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New Developments On Missing Malaysia Airline Flight; Crimea Now Under Russian Federation

Aired March 16, 2014 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon in New York.

This is CNN special live coverage of the disappearance of Malaysia airlines flight 370. The Boeing 777, missing with 239 people on board. Here is what is new tonight.

Malaysian officials are looking hard and looking again at the people who walked on to that airplane ten days ago. I am not talking about just paying passengers. The captain and his co-pilot. They are getting another close look too. One thing the Malaysians believe is that the last contact with the plane could have been made from the ground. If that is true, that means somebody who knew what they were doing landed that jet. It is just one working theory.

It is not the a wild departure from what American officials believe, either. A U.S. intelligence insider is telling CNN they are leaning toward the scenario that the pilots are responsible for that plane vanishing. No details beyond that.

Now, let's go to the search. It is a massive operation. It has to be. Look how much land and Open Ocean that 777 could have covered, planes, ships and satellites belonging to 25 countries now involved in this search. A few countries are saying, no, there is no way that plane is here. India and Pakistan are both saying, if it entered their air space, they would have picked it up.

I want you to listen to this. It is a friend of a man who was at the controls of the plane. He told CNN that it is not fair to imply somebody did something wrong before all the facts are in. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER CHONG, CAPTAIN'S FRIEND: I feel particularly affected for the lack of evidence, you know, they are going into theories like questioning his credibility, his terrorism links and issues like that. I think it is a little bit insensitive and unfair to the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That interview was in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia, which also where CNN's Jim Clancy is right now.

Jim, 10:00 in the morning there, is the focus on those two airline pilots just as strong today as it was over the weekend?

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly. You know, they have searched the homes over the weekend. They have taken the flight simulator that was in the -- they have examined.

LEMON: We are having a bit of a problem there with Jim Clancy. We will get that fixed and will get right back to Jim Clancy for the very latest from Kuala Lumpur.

But right now, the "USS Kidd" is scouring parts of the Adaman Sea for any trace of the missing plane. So joining me now on the phone, Commander T.J. Zerr, the executive officer on board of the USS Kidd.

Commander, tell us about today's search.

T.J. ZERR, USS KIDD COMMANDER (via phone): Hey, first, thanks for having us on, Don. We appreciate the opportunity to talk about what we are doing up here. We are supporting the Malaysian government who is running the overall search plan and operation. They give us areas to go search and we do so.

Right now, we are in the Adaman Sea heading to the Indian Ocean, based on an area that the Malaysian government has asked us to go take a look and we are taking look for any debris in the water. We stood up extra people standing watch to take a look out with binoculars and cameras. We also our leveraging the advantage of our embark helicopters on board which allows us to go check a lot more space in a lot less time than the ships.

So, we are combining that effort to take a closer look at what we can find. So far, nothing that leads us toward something related to the missing airliner. These waters are highly congested with fishing and commercial vessels. So we find a lot of material in the water, whether it is fishing buoys or other trash or debris but nothing that would lead us to believe it was associated with the missing airliner.

LEMON: I'm glad you mentioned that because many may feel that these waters are just open water and it is not very congested. But you said this is a very congested area. Had an airplane gone down, someone would have seen something in the particular area where you are searching.

ZERR: Well, I can't say that for certain. What I can say is that when we started our search on 8th, March, in the gulf of Thailand, that air body of water is definitely highly congested with fishermen and commercial ships. And we searched all through there with vessels of several other navies. We searched that area intently. Because at that time, I think that was the highest priority or highest probability in the Malaysian government's assessment.

We then after a couple days there, shifted to the west of the s Strait of Malacca, that Strait of Malacca there flown by Singapore is the busiest waterway in the world. And so, going in the Adaman Sea where the merchant traffic goes in and out to get to the Middle East and back to Asia, that traffic lane is very highly congested. When you get 50, 60, 75 miles off that main thorough fare, thought, in the upper part of the Adaman Sea, you can find pockets where these congested a lot lower. They are fewer merchant ships but there are fisherman distributed throughout. So, not conceivable but certainly in the lower density areas, by commercial shipping, you would expect a higher probability of somebody missing something.

LEMON: Commander Zerr, standby. I want to bring in now CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers.

So Chad, even if we can rule out Pakistan, the search area is still enormous.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It certainly is. Probably the size of half of the lower 48 states of the United States. Because the lines here, and we will get to why there are lines in the first place there, but there is 200 miles east and west or north and south of that line right through there, that's about a million square miles. Same story down here in the south part of the search area, about a million square miles. And that's literally two-thirds to a half of what the United States would be by trying to find an airplane somewhere in the United States, Don.

LEMON: Chad, what about the ship traffic in that area? You heard the commander talking about it. It is busy. Can you point out to there what he is talking about?

MYERS: Absolutely. We have this is marinetracker.com. I can look at this right here, and I know because I zoom out and it will tell me. There are over 1,000 ships in this strait here between the gulf of Thailand back over here to Malacca, the Strait of Malacca right through here. Everybody has to funnel right through there. So, all of this traffic, had there been debris in the water, probably somebody would have seen something, especially in the daylight hours.

Now, there are some miscommunication out there saying that some people have found luggage. We think that communication was more like mistranslated to saying, please look for luggage in the sea. Right now, no reports that have been confirmed at all of anybody that has found anything significant with this flight.

LEMON: Chad Myers, thank you very much.

I want to broaden our discussion about this search. We are joined by Hans Weber. He is an aviation safety expert who is a president of Tea Cup International, an aviation consulting firm. Also joining us now is Brad Meltzer. Brad is the author of "history decoded, the ten greatest conspiracies of all time" and host of "Brad Meltzer Decoded" on the History Channel. And there is Mitchell Casado. He is the pilot trainer who works at a 777 cockpit, any 777 cockpit simulator. We saw him all last week with Martin Savidge. Great reporting by him and Martin.

Hans, I want to start with you. Let's talk about the jet's ACARS system which is the aircraft's communication and reporting system. At this point, can it lead investigators to this aircraft? HANS WEBER, AVIATION SAFETY EXPERT; It's doubtful, because it doesn't seem to be functioning. It seems to be turned off. Somehow compromised. Also, the satellite communication element of ACARS which is available technically but which not all airlines describe to it because it is expensive. And I don't know whether Malaysian airlines actually subscribed to the satellite communication. It appears from what I have heard, it appears that maybe at one point, they subscribed to it. The airplane was properly equipped with that capability. But it seems to me that currently, they are not subscribing to that satellite communication of ACARS.

LEMON: So, then, Hans, what about the signals or the pings from the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder. What information are search was looking for depending on if the plane is in water or on land?

WEBER: Well, are you talking to the so-called pinging from the ACARS's satellite antenna trying to establish contact with the satellite or are you talking about the emergency?

LEMON: Either one. I am talking about the pinging that was received and if the other systems are in place, should there be information coming from them as well?

WEBER: Yes. No, the ACARS instant communication channel -- well that, plus a radio communication for the pilots. The fact that there was this so-called pinging, which really appears to have been the antenna, on the 777, trying to establish a link with the satellite. But the satellite did not establish the link, that would have -- the reason for that, as far as I know, would have been that Malaysia airlines did not have that capability in their account. They were not paying for that capability.

LEMON: Right, right.

WEBER: So that's the only thing. I mean, there is no other way, other than radio, to communicate.

LEMON: I want to go to Mitchell now because I want to talk about that flight simulator. You know how this 777 works, sophisticated airliner. So what do you believe happened having worked with the very similar airliner, specially with that simulator?

MITCHELL CASADO, PILOT TRAINER, 777 COCKPIT SIMULATOR: Well, as far as the simulator goes, a lot of questions have been raised about him having a simulator in his house. For a pilot, that is as per normal, nothing out of the ordinary there. Pilots, it's a passion to fly. So, it's not just a job, you work and you come home. It is something as 24 hours a day. You live it. And it is just completely normal for him to have that flight simulator. I don't see real anything out of the ordinary there.

LEMON: Yes. And they also said that he had that flight simulator. People who knew him and his friend that we showed an interview of in the beginning of this broadcast because of his passion, his love for flying. So, you know, it is people who have training bicycles in their house if they are cyclists or people who have treadmills in their home, do you see that any differently?

CASADO: No. Not at all. A flight simulator actually using my information, it is a great tool to use for your training. Every six months, we have to go back in a simulator and train. It's a great resource to train and practice those maneuvers and practice those procedures, keep current. So, nothing at all.

LEMON: And Mitchell, it is so early on. So we still don't know and they are still checking into that.

Brad, I want to go with you. You deal with conspiracy theories all the time, all the time. What do you make of this? How can a large passenger jetliner just vanish like this, seem to have fallen off the face of the earth?

BRAD MELTZER, AUTHOR, HISTORY DECODED: I mean, what we are looking at, really Don, it is almost like the pilot episode of "Lost." And that's the scary question. How does it vanish? We have to remember. That makes it a mystery. And mysteries like any story. A story isn't what did happen is what could happen. And of course, we all know the facts are all not there yet. But you know, when I talk to our investigators who we use, and my favorite one who we work with, and she pointed out two things to me, which I think are repeating here which is, you know, one of two things happens.

It is not just how do they vanish but how have they been quiet this long? So, one of two things is true, either of course that plane has crashed in the ocean and everyone on board is gone. Or, if they are still alive, how do you keep it quiet? And I think that's the scariest part to me which is what happened to these people? That it is not just that they have vanished, but we haven't heard anything in all this time. And we all know how impossible it is where every conspiracy falls apart, how do you keep everyone quiet?

LEMON: Brad, I'm glad you brought that up because we have been talking about this. I have been getting questions from viewers on social media, through e-mail and even on the street. Specially on today, on the day when we deal with the supernatural. We go to church, the supernatural power of God. You deal with all of that.

People are saying to me, why aren't you talking about the possibility, and I'm just putting out it out there, that something odd happened to this plane, something beyond our understanding? Have you dealt with that on your show and are you surprised that people are raising those questions?

MELTZER: Listen, when you do a show like decoded, no one gets crazier e-mail than me. And we all kind of roll our eyes with conspiracy theories. But what conspiracy theories do, if they ask the hardest most outrageous question sometime. But every once in a while, they are right. And that's what we have to remember here. I mean, I think why it has captured our attention, is because there is no logical explanation right now, right?

You can say it crashed into the ocean, but something just seems odd. Where are the parts? Where are the pieces? Why do they keep going for seven hours? Why do you have a guy on board that gives his watch and his ring to his wife and says, keep this for my boys in case something happens to me. Not just some strangers, a mechanical engineer. Something smells wrong.

You know, one of my favorite reporters once said to me, that the American people always will sniff for the truth until they find it. And there is something about this story that strikes us at our core where something seems really fishy. It just smells terrible.

And you know what? When that happens, I'm not one of those believers, you know, that aliens came down or anything like that. But you do have to stop and go how does a jetliner with almost 200 people disappear? How are they just gone?

LEMON: Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you very much.

Stick around, guys. We will see you a little bit later on this broadcast.

Up next, could the passenger's cell phone information help in this search? And if the plane landed, would that make a difference?

Plus, we are going to break down the plausibility of the theories being investigated right now and which ones had major holes in them.

This is CNN special live coverage. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Glad you could join us tonight. Welcome back to the special live coverage of the disappearance of flight 370.

You know, many wonder with today's technology, why every day cell phone tracking can't help pinpoint the location of any of the cell phones of the 239 people on board that plane? Shouldn't it be as easy as using "find my phone" app? Experts say, maybe not.

Joining me now, CNN technology analyst, Brett Larson?

Brett, so cell phone tracking, is it being used in this search?

BRETT LARSON, CNN TECHNOLOGY ANALYST: It could be, but it may not be very valuable because cell phones are most easily tracked when they have a cellular or data connection. So if you got, even if you have 268 phones, all turned on, all actively looking for a signal, if there is no signal to be found, those cell phones and even the "find my phone" app are useless. Even though they have a GPS data or do gets connection, and they can say you are at latitude this one and to do that, they are not going to be able to find you relative to where you are, because they need that data connection to say, OK, you are here, you know.

Say, if you're in the middle of the Grand Canyon and there is no cell service, the GPS says you are here, but without that data connection, you can't say, which happens to be the middle of the Grand Canyon.

LEMON: So, I am flying above water. But above water meaning the ocean, not just river.

LARSON: Correct.

LEMON: So, when I am on the plane, I can text using Wi-Fi on my iphone. And you know, I raised this question last week with a CNN analyst, his name rhymes with guest. He completely shot me down.

LARSON: And it is a good and valid question. A lot of international carriers now have Wi-Fi on board. I was just on with Tanza a couple of months back. They had Wi-Fi. We had Wi-Fi over the ocean. It requires a satellite connection.

Now, if that were the case in this airplane and the passengers were savvy and quick enough to note something had gone wrong or whatever the situation was, if they were to turn on their phones, they would have been able to make a data connection and send some sort of information.

LEMON: Every once in a while, because I fly a lot, (INAUDIBLE). If you are in a clear area, all of the sudden those clouds part, you are in the sky and not even Wi-Fi, you will get like oh, my God, I have service. It is 30,000 feet. What is happening?

LARSON: It means that there is plenty of connection on the grown. You know, the signals are high frequency so they go up. They don't go down. So, it makes sense that if you are flying over a populated area where there is a lot of cell service available.

LEMON: This is a populated area.

LARSON: You are going to pick it up.

LEMON: OK.

LARSON: But the bulk of this flight has been where it has kind of fallen off the radar literally has been in areas where there is no ground-based communication. It is all courtesy of satellites and way of satellites. That requires additional, specially for cell phones and even for tablet devices. It requires that additional step to jump it from the airplane to the satellite to give it the here I am.

LEMON: Some people will say, well, you know, if the plane was low enough or sometimes, people call and we are looking at 9/11, people were making phone calls, but that was in the days, the old back of the seat.

LARSON: That went through the airplane's communication system. But it should be noted even that technology with the cell phones or the telephones, rather, the air phones in the back of the seats, didn't work when you were over water, because they required a satellite connection.

LEMON: So that is all just, you know, we are giving different scenarios.

LARSON: Absolutely. LEMON: That if something happened to this plane, something catastrophic, if it did crash, that changes everything.

LARSON: Then none of this would work. The only situation where we could see where having those cell phones would be a potential life safer or a game-changer in the search, would be if they landed in an area that had cell service that was compatible with the cell phones and the cell phones still had the power to stay on and maintain that connection to the cell system. And when those phones connect to the cell system, then, they are trackable, then they are findable.

LEMON: And so, why the ringing? Everybody is like why the ringing? Why are they still ringing because usually, if the phone is off --

LARSON: If I'm on the subway, it goes to voice mail.

It is a sad sort of false hope into. The reality on cell phones ringing is when you make a call, if you're calling my phone, it is not my phone that's sending that ring tone back to you that makes the sound, it is the cell phone providers. So it is the Verizon, AT&T, it is Vodafone, sending that signal back to you instead of the silence that you would normally hear and what you are hearing and while you are hearing that ring, it is looking for your cell phone. And when it doesn't find it, it goes back.

LEMON: A little bit of hope. I know the families and I want to hang on to that, and all of us do that they are alive and the plane is intact.

LARSON: And we all do.

LEMON: Thank you very much. Appreciate that, sir.

Coming up here, we are going to talk tie panel about the theories floating around out there and which one are most plausible.

Plus, the partner of an American on the plane breaking her silence now. She says she is quite certain that he is still alive. You are going to hear from her. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back to CNN special live coverage.

Since flight 370 is missing without a trace and nobody knows its fate, there are multiple theories, many theories on what possibly happened to the plane. Did it vanish due to terrorism? Was it hijacking or was it a catastrophic failure of some sort? Was the jet struck by a meteor? I mean, there are many theories out there. Malaysian government theories it was deliberately flown off its course, but why and where it is?

So back with me again now is Hans Weber, He is an aviation expert. Safety expert Brad Meltzer, author of "History Decoded, the ten greatest conspiracies of all time," also he is the host of "Brad Meltzer decoded" on History Channel. And then, there is Mitchell Casado. He is a pilot trainer who has worked in a 777 cockpit simulator.

Hans, to you first. OK. So there are lots of theories out there, right? One of the ones that many people believe is that, quite honestly, I'm just being honest with this plane is somewhere probably on the bottom of the ocean. If so, why not debris field? Can this happen without a debris field?

WEBER: No, it cannot happen without a debris field. There is always a debris field. There are many items on an airplane that are buoyant, for example seat cushions, et cetera. And usually, there are air pockets in stabilizers. Remember, the air France 447 had the vertical stabilizer float around in the ocean. If you're interested, I could offer one theory.

I read today, a friend of mine in England sent me a page from an English paper. I'm not familiar with that thing. I think was called "the daily telegraph" or just "the telegraph." According to which this past week, some guy in British custody who used to be an Al-Qaeda operator in Pakistan told a court that he met several Malaysians in Pakistan. Months them, a pilot. And they were talking about a plan to hijack an airplane. And they were wondering how to enter the cockpit door?

And he gave them, he said, a shoe bomb he had made, a relatively small bomb, not big enough to take down the aircraft but supposedly powerful enough to break open the cockpit door. So, here is one potential theory. These guys broke into the cockpit, and maybe had one of the pilots cooperate with the idea that he might be able to save the airplane later. The next thing that we have learned is that the airplane climbed to 45,000 feet.

LEMON: Would that be a scuffle in the cockpit? For someone who is not used to flying that plane.

WEBER: It could be a scuffle. It could have been a scuffle of some sort. I think to make my theory work, you will see it later on. One of the pilots might have actually cooperated because it might have gone to 45,000 feet, because they wanted to asphyxiate everybody on board, except the ones in the cockpit, who had access to the oxygen masks. The cockpit oxygen supply lasts much longer.

LEMON: Stand by. Because I want to bring in Mitchell now.

Mitchell, when you're doing that demonstration in the simulator with Martin Savidge, I think you said it and other people have said it, it is really tough for a plane to get to 45,000 feet, specially for someone flying it, who is not used to flying it. It depends on the weighing and all that. Is that a feasible possibilities, a feasible theory, that it climbed that high because they wanted to asphyxiate everyone on board?

CASADO: It is feasible to get up that high. Is it feasible to get up that high to asphyxiate the passengers. That, I'm not so sure of. I had a lot of trouble holding that altitude of 45,000 feet. I was on the brink, as Martin mentioned, that over speeding the aircraft, the aircraft being structurally unstable, in other words it is coming off the airplane and stalling the airplane. In other words, airplane losing lift and falling from that height. So, there is a very fine line to fly that airplane, very thin. And one millimeter each up or down and you are out of control.

Being up at that altitude, you are in uncontrolled flight. I mean, you are in experimental aircraft. No pilot in the world knows what it is like to really flight, to really fly that airplane at that height. This is not certified. It is all the numbers and all the manuals mean nothing because it is experimental. So, this is just conjecture. It is nobody knows for sure. But it is possible in theory to reach that altitude. How the airplane behaves in real life, we can simulate it, but in real life, that's very hard to say.

LEMON: Mitchell, what's the peak for a commercial aircraft for altitude?

CASADO: The 777 200 is certified to 43,100 feet. The maximum altitude that is in flying. That is not to say that on everyday it can't reach that altitude. Some days are just really hot the air and the molecules are separated and far apart and that affects lift and it can't get to that height.

LEMON: Well, I mean, just any high commercial aircraft beyond the 777.

CASADO: Beyond the 777, I mean, you are looking at between 35,000 sometimes 41,000 feet. But going up to 45,000 and above is unheard of.

LEMON: So the 777, that's a peak, 45,000 feet.

Brad, this is what you talk about and these are different theories. You heard what Hans said. What do you make of it?

MELTZER: You know, listen, what Hans said is, again, the investigators we use on Decode, my favorite one, had the asphyxiation theory a couple of days ago. And she said you have to go back. Sometimes to the Sherlock Holmes of it all, which is sometimes the most simple explanation is the one that makes sense. And the simple part of this is how do you keep all those people quiet? You have almost 200 people on a plane and they are going seven hours longer than where they were supposed to go. How do you stop almost 200 people from calling loved ones, texting people and doing something to say help us. And that if that plane was really going, to me, again, we know it all these theorizing at this moment. But it is because you did something to keep all those people quiet. And that's what always has to happen if you want them to stay away. You have to keep them quiet. That's the mystery about.

LEMON: Brad, you have heard this meteor theory, right? I'm sure you have. But authorities, Malaysian authorities, are saying it may have flown for seven hours after that. That would probably strike down this meteor theory?

MELTZER: Listen, you know, we will strike down all the theories with the facts when we have them. I think what we are seeing now, and we have to remember this is the reason we are asking these questions is that all conspiracies at their base are mirrors of to what we are fearful of the most, right? I mean, if you look at -- and that is what all this. If you look at JFK, just for an example, in the '60s, we blame the communists. In the '70s, we blame the establishment and the CIA. In the '80s, were the arrive of the Godfather, we blame the mafia. Decade by decade. If you want to know who killed JFK, it was whoever America was most afraid of at that moment in time.

And it is the same right here. This is tapping into our greatest fear, that one the most obvious fear of flying and crashing which is just one of the base fears in all American tab, anyone I'm playing nos. But also that fear that you could disappear in a moment notice. And it is striking something within us where we all know, right, the reason we are talking about this right now so many weeks later as it goes is simply because there is something that really scares us about this. And when that happens, all of our theories come out. So you see meteors, you see everything else coming all at once.

And that to me, is why we -- you know, you once have this moment in time, you have to stop and say, why are we still obsessed with this story? And of course, it is not just because of the concern of the people, which is you know, a vital one. But we are just asking every question we can because we can't wrap our heads around how this could ever happen and how this many people can disappear.

LEMON: Right. The sheer lack of fact and the fact that this plane has been missing for ten days. Many people thought that would never happen. That's impossible. That could never happen in this day and age.

MELTZER: Well, and the thing that's so fascinating. We all know when you are on a plane that there is somebody who keeps their phone on that says, I still have to text my loved one. I want to see how my kid is. He is not doing well, I want to check out and see how he is doing. There is someone who phones home. And in this NSA obsessed world, we just can't believe something is wrong, Don. We know it in our core, that you can't keep everyone quiet like that. And that's what's I think gnawing at all of us right now.

LEMON: Yes. Right now in the U.S., you can keep your phone on. They will tell you at the beginning, keep your phone off. You can keep your device on but turn it on airplane mode.

OK, guys. Thank you very much. We will see you here soon on CNN.

Up next, you are going to hear from someone who makes these underwater locator beacons in black boxes. How close do search crews have to get to pick up a signal on them? You are going to want to see that information.

Plus, one of the Americans on board, his partner is breaking her silence saying Philip Wood is still alive. She is certain of it, she says. You are going to hear from her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Ten days after Malaysia airlines flight 370 disappear, the newest chapter in the investigation is focused on the pilot and the co-pilot. We have learned the last words ever heard from the cockpit, all right, good night, came after the plane's communication systems were switched off. And police have seized and are now examining a flight simulator that the pilot kept in his home.

They are looking for any possible clues about why the plane veered off course and what the Malaysian government describes as a deliberate move. The search area for the missing jet has grown exponentially. It now includes thousands of miles of land and sea.

For its part, Pakistan says its radar system did not pick up any sign of a wayward jet. And for the families and loved ones of the 239 people on board that missing jet, the past ten days have, of course, been agonizing.

American passenger, Phil Wood is among the missing. Today, his girlfriend, Sarah Bajc, spoke to the BBC radio. She said she has to believe that he is still alive and she thinks, in fact, she hopes that the plane was taken for a reason other than to simply be crashed into the ocean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH BAJC, GIRLFRIEND OF PASSENGER PHILIP WOOD: I am quite certain that Philip is still alive. I still feel his presence. And logical conclusion, I used to read Sherlock Holmes as a kid, I think I have memorized all those stories. You know, as improbable as it sounds, all of the fact point to the fact to the scenario that the flight has been taken. And you don't go to that excruciating level of planning and self-discipline and resource enablement to take a plane only to crash it with nobody seeing it.

I am kind of expecting it is going to be a lot longer. I do believe they are still alive. And I mean, if Philip is the only American adult on that plane, he is going to be a valuable asset for them. And he is smart, very self-controlled, very calm guy. So, you know, he won't cause trouble. He'll take a calming approach and if anybody is going to survive it, it's going to be him. So I just have to believe that he is still alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So the plane is headed to Beijing.

CNN's David McKenzie joins us live from Beijing now.

David, it is now day ten for this ordeal for these families. How are they holding up?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are holding up the best way they can, Don. And a lot of them expressing the same kind of sentiment that you have heard there. That they believe that their loved ones might be alive. As these twists and turns have taken us through the last week or so, Don, the new information that this plane was deliberately taken or taken control of coming from Malaysian authorities and others, it gives these families hope no matter how remote that hope is at this point. Also, a great deal of anger and frustration from the families, at authorities, at the government and China as well weighing in saying the Malaysian government hasn't done enough, Don.

LEMON: You know, we are seeing more and more finger pointing from China, David. Why is that?

MCKENZIE: I think there are a number of reasons for that, Don. One is China feels, perhaps, they don't have any control of the situation. China is much bigger, more powerful country than Malaysia. That they are beholden to the Malaysian authorities to lead this investigation. Through state media and others, they have accused Malaysia of dereliction of duty at worst. And that's a quote. And at best, withholding information.

They have also pointed the finger at the U.S. saying the U.S. needs to have, you know, use its intelligence capability. China is a powerful country. It is growing more powerful. But it doesn't have the capabilities like America does. And so in a way, it is feeling the pressure from its own citizens to help solve it but they can't.

So, you know, one way to solve that problem is to point the finger at others. But of course, also, there are all these families, hundreds of them particularly here in Beijing who are feeling the brunt of the emotional trauma of this event. And the Chinese government wants look like they are on their side.

LEMON: David McKenzie in Beijing. Thank you very much, David.

Still to come, the maker of a key part of the flight data recorder tells us about the chances of ever finding the plane when your search area is just so huge. Can pings be sent if the plane is under water? The answer is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.

You know there is a plane is missing. And right now, 25 nations are searching for Malaysia airlines flight 370 and coming up short. Dozens of ships and planes, including the U.S. navy scouring huge swaths of ocean and land for any sign of that missing plane. The search includes trying to detect pings from the flight data recorders.

Chuck Schofield joins me right now. He works for a company that makes one of the components that emit signals to flight data recorders or in flight data recorder.

So Chuck, we do know the plane's transponder was shut off. Is there any way to manually turn off signals from the flight data recorder?

CHUCK SCHOFIELD, VICE PRESIDENT: As far as the pinger goes, no. It is a auto-panic triggers once that begins as soon it is submerged in water. LEMON: So, no. So it triggers automatically. How close do search crews then need to get to the plane to pick up a signal from it.

SCHOFIELD: Well, depending on a few factors. Sea state traffic in the area, algae in the water, et cetera. They are certified to two nautical miles, actually.

LEMON: So you know, given the enormous depth of the Indian Ocean, I think would they have to be right up on it in a certain depth of water?

SCHOFIELD: Well, they are certified to survive up to 20,000 feet. As far as locating the device itself, that two miles is good for any direction.

LEMON: OK. What are the chances, though, of the beacons failing? And you know, we look at recent airline tragedies or missing airplanes and it has taken up to two years in some instances to find the data recorders.

SCHOFIELD: Correct. Actually, each unit is tested in water prior to shipping to its destination. So, the likelihood of the pinger failing is very slim. It is a very reliable device. It has been used for many, many years. This unit has proven effective over long span of time. Other than that, fairly simple and very reliable.

LEMON: All right, Mr. Schofield, stand by because, you know, our meteorologist, Chad Myers, has been reporting on this, also, the tracking of the plane, satellite, radar and all that.

Chad, do you have any questions for him?

MYERS: Chuck, I do. This is not going to show up on some random fish-finder, you know, from some Bertram that is going across fishing in the area. Who has a receiver to hear these pings?

SCHOFIELD: Well, agencies such as the Navy, coast guard, et cetera, typically, can pick up on the signal, it can either be done on the surface or by a toe a ray at a certain depth to locate the drive.

MYERS: So how many receivers do you think are out there listening for a ping right now? Is there any way to put a number on that?

SCHOFIELD: God.

MYERS: Ten, a dozen, a hundred.

SCHOFIELD: I can only speculate. I honestly don't know.

MYERS: OK. That's a fair answer. We don't know either. But you know, Don, if it has to be an official boat, it would be great if we could put something, some kind of receiver on every little fishing vessel out there. And I man not a ten-foot skip (ph). I get that. But then, we would be able to really cover some ground.

LEMON: My question to him, Chad, is that you said this is fairly reliable and it has been tested in, you know, different depth, the plane. Then, what is your explanation, then, for nothing right now?

SCHOFIELD: The only thing I could guess is they are not in the area. You have heard of the proverbial looking for a needle in a hay stack. They haven't found the haystack. So hopefully, they will find it very soon. As I said it is good up to two miles. So we can only hope and pray they find it as soon as humanly possible.

LEMON: So here is the question then, all right. You said they are not looking in the right place. Then, would that lead you to believe over land or over water that they are not looking in the right place? Because it is over land that I would imagine that the possibilities are greater that it would be picked up somewhere by someone listening, depending on how many people. But over water, maybe not.

SCHOFIELD: Well, it is quite possible. The device we manufacture only operates in water. So, it is a completely different system on the aircraft that would be picked if it were be over land.

LEMON: So, not over land. So that the particular tracking device, not over land. This is only over water.

SCHOFIELD: Exactly. It is an under-water locator beacon.

LEMON: All right, OK. Good. Thank you. Appreciate it. Good information.

Chad, we will get back to you.

Up next, they look at some of the histories of Histories' greatest mysteries, from Amelia Earhart's disappearance to the death of Natalie Wood and also Marilyn Monroe.

Plus, what if a piece of debris is found? We will break down what it is like diving looking for that plane for the diving teams. And we will be searching for the wreckage under water. What it is like for them.

The CNN special coverage of the disappearance of flight 370 continue right after a quick break.

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LEMON: The disappearance offer Malaysia airlines flights 370 may become one of history's biggest mysteries and one that leaves us without any firm answers. Some people wonder about at assassination of President Kennedy or the death of Marilyn Monroe.

Our correspondent Alexandra Field has more on the theories and the conspiracy theories linked to history's biggest unsolved mysteries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even when there are plausible explanations.

KEYA MORGAN, HISTORICAL COLLECTOR: Like the Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe case, like the Bobby Kennedy case, like even Amelia Earhart.

FIELD: The answers don't always satisfy.

MORGAN: I think mysteries mean questions.

FIELD: The Strait of Gibraltar, 140 years ago, a ghost ship found floating. What happened to the crew aboard Mary (INAUDIBLE), pirates, am mutiny, perhaps a sea monster.

All popular theories debunked in this 2007 documentary, which tells us what didn't happen but doesn't tell us what did. Seventy-seven years after Amelia Earhart disappeared during her trip around the world, the search continues. Wreckage has never been found.

And Los Angeles county where new questions have come to light about the long-debated death of actress, Natalie Wood. In 1981, it was ruled an accidental drowning. In 2012, a coroner changes the death certificate, drowning and other undetermined factors.

And Marilyn Monroe. In 1962, her death was called a probable suicide, an overdose of barbiturates. But how did her internal organs disappear at the morgue? For skeptics, more questions lingered. What about her links to President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, the various crime bosses?

MORGAN: I have talked to at least 40 people who said, you know, talked to her before she died and said how happy she was, how excited and how she made plans for the next day and then all of the sudden, she is dead.

FIELD: A year later, President Kennedy shot in Dallas. His death at once shocking the nation and still causing confusion. Got perennial question, could there be a second shooter?

MORGAN: The church committee concluded unanimously that there was at least, you know, two different gunmen but yet that's been denied by others.

FIELD: It may be the greatest mystery in American history. Lee Harvey Oswald was ruled the only assassin. But 60 years later, a Gallup poll shows 60 percent of Americans just don't believe it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: Those are just a few of the stories that have long fueled speculation and a string of conspiracy theories. To learn more about them and read more of history's greatest mysteries, you, check out CNN.com -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Alexandra Field, thank you very much.