting which will begin at 5:30 tomorrow evening, we will plan to have a press conference to tell you everything that we know that happened during the day.
There is a possibility and just depending on how much information we can learn, there is a possibility and I'm aware of the news cycles that you all have, it we got enough information earlier in a day, I would surely like to be able to have a press conference so that you can get some information out there as quickly as you can. But Terry Williams and Peter will keep you posted on that.
One final comment is I would like to thank the first responders for all of their hard work with this accident. They have been working hard. Certainly, last night and in the cold and the wind and working hard today as well, and we appreciate all of the work that they have provided us.
I would be glad to try and answer any questions that you might have.
Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Based on what some passengers have said, there appears to be some confusion as to why this aircraft was actually ever airborne. Was it up and then it touched down and skidded? Do you know that from what you heard from the passengers?
SUMWALT: We don't know that at this point. However, that will be part of our detailed analysis to document marks across the runway and through the grass. Part of our aircraft performance group, those kinds of thing wills help us to determine those things.
Whoever this belongs to. I apologize. It's falling off.
QUESTION: Can you share your facts regarding the wind gusts, wind chill at the airport at the time of the incident.
SUMWALT: I have told you really all of the factual information we know. We are here to really look at the perishable information. We can go back at any point, and will do in the next couple of days go back and do look at the weather reports. We will probably even do some analysis of the weather conditions, but I don't have the weather information right now.
QUESTION: We have been told there are gauges on the runway that allow you to determine wind speed and gusts down to the second. Is that true?
SUMWALT: A lot of airports have that. Denver International Airport has been an airport that has always had a lot of technology in that respect regarding winds and potential wind shears and things like that.
There's a question here in the front.
QUESTION: Have the pilots been interviewed?
SUMWALT: No, the pilots have not been interviewed. It's not been set up at this point. However, that is something that we want to be able to do as soon as we can, understanding that if they are injured, we want to make sure that they have time to sufficiently recover. But we do, that is something that we will place a high priority on as conducting a detailed and thorough interview of the flight crew.
There's a question back here in the back. QUESTION: Have you heard reports from the crew about (inaudible) the breaking system...
SUMWALT: As I mentioned, we have not interviewed the crew at this time. But that will be part of our crew interview.
Yes, ma'am?
QUESTION: Have a question you may be able to answer. How long will the plane remain on the side of the runway when you think you are going to remove it and where does it go for further investigation?
SUMWALT: Our goal is to be able to go out and document perishable evidence as quickly as we can and as thoroughly as we can, but then get the aircraft removed so that that runway can reopen. The runway 34 right is currently closed. The wreckage is outside of the runway safety area, but we will be needing that runway for now to go out and conduct our measurements and look at the skid marks and all.
To answer your question, I don't know exactly how long the wreckage will remain here. But it is typical that the wreckage is moved ads it possibly can be, and that could be a matter of days.
QUESTION: Where does it go when they move it?
SUMWALT: Typically it may go to an aircraft hanger here. It might go to a salvage yard. It depends on the circumstances.
Yes, sir.
QUESTION: You talk about phase one being perishable evidence, gathering perishable evidence. What kind of evidence is that?
SUMWALT: Well, for example, skid marks on the runway. People's memories. People's memories fade and change with time. Anything that can go away or change with the passage of time. We want to go out and document the aircraft condition, their configuration that things are right now before weather moves in or something like that. So anything that could change with the passage of time.
QUESTION: Have you been up on the site at all?
SUMWALT: I have not personally been out.
QUESTION: From what you hear from the people who have, how lucky are people that nobody actually lost their life in this accident?
SUMWALT: Well, to look into that, I think would be part of analysis and we will be able to determine where people were seated, how they got out, how, where the fire erupted and things like that. And through that, we will be able to show pretty much why the survivability was such that it was and seat flammability and things of that nature.
There's a question in the back.
QUESTION: How long do you think an investigation like this typically would take?
SUMWALT: Well, the NTSB, we will conduct a very thorough investigation and I like to say it will take as long as it will take. Now, how long is that in general terms? We generally take about a year. It could be a little less. It could be longer. But we want to take as long as it takes to be able to do the job right so that when we do have a determination of probable cause, we are confident that we are doing it based on facts and get their analysis.
Yes, sir?
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) -- the plane and no lives are lost?
SUMWALT: That's a good question. We could get that information for you. When it involves the transport category airplane, we are going to be interested in it and especially because it's an air carrier out operating, flying passengers for hire, and so it does get our attention. It's not that -- fortunately, there's not that many mishaps like this in this country these days. So we -- this is one that we knew we wanted to come to. I don't have a real good answer for you on how many times we do on a nonfatal. But I think this is the type that would generate interest from us.
Question right here.
QUESTION: Can you tell us if there's any debris on the runway at this point?
SUMWALT: I don't know for sure if there's debris on the runway. And that's why the runway is closed. That's part of why the runway is closed. We will be carefully documenting anything like that tomorrow.
QUESTION: You plan to interview each passenger o passenger. Are passengers being kept in Denver to the...?
SUMWALT: Our survival factors folks will determine who they will interview. I don't know who they will interview and who they won't.
One more question.
QUESTION: Sir, can you talk with the advantage you have in the fact that all of the evidence is there on the airport property. You may not get all the information and data that's out there? What kind of advantage, how much a greater chance do you have of getting the problem resolved?
SUMWALT: Well, it's a good question. We have faced many challenges in years past. Airplanes ending up in swamps and in the ocean, and in those situations. Even facing those challenges, the safety board has been able to do a good, thorough analysis and fact finding and analysis and determine probable cause. I would think that based on the fact that everything is in a good location here, it would increase our chances of performing a successful investigation.
But I also want to point out that even in very challenging times where we have to go out and dig it up, get it out of the ocean, get the wreckage from the ocean, we can usually do a sufficient investigation there. It just might take a little longer.
Thank you very much for your attention. We will be seeing you tomorrow.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: That was Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board, giving us an update of what took place with that Continental Airline jet. 1404 was the flight number on its way from Denver to Houston.
You see right there, these are the images of what happened last night. Somehow it veered off the runway and then landed in a ravine which is about 40 feet deep. There was fire on board. Mr. Sumwalt telling us that the right side of that plane suffered from severe fire damage. 115 people were on board, including five crew members. Five people, however, are still being hospitalized there in the Denver area as a result. But miraculously, no immediate deaths from this and no real serious injuries except that five people are being hospitalized and we don't know the extent of their injuries as of yet.
Our Susan Roesgen is also there in Denver.
You got a chance to hear from what Mr. Sumwalt was saying there. He gave a pretty good description of the aircraft. For the most part, it's intact, but it is resting on its belly on that tarmac, and so they are going to learn a lot in the middle of this investigation which begins now.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it really does, Fredericka. And he talked a little bit about how cold it is and what a big job it is going to be. Roughly a dozen NTSB investigators are going to come out here and look at it and get as much information as they can during daylight hours tomorrow.
But to give you an idea, Fredericka, it is so cold here that the ink in my pen has frozen. It's really, really cold here. It's a difficult job for them to do. This was the worst accident ever in aviation history here at this airport. It's only been open about 13 years.
If you are wondering why you can't see the wreckage right behind me, it's because this is a huge airport, 53 square miles. The wreckage is some distance away. They are going to have those investigators go down there and go through it, as you heard investigators say, to go through the perishable evidence that might go away in the next couple of days which includes not only skid marks and slush marks through the snow in that ravine, but also what sorts of things people might forget. They want to interview the passengers.
I think it's very interesting, Fredricka, that they did say they have the two recorders, the voice and data recorder. They are taking them to Washington D.C. tonight. They are going to listen to them tonight. So that's probably going to give them some more information to go with.
But also they said two things that they are going to be looking at here are the mechanical performance of the plane itself, obviously, what caused this plane to skid and catch on fire. But also he mentioned several times the performance of the flight crew, of the flight attendance, what was their performance in this evacuation. We heard from passengers that it was rushed, that it was chaotic. We did not hear any criticism of the flight attendants from the passengers, but we have heard that they were falling on top of each other, shoving each other to get out. There was panic on this plane. That some of the seats were actually collapsing on top of each other, and that the luggage bins overhead were melting from the heat of the fire.
So you know, you're supposed to have an orderly evacuation. The shoots were deployed. They did slide down on those shoots. But by the time the fire crew got here which again, they missed the aircraft the first time, couldn't see it in the smoke, drove right past it. By the time the fire crew had gotten here, the passengers basically had evacuated themselves and were walking up that ravine and getting onto the runway when they were picked up.
So they have a couple of very important things to look at here, this plane, what went wrong, and also were all the procedures followed correctly by the crew.
WHITFIELD: Lots of passengers enter vie interviews so this is going to be a painstaking investigation as most airline crash or accident investigations are.
And he was saying that this really could be up to a year investigation on average, an investigation may be up to a year. But certainly because of those flight and data recorders that are intact, they may be able to learn a lot more sooner than in most cases.
Susan Roesgen, thanks so much from the Denver International Airport. Appreciate it.
Well, the world watched as surgeons rebuilt little Youssif's face. Remember him? A year later a progress report on this little boy out of Iraq and a new lease on life.
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WHITFIELD: Two years ago, the world cringed in horror at news of an Iraqi child set afire by masked men. Well, since then many of you have closely followed Youssif's recovery.
CNN'S Arwa Damon has our update.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN NEWS CORRESONDENT (voice-over): Youssif loves going to school and for good reason. The little guy already has a very serious goal in mind.
(on camera): Do you remember when we were talking and I asked you what you want to be when you grow up? What did you say you want to be?
YOUSSIF: Doctor. DAMON: A doctor. Why do you want to be a doctor?
YOUSSIF: So I can help.
DAMON: So you can help?
DAMON (voice-over): Nearly two years ago, masked men in Baghdad doused Youssif with gasoline and set him on fire. He was just 4 years old at the time. Slowly he's putting that behind him and inspiring everyone in the process.
MARIO DALEY, YOUSSIF'S TEACHER: I worked with children of all levels of ability. And for Youssif with what he's gone through, his motivation, his, what he produces is fantastic.
DAMON: He's loving the first grade, making friends like Brandon.
BRANDON: Race?
DAMON: Youssif has gone through more than a dozen surgeries.
DR. PETER GROSSMAN, SURGEON: There are a lot of things that we have moved forward and done.
DAMON: And there is still a lot more to be done. The bulge in Youssif's cheek is a tissue expander, meant to stretch out his healthy skin so Dr. Peter Grossman can use it to replace the scar tissue.
GROSSMAN: The problem we have with Youssif is that every operation we do tends to heal well after surgery, but then about a month after he starts forming these really thick scars, and it's probably best at this time to let his body relax, let these scars mature over a period of a year or two years.
DAMON: It hasn't just been a physical transformation.
WISSAM, YOUSSIF'S FATHER: He talks to people. He plays. He does everything. Before.
DAMON (on camera): It's very different.
WISSAM: He wouldn't talk to anybody.
DAMON (voice-over): Now Youssif is definitely doing most of the talking.
YOUSSIF: Can you do one for me?
DAMON (on camera): What do you want me to do for you?
DAMON (voice-over): And I will do anything for this kid who's touched all of us.
Kealey Quinn of the Children's Burn Foundation stops by with some extra reading lessons.
(on camera): What's the biggest change that you have seen from him?
KEALEY QUINN, CHILDREN'S BURN FOUNDATION: Aside from reading and learning English, I think the change in confidence in his ability to handle himself in stressful situations.
DAMON (voice-over): And from the looks of it, that ability is only going to be getting better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: You know, the day after we finished filming that, we were actually able to go to his school for the Christmas pageant. And just seeing Youssif standing on stage surrounded by all of the other 6- year-olds and singing "Jingle Bell Rock" after everything he's been through, the fact that he could sing again, smile again, I looked over at his mother and her eyes were filled with tears. She said, Arwa, this reminds me of what he was like before the attack when he used to sing in his kindergarten class. And it was almost as if none of this had ever happened.
WHITFIELD: So, Arwa, refresh our memories as to why not just Youssif but his entire family, his parents were able to relocate from Iraq to this states, not just for the surgery, but clearly they are residents now, they live here, making their lives complete there in California.
AWRA: Well, you know, Fredricka, it was pretty much thanks to our viewers. When we first did the story back in September of last year, there was a huge outpouring of support from people who had either seen the story on television or on the web. We had a number of NGOs come forward offering to help. It really was thanks to the kindness of strangers that saw this compelling story and felt the need to try and do something, to write what had happened to this child.
So he came to Los Angeles September of last year. He's gone through about a dozen surgeries since then. The family is actually in the states right now on medical parole, still trying to figure out and decide where they want to move in the future and how they want that to be. And he still does have multiple surgeries ahead of him.
WHITFIELD: And when you say where they want to move, meaning in the states or whether they want to return to Iraq?
ARWA: Well, returning to Iraq is sadly really not an option because of his association with an American network, CNN, and because of the family's association with an American network. That truly makes them a large target for the insurgency. You can see that we didn't show his father's face. That's because there are concerns that perhaps he was attacked because of what his father's work was.
So what the family needs to decide now is do they stay in the states or do they perhaps move to another country. But there's still time before they actually need to make that decision.
WHITFIELD: Well, certainly a resounding sigh of relief and everyone's so happy that this entire family has a new lease on life and little Youssif is getting the kind of medical attention that he really couldn't get anywhere else in his situation. That's so great.
All right, Arwa Damon, thanks so much. Thanks for a wonderful story and happy holidays to you.
ARWA: Thank you, you, too.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.
Well, earlier, we asked you for your e-mails and we'll read some of them next about how this economic situation has impacted how you're celebrating the holiday season.
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WHITFIELD: Tis the season to be jolly, right? Well, we asked a lot of our iReporters -- you -- to send in pictures of what it was to be visiting with Santa or other kids that you remember. So Lynne Marsho was 5 years old when her dad snapped this photo in Peoria, Illinois. And guess what, now she's 66, so she held on to that photo. She remembers the day clearly. She tells us that she answered the door and found Santa standing right there. She was shocked and scared, but decided to sit down with Santa and just enjoy the moment with him.
And this is from Kristie Leachman of Genesco, Illinois. The picture shows her oldest daughter, Aterza (ph), who was very happy to see Santa. But younger daughter McKenna didn't have such a happy time right there with Santa. That's so classic, isn't it? So which photo did the Leachman's actually use for the Christmas card? The one that of course, got the most laughs. You're looking at it right there.
And who says Santa is just for kids? It's also for our pets. That one was an 8 month old Chihuahua named Butch. The owner said he couldn't resist and had to dress up Butch for the holiday tradition of a photo with Santa.
Well, we've also been asking you about how you're handling the holiday season given the economy.
So Josh Levs has been reading a lot of your e-mails and folks have been cutting back, sometimes getting creative, all kinds of different experience this is holiday season.
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Between those photos and videos and what I'm about to show you, this is a very touching end of the hour. I like this because it's involves the economy but it's not that depressing, what we're about to see.
WHITFIELD: OK, good.
LEVS: It's kind of nice. A really nice story people are sending. Let's zoom in on the board. We asked earlier this hour your holidays are different because of the economy.
I'm just going to tell you what this one says from Lori, "We're a single- income family." Her husband has an auto industry non-union assembly job. His work week was cut. A church adopted this family. She's say, "We now have 30-plus under our tree for our two children and enough food for a month. We've made sure our children are aware of the jaw-dropping generosity. My husband and I wept tears of joy for the first time in a very long time." That's what Lori in Michigan tells us.
WHITFIELD: That's what the season of giving is all about.
LEVS: It is. People are sending us these very moving portraits. Do I have time for more? Am I doing one more? Yes? No? I'm going to get to -- what? Yes OK, we got to go.
I'll tell you what, we will hold on to a few more and we'll read them in the coming days because there's beautiful stories. Leading up to Christmas, we want to share these with the viewers.
WHITFIELD: Certainly, these tough times have impacted everyone in some way, shape or form. A lot of folks are deciding to give more because they can. And then a lot of folks are being able to lean on a lot of folks willing to give to those that don't have.
LEVS: And the beauty of both sides of that expressing it and feeling so good about it at this time is so much of what this is all about.
WHITFIELD: All right, great. Thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate it.
LEVS: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Randi Kaye is coming up next with more headlines in the "NEWSROOM," including more information on that plane accident in Denver. I'll see you actually in the New Year. Have a great holiday season. Bye-bye.
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