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Searching for Pings; Oscar Pistorius Takes the Stand

Aired April 08, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for joining me here on this Tuesday afternoon.

Right now, the U.S. Navy's towed pinger locater, the TPL, scouring this narrow section of the Indian Ocean searching for the Flight 370's black boxes. It is capable of hearing any pings nearly four miles deep, but, so far, the ocean has proved to be silent, no repeat of those two ping detections from just this past weekend, the first one for more than two hours, and the second for just about 13 minutes.

We can now play this for you, though, the exact clicks that the Ocean Shield, this Australian ship, heard. And now the race is on to relocate those pings. Today, the search zone is drastically scaled back, reduced to 30,000 square miles. As for the underwater drone here, with some pretty impressive sonar equipment here, the American Bluefin, it will stay out of the water unless they hear another ping to narrow the search even further.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGUS HOUSTON, CHIEF SEARCH COORDINATOR: Now, until we stop the pinger search, we will not deploy the submersible. Is that clear? We will not deploy it, unless we find -- unless we get another transmission, in which case we will probably have a better idea of what's down there, and we will go down there and have a look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Another big revelation from this search task force, the exact frequency of those pings we just played for you.

Let me bring in CNN's Will Ripley, live in Perth, 3:00 in the morning there.

Will, the ping detected by the Ocean Shield was not the same frequency that we would actually expect to hear from a black box. What are crews there saying about that?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, remember when we first got the word that those Chinese ships had potentially heard a ping, and we kept hearing the number 37.5 kilohertz, that that was the frequency that would come from a flight data recorder.

And then we're hearing that these pings were like 33, and 33.2. And so you're wondering, what gives, why is it not the same number? Well, the manufacturer of the black boxes says that that it still makes this a credible lead. There's still a very good chance that those frequencies would have come from an in-flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder.

And here's why, two factors. Battery life is one. If the battery is older, the frequency can change. Also, the depth at which the signal is being emitted, then the water pressure surrounding the device, that can also change the frequency that's detected on the surface.

So they still feel very much that these two pings that were detected over the weekend are certainly a credible lead, which is why they're scouring this area so closely right now.

BALDWIN: Will Ripley, thank you so much.

Want to broaden out the discussion on this whole search as crews are working effortlessly -- tirelessly working, carefully listening for another ping. The process is pretty much as complex as they come.

CNN aviation analyst and former Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo joins me from Charleston, South Carolina.

Mary, nice to have you back on.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I think I know the answer, but I think a lot of people out there probably are wondering, the fact that these two different pings detected over the weekend, this is a huge lead. So I know that we heard from Mr. Houston saying they're not going to deploy this underwater vehicle, this Bluefin, until they know precisely the area. But time is running out. Why not?

SCHIAVO: Well, because they want to take another chance and have another try at finding the pings again.

If they put the Bluefin down and they got a lot of equipment noise going on, they're probably making their best efforts to just try just a day or two more to try to get those pings again, because if they can narrow it down, they can get that area down, perhaps as small as, you know -- I know it sounds like an awful lot, but if it was just an area maybe six miles by six miles, then it's down to 36 square miles.

It would be such a big improvement if that's all they had to do, because they will have to put that submersible in and literally it is going to have to map the ocean floor square mile by square mile.

BALDWIN: They want to increase the probability and hone in on that area.

So as they continue dragging this TPL along, what did you make of Will Ripley's point? And here we have -- it's all about frequency, right? They're listening for a certain type of frequency for these pings from the black boxes. The frequency that was detected over the weekend was slightly, maybe just 10 percent off of what they were looking for. Does that discourage you?

SCHIAVO: Well, it does. But, you know, I want to like the explanation.

BALDWIN: Don't we all?

SCHIAVO: It's supposed to be 37.5. It's supposed to be 37.5. But, you know, frankly, it's all we have. So if the experts and the pinger manufacturers say that, over time, and both the battery degradation and the water, the effects of the saltwater can cause it to be just slightly off of the proper frequency, you know, that's what they're going on, and that's what we have to go with.

Ordinarily, it is 37.5. But if the manufacturer says it's still good to go at 33.5, then sounds like a good lead, because it's the only lead we have.

BALDWIN: It is the only lead we have. Let me, again, because we have obtained the actual pings from -- I shouldn't say pings -- the actual clicks, whatever it was that was detected over the weekend. We have it. Let's roll it again.

To my untrained ear, I'm looking at that and sort of want to sort of pull my hair out because I have no idea what I'm listening for. What would one be listening for, watching for?

SCHIAVO: Sure you do.

BALDWIN: Tell me.

SCHIAVO: You do, because it's not anything in nature. There's no fish, there's no whale that makes a sound like that. And it's this repetition, it's every second, it's like the grandfather clock, it's like the alligator in the "Peter Pan" movie that swallowed the alarm clock. It's repetition.

BALDWIN: Right.

SCHIAVO: But they didn't just get one. They got two, which means it sounds to me like they got both the pinger from the black box, cockpit voice recorder and from the flight data recorder.

And that was encouraging, too. So I think Angus Houston is right on when he says we want to go back out and listen some more before we put all kinds of stuff in the ocean, which of course would make it impossible to listen. And maybe those batteries can hang on for just another day or two.

BALDWIN: But, again, remind us, I keep going back. I have read so much about Air France Flight 447, because we know that they never had the pings, right? This was two years later. They had the debris a couple days out. It was two years after that plane went down that they found some of the wreckage. Some days later, they found those black boxes because of science improving and looking at more of the data over those two years and finally sending the submersibles down.

But remind us how they found the wreckage once again.

SCHIAVO: Well, because Air France had those, what they call system status update messaging. What the plane did itself, and it was wonderful, within hours of the plane going down, we had these printouts from the plane, and the plane itself told Air France, told back at their base, their airline base, that it was having trouble, its airspeed was deteriorating.

As the plane was literally stalling and fall out of the sky, various systems on the plane shut down. And the plane did that to try to save itself, and the Boeing 777 does this, too. The plane itself tries to save itself and it will shut down other systems.

While this Airbus was shutting down systems to try to save itself, and the airspeed was deteriorating, it sent messages back. Every time it sent a message, they knew. And so they went right back to the location where it sent those messages, and that's where they looked, and that's where they found them.

BALDWIN: But we don't have all those messages in this case, do we?

SCHIAVO: No, because Malaysia did not subscribe to the service, and because that has never been made mandatory, and because we have black boxes instead of glass boxes. If we had glass boxes, they're downloaded all the time, we would know exactly where to look. But we have to change the law to get that.

BALDWIN: We do. Mary Schiavo, thank you so much.

SCHIAVO: We do.

BALDWIN: Coming up, much more on the missing plane this hour. You have heard a lot about it. We continue talking about these pings. Coming up, we will take you to the lab to actually show you the science, but just the raw science behind how they work, and how the sound is actually detected in these deep ocean waters.

Plus, the Blade Runner takes the stand for a second day of emotional testimony here. Today, Oscar Pistorius describes the moment he shot and killed his girlfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR PISTORIUS, DEFENDANT: Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door. My ears were ringing. I couldn't hear anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Next, what he said about those moments leading up to the deadly gunfire, and how that could impact his fate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius back on the stand today, telling the court what happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. But day two of his testimony proved to much to bear. Toward the end, he broke down sobbing uncontrollably for a second day. He could not continue. And the judge ended court early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PISTORIUS: At this point, I heard a window open in the bathroom. It sounded like a -- the window sliding open. And then I could hear the window hit the frame, as if it had slipped to a point where it couldn't slide anymore.

It was at that point that I was just overcome with fear, and I started screaming and shouting for the burglar or the intruders to get out of my house.

I shouted for Reeva to get on the floor.

That's the moment that everything changed. I thought there was a burglar that was gaining entry into my home. The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to arm myself, that I needed to protect Reeva and I, that I needed to get my gun.

Into the passage, where the closet is to the bathroom, it was at that point that I was just overcome with fear. And I started screaming and shouting for the burglar or the intruders to get out of my house.

I heard a door slam, which could have only been the toilet door. So, I started screaming again for Reeva to phone the police. And then I heard a noise from inside the toilet that I perceived to be somebody coming out of the toilet. Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door.

My ears were ringing. I couldn't hear anything. So I shouted -- I kept on shouting for Reeva to call the police. I retreated back to a point where I got to the corner of the bed -- on the bed, and I tried to lift myself up. I was talking to Reeva.

There was nobody -- no one responded to me. I flung the door open, and I threw it open. And I sat over Reeva and I cried. And I don't know how long -- I don't know how long I was there for. She (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will take an adjournment. Court will adjourn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The voice of Oscar Pistorius, day two, inside that courtroom.

Let me bring in HLN host Nancy grace. She hosts the 8:00 p.m. hour on our sister network.

And, Nancy Grace, nice to have you on. I know you have made no secret that you're not a fan of Pistorius here in this case. But when you saw him, you know, breaking down, sobbing here again today, does that change your opinion at all of him?

NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": It does not change my opinion of him.

It does, however, change my opinion of what may happen in the outcome of this case. The law is this. Whether we like the law or not, the law is that -- and I quote -- "One may immediately regret the deed, but that does not negate or change the mens rea, the intent to commit the act at the time of the incident."

Yes, it hurts me to hear anyone crying the way he did on the stand. It's heartbreaking, in fact. He came off the stand. He had to lie down. His shrink came and was stroking his face in the courtroom to get him calmed down.

I don't know who could listen to that and not feel some of his pain. But I don't know how much he's crying for Reeva or how much he's crying for himself. So what we have got to go back to, under the law, is what was happening at the time of the incident. Now, remember, this is on direct. When he gets on cross-exam, I think we may hear a different story.

BALDWIN: A couple of different points I want to get to here that we heard from his testimony. One question, and I think how Oscar Pistorius would sort of answer this, but to you, is it ever OK, it ever reasonable for someone -- we know he fired those four gunshots through the door without knowing who or what was behind it. How reasonable is that for the judge to hear?

GRACE: Well, I know this is going to be odd coming from me, but from a defense angle, it is in his house where he's firing the shots.

He knows that it's only him and Reeva there. According to him, he thinks Reeva's still in the bed. So under those circumstances, you have a right to fire to protect yourself in your home. However, the other testimony does not synch, it does not jibe with what we just heard him say.

According to multiple other witnesses -- and, yes, they were cross- examined, but according to many other witnesses, they heard arguing between a man and a woman before the gunshots. They heard a gunshot, then a woman screaming, and then three other gunshots in quick staccato.

Now, if they are to believe, then his story is a lie. If his story is to believe, then they misheard.

BALDWIN: Is a lie -- Nancy, what would be his motive for doing this?

GRACE: His motive for lying?

BALDWIN: His motive for killing his girlfriend.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Oh, motive, well, number one, I always say there's never a good motive for murder. The state is not required to show motive, but we do know this.

We know this was the early morning hours of Valentine's Day. And in the week I believe preceding that, she had had an innocent coffee with an old boyfriend. And Pistorius had called her during that, and was not happy that she was having coffee with this guy.

There are discussions of texting an old boyfriend. Jealousy, jealousy. We also know he is a hothead when it comes to guns, having fired them in public places before, and his friends always took the fall for it, a restaurant, in a car, threatening somebody else with a gun. And he always got away with it. And this time it went too far.

Also, very quickly, he states that he was on the balcony adjusting a fan, shutting the window, came back in, the room was dark. He heard the noise, he's on his stumps, he's at eye level with the mattress. The gun is under her side of the bed. He had to look right into the bed to get that gun.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: And then the question is, why not -- you know, one question would be, why not protect her or think about where she is before grabbing the gun and going to the bathroom? That's one question.

GRACE: Yes, and that's a credibility issue. And the trier of fact, typically a jury here, but there the judge, the trier of fact must determine who is to be believed, the neighbors that heard the loud argument between the two of them or Pistorius crying.

And I told you this was going to happen. He vomited and cried all the way up until the time he took the stand. They had to keep pulling out the trash can, so he could vomit and dry-heave the whole day.

BALDWIN: We will see how he does with cross-examination. Nancy Grace, we will keep this conversation going. Thank you, ma'am.

Watch Nancy on our sister station HLN each weeknight 8:00 Eastern.

Coming up next, they're the key to finding the black boxes from Flight 370, which could be thousands of feet below the ocean's surface. Those black box pingers, how do they work? We will take you to a lab, show you the real science behind this coming up.

And investigators haven't heard any of those pings since the two they heard over the weekend. So now what's the strategy for this narrow search? We will talk to an ocean expert, live, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have been talking so much about pinger locators, and signals, in the quest to find this missing Flight 370.

Well, now CNN is getting a closer look as to how they work and what they can really tell investigators.

CNN's Randi Kaye traveled to the largest manufacturer of black box pingers to show us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If search teams in the Indian Ocean are hot on the trail of Flight 370's black box this man would know it. He's president of the largest manufacturer of black box pingers.

ANISH PATEL, PRESIDENT, DUKANE SEACOM: It is activated by this water switch. And on this side is the lithium battery.

KAYE: Anish Patel invited us to Dukane Seacom in Sarasota, Florida, where they turn out about 100 of these underwater airplane beacons daily. Authorities believe it was one of his team's pingers on board the doomed flight. He also told us authorities allowed him to listen to the pinger sounds just detected over the weekend.

(on camera): So you actually heard the pinger sound that the ship picked up?

PATEL: They've sent us some data.

KAYE: And how did it sound to you?

PATEL: Just like one of our pingers.

KAYE (voice-over): What does one of their pingers sound like? Listen.

(on camera): So it's instant. As soon as it hits the water it starts pinging.

PATEL: That switch doesn't take a lot of water to activate. It's designed that way. It's fool-proof as much as possible.

KAYE: So if this were in an airplane and hit the ocean this would start immediately, this pinging sound.

PATEL: If it was not damaged in the incident you saw how quickly it began to ping.

KAYE (voice-over): In perfect conditions the pinger's pulse can travel as far as two and a half nautical miles. Ocean caverns and cliffs, even vegetation can get in the way, though, limiting that distance.

Before any beacon is shipped from here its sound output is measured in one of these huge 50,000 gallon tanks. It's lowered into the tank through the floor above. Surrounded by hydrophones, ultrasonic readings are recorded on this computer.

(on camera): This pinger is from TWA Flight 800 which went off the coast of New York back in 1996. Now this company made this pinger but after it was recovered they got it back. Now this one was found in shallow water but they are designed to function in water as deep as 20,000 feet. (voice-over): But what about the frequency? Crews at sea picked up a slightly lower frequency than the pinger's standard frequency of 37. 5 kilohertz. Patel says water temperature can shift the frequency.

(on camera): It's so distinct, right? There's nothing else that would sound like this with this frequency.

PATEL: And 37.5 kilohertz was selected because it is unique from the background noise in the ocean.

KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, Sarasota, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Randi Kaye, thank you for that.

And coming up here, take a look at this. These are live pictures out of an aviation accident lab in California where they investigate airline crashes. And so if Flight 370 is ever found, what can experts learn from really examining pieces of the plane? We will explore that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)