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Crisis in Ukraine; Boston: Year After Bombing, Tension Remains; Mystery of Flight 370; FAA Completes Air Tracing Upgrade

Aired April 15, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of news for you this morning. Let's send you over to the "NEWSROOM" with Miss Carol Costello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much. Have a great day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, surface. The sonar sub's hunt cut short.

CAPT. MARK MATTHEWS, U.S. NAVY: We just hit a deeper spot than we initially planned.

COSTELLO: The first mission aborted hours early.

Direct challenge. A Russian fighter jet buzzing an American war ship.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon calling, the 19-minute close encounter provocative and unprofessional.

COSTELLO: Making 12 close-range passes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This I think is the most sort of direct challenge to a U.S. destroyer.

COSTELLO: As violent protests sweep across the country.

Hailstorm. Millions on a path of severe weather.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: : The bigger story is this huge temperature clasp.

COSTELLO: Temperatures plummeting 30 degrees. Storms turning into snow.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. The Bluefin 21, the drone submarine, could go back underwater at any time. At the moment, the weather's too rough. Searchers are eager to continue, though, despite the fact the Bluefin's first mission surfaced early and turned up no new leads.

Now the sub did scan the water for about seven hours, but it had to resurface when it reached its maximum depth, about 2.5 miles down.

Also this morning, the Malaysian government announced it will set up an international investigation team to unravel the mystery surrounding Flight 370.

Sumnima Udas is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with more on this.

Good morning.

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. The purpose of the international investigation team is really to evaluate what exactly happened with MH-370, also to avoid such an incident in the future. Now the team will be made up of three specific groups. There's the air worthiness group, which will basically be looking into the maintenance records to see whether this plane was actually adequate or worthy of flying.

There will be an operational group which will be looking into the flight records and operations and also the weather to see if any of those things were a factor in the disappearance of MH-370. And finally, there will be a medical and human factor group, again, basically looking at the records of the pilot, to see whether they had any psychological problems, and also to see if the disappearance was a result of a human error -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Sumnima, I want to talk a little about those black boxes. Malaysia now said it doesn't matter who gets custody of those black boxes. Does that mean Malaysia would be willing to turn them over?

UDAS: That's right. The acting Transport minister here saying today that he doesn't really care who takes custody of this black box. His main aim is to find out what exactly happened, the truth. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN, ACTING MALAYSIAN TRANSPORT MINISTER: I don't think it's important who gets custody as far as I'm concerned, and this is my own personal position. It's finding out the truth. And when going to find out the truth, definitely we have to review what's in the black box. So there is no question of it going to be released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UDAS: Now according to international protocol it is the country to which the black box belongs to that takes custody, or that takes leadership of the investigation, but the Malaysian police chief has already come out and said that Malaysia actually doesn't have the expertise to open the black box, to read that data. So they will be looking elsewhere for help.

Now we know that the U.S., the UK and Australia has those capabilities, but who exactly the Malaysian authorities will be turning to, that is still unclear at the moment -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Sumnima Udas, reporting live from Malaysia this morning. Thank you.

We're learning anything from the disappearance of Flight 370, it's that even these big, commercial planes with all their technology can simply disappear, go missing. Already the FAA is in the middle of a massive undertaking to change the way planes are tracked in the sky. In fact, the FAA announced the completion of a nationwide infrastructure upgrade, which will allow air traffic controllers and pilots to track planes with greater accuracy and reliability.

The new GPS-based tracking system known at ADSB has now been installed nationwide. One hundred facilities are now using the system, which allows for almost continuous -- allows for almost a continuous flow of flight data to and from an airplane. All facilities and all planes will begin using this system no later than the beginning of 2020.

Joining me now to talk about this and more, Peter Goelz, CNN aviation analyst and former managing director for the NTSB, and Thomas Altshuler, he's vice president and group general manager for a Teledyne Marine Systems, which specializes in data collection and communication products for remote environment.

Welcome, gentlemen.

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Good morning.

THOMAS ALTSHULER, VICE PRESIDENT, TELEDYNE MARINE SYSTEMS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thanks for being with me. First off I want to talk about this new technology that will track U.S. planes even if they drop below radar.

Peter, on the surface, it sounds so simple. You put a GPS in the plane and then the plane is tracked by satellite. Why will this process take another six years to implement?

GOELZ: Well, we've got a lot of planes in the air that aren't outfitted with what they call ADSB out which is the avionics equipment that gathers the data and transmits it to the -- to the satellite. So they're giving the air carriers, the owners of the aircraft, time to retrofit their fleets. It's an expensive process.

But you're right. 2020 seems an awful long time to be able to track aircraft over open ocean. ADSB is not designed specifically for that. It's designed to increase the efficiency of the air traffic control system. We can do better, we can do quicker, there's technology out there that can help prevent an MH event in a much shorter time frame.

COSTELLO: Well, it's a little confusing to me. All the ground stations are now in place. Right? It's just a matter of making sure all of the planes are equipped with this GPS system, which, you know, on the ground, I'm in my car with my cell phone. I can program in where I want to go, where satellite will pick me up and take me anywhere I want to go.

Is it that more complicated to put such a system in an airplane?

GOELZ: It is. And you know, anytime you're -- you know, putting new equipment in an aircraft, it can be a challenging event, but in this case, you know, you've got thousands of aircraft that were built prior to, you know, 2006, that simply don't have ADSB out capabilities. It's going to take time to retrofit them and it's expensive.

COSTELLO: And just to be clear. This will only track planes in American airspace, not overseas? Right?

GOELZ: Well, the Europeans are moving towards implementing ADSB as well as our other --Australia is doing it. I think they've fully done it. So it's moving worldwide.

COSTELLO: I hope quicker than later.

Thomas, I want to talk now about the Bluefin-21 and the search for Flight 370. The Bluefin reached its depth then automatically turned back when it hit about 2.7 miles down into the ocean. Apparently the ocean charts were wrong on land. So explain to us what that means.

ALTSHULER: Well, a couple of things. First of all, we should know that the Bluefin functioned the way it should operate. All AUVs have a maximum operating depth and if they go below that they risk what's called implosion or collapsing on themselves. And so, you know, for safe operations they picked that depth as a design criteria.

So the issue in the ocean is that the bathymetry, the ocean depth and the terrain there is really not well understood. So the best you have are things called soundings from ships that help you understand what the general area, but there are going to be regions that could be deeper. There are going to be regions that are going to be more shallow. And so the vehicle needs to be able to operate as best it can in that without risking loss.

COSTELLO: And the weather is rough today. That means they can't put the submarine in the water, which is -- I don't know. It works underwater. So that's kind of hard to understand.

ALTSHULER: Well, so like a lot of things, the riskiest time for these types of systems is during launch and during recovery. And the rougher the seas, the higher the sea stake, the more likely you have issues, for instances, a collision with the ship. And I will tell you that when an AUV and the slip collide, the ship wins every time.

COSTELLO: I can see that. Is there any supplementary technology that can be used along with this drone submarine that might make the task faster?

ALTSHULER: Well, there are other types of systems. So what we're doing right now is we're using the AUV as a platform to carry the side scan sonar. And it's just down there imaging the bottom. There are deep towed sonar systems that can also do that. They're not very common. A few countries have them, but it's really, when it turns -- the reality is this is the study of the deep ocean is still pretty young and as I think it's been stated a couple of times by different people in interviews, you know, our knowledge of the deep ocean is less than our knowledge of some of the nearer places in space. It's really a -- the final frontier, let's say.

COSTELLO: All right. Well, we're awaiting the weather to clear up and hopefully they'll put that submarine down again sometime today.

Peter Goelz, Thomas Altshuler, thank you so much.

ALTSHULER: Thank you.

GOELZ: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, too close for comfort. A Russian fighter jet buzzes a U.S. Navy destroyer, not once but 12 times.

CNN's Phil Black is following the story for us. Good morning.

BLACK: Good morning, Carol. And yes, here in the east of Ukraine, the government says it is fighting back with an anti-terror operation against separatists and pro-Russian forces in the region.

Got more details in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Provocative and unprofessional. That's how the Pentagon is describing a series of close encounters between a Russian fighter jet and a U.S. Navy war ship. Officials say a Russian plane made 12 -- 12 -- close-range passes over the USS Donald Cook in the Black Sea. In other words, the Russians buzzed a U.S. warship repeatedly.

Now the jet was unarmed but the bold 90-minute challenge is being seen as the most direct confrontation between the United States and Russia in years.

In the meantime, pro-Russia militants are refusing to give us ground in Ukraine as violent clashes sweep across that eastern part of that country.

So let's bring in CNN's Phil Black, he's on the ground in Ukraine, and Ambassador Nicholas Burns, he's the former undersecretary of state for political affairs.

Welcome.

AMBASSADOR NICHOLAS BURNS, FORMER UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Ambassador, let me start with you. Seriously? The Russians buzzed a U.S. ship 12 times? What kind of message was Russia trying to send?

BURNS: Well, carol, it's a clear message that the Russian government wants to intimidate the United States. The U.S. warship, of course, was in international waters. The United States actually has allies in the Black Sea, Bulgaria and Romania. And so, our ships have a perfect right to be there.

But the Russians are trying to put pressure on the U.S. to back off of any overt military support to Ukraine. A decision President Obama has not made. Do we give conventional military support to give it a chance to maintain its own territory? In the eastern part of Ukraine, these gangs are armed men, ethnic Russians and the administration says supported by the Russian government has taken over municipal buildings.

So, this is a challenging time both for the Ukrainian government but also for the U.S.

COSTELLO: Let's go to Phil Black and ask what's happening in Ukraine now because there are several things. We've heard that Ukrainian officials are sending some sort of military equipment to Eastern Ukraine now to possibly fight back. Is that true?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Ukrainian government, Carol is calling it an anti-terror operation. But, yes, this is essentially they say a fight back against these pro-Russian and separatist groups and forces that have overtaken administrative buildings and infrastructure in cities and towns across the east.

The Ukrainian government has been talking about doing this for some days now. Threatening the use of force, but hasn't followed through on it, yet. A little hesitant and that's probably because there are no good options here for the Ukrainian government.

If they allow these groups to settle in and hold, then obviously, the authority of the government in Kiev is diminished. It is eroded. But if they force a confrontation, there is a risk this could escalate very quickly, that lives could be lost. That lives could be lost, that it could give Russia a pretext for more direct military intervention, Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Phil, we just got in these pictures. Pro-Russian politicians at some sort of event and apparently Ukrainians are fighting back using flour? We're going to put it up in a second.

So, here's this pro-Russian politician, and he's speaking in support of Russia, and separating from Ukraine, and he gets pelted with flours and actual -- flour at this event. We've heard so many times, Phil, that Russian protesters go into Ukrainian-Russian buildings, government buildings, and Ukrainians just leave the buildings and allow the Russians to take over.

But again, this demonstrates that that's about to end.

BLACK: It shows just how divisive the feelings are. Not just in this country but particularly here in the east. It's worth noting that this eastern region which is now very much in the grips of this crisis, it is not Crimea, where there was this overwhelming majority pro-Russian sentiment. The mood here is more mixed. Certainly people here speak Russian. Identify, culturally, ethnically with Russia but it doesn't mean they want to secede from Ukraine or join the Russian federation for that matter.

So, while you do have these very committed groups occupying these public buildings that does not mean they enjoy overwhelming widespread public support. It means if this were to escalate, there is enormous potential for further violence and division within the society -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Ambassador Burns, President Putin apparently requested a phone call with President Obama. The two men talked, and president Putin said to Mr. Obama, you know, you've got to help me settle things down in Ukraine, because things could get out of control with these Ukrainian people. You know?

It could turn into civil war. Help us, and President Obama responded, well, we kind of thing Russia's at fault. So what do we make of that?

BURNS: Well, I think these two leaders are talking past each other, obviously. They completely disagree on what's happening. From the viewpoint of the United States, it looks like the Russian government is actively aiding, planning these demonstrations and takeovers of Ukrainian government buildings in the eastern part of the country.

So, the U.S. has to decide how far do we go in trying to push back against the Russians? Does it make sense to extend conventional military aid to Ukraine, but also should the U.S. engage in another round of sanctions? There's talk this morning, Carol, that the United States and the European Union will soon announce more visa sanctions and asset bans against Russian government individuals.

That doesn't seem to be quite enough to counter what President Putin is trying to do, if the U.S. and Europe could announce big sectoral sanctions or financial sanctions. That might be enough to actually affect the behavior of President Putin but the U.S. and E.U. are not going in that direction.

COSTELLO: You know, it seems like President Putin is fighting this weird psychological war at the moment. You know, on one hand, Russian jets buzzing American warships and on the other hand, president Putin calls up President Obama urging peace. It just doesn't make sense.

BURNS: Well, I think it's a facade. President Putin is aiming to destabilize the Ukrainian government and really attack its credibility.

If he can show that the Ukrainian government can't even control events on the streets in eastern Ukraine, that might be a pretext for president Putin to send his own forces in, or to have a more overt Russian policy to try to dominate eastern Ukraine.

So, a lot is riding on the ability of the Ukrainian government, and they've launched operations this morning to retake some of those buildings but as Phil Black says, if the Ukrainian government goes -- you know, uses strong means to gain those buildings back that could provide the pretext for the Russians to say that the ethnic Russians' rights are being violated.

So, the Ukrainians are in a very difficult situation. They have to show firmness, but they also have to be restrained enough so it doesn't lead to too much violence.

COSTELLO: Phil Black, and Ambassador Nicholas Burns, thanks to you both.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, last April 15th, three innocent lives lost, hundreds more injured when two bombs exploded at the Boston marathon. Boston one year later. We'll take you there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's been one year since the impossible happened in Boston. Terrorists struck the mayor thorn and event held peacefully, proudly for decades. And the seconds after the bombs went off people risked their lives to help complete strangers. In the days and weeks and months that followed, the city defined what it meant to be Boston Strong. Overcoming grueling physical and emotional injuries and of course rallying around their teams, World Champion Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins.

Today, the city remembers three people who lost their lives last April and hundreds more injured. An indoor tribute begins at noon with a musical performance by the Boston Pops, and then remembrances for the victims and remarks by three of the survivors. Vice President Joe Biden and Governor Deval Patrick will also speak.

The program then it heads outside to the finish line where a moment of silence takes place at 2:49 p.m., the moment the first of the two bombs exploded.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin has more on the survivors and a look back at the manhunt that followed the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You would never in a million years picture what happened here.

SGT. SEAN MURPHY, RETIRED MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE OFFICER: Could be anyone's neighborhood. Could be any neighborhood, anywhere.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Retired Sergeant Sean Murphy, photographer with the Massachusetts state police, saw the entire siege and witnessed the capture of one of the bombers walking around this quiet neighborhood a year later, the tension still lingers.

MURPHY: In a sense it seems like it was a year ago and in another sense it seems like it was just yesterday.

BALDWIN: It started with a killing of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier leading to a car chase into Watertown and a shoot-out killing one suspect. Then a city-wide search for his younger brother. The focus: the very heart of Watertown. P.A. ANNOUNCER: Chief Deveau is advising all Watertown eastern residents to remain in their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It filled up. There was like 50 cop cars out here.

MURPHY: The way they rolled in behind us, coming from both sides.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were scared of every civilian walking down the streets.

BALDWIN: Abby Murphy, pregnant at the time, heard gunshots erupt outside her window.

ABBY MURPHY: You know, it's loud. Is it super close? It is blocks away? Do I need to duck? Yes, it's a scary thing. We were trying to be really calm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the tactical vehicles.

BALDWIN: And hunkering down, Sean Murphy snapped photo after photo. What he captured through a lens, one of the biggest takedowns of a wanted man in American history leading to this home after a tip about blood on a boat.

MURPHY: Soon as I took that image I knew that this boy was very close and I knew that, really, I need to find cover.

BALDWIN: SWAT teams risked their lives closing in on one of the men they believed was responsible. Not knowing if the 19-year-old was armed or perhaps worse, strapped with explosives.

MURPHY: All of a sudden, this guy came up.

BALDWIN (on camera): What was that moment like? Seeing him?

MURPHY: This was a very dangerous, an act of -- a scene. It was good to know that this guy wasn't going to leave.

BALDWIN (voice-over): He didn't leave. Police ultimately pulled the suspect off the boat, pinning him to the ground ending a massive manhunt, and for the first time in days -- Boston could breathe.

(on camera): This was over, at that point.

MURPHY: A dangerous guy. He had done a lot of dangerous things and I think, really, a that point, his eyes were wide open. I think he knows that his rein of terror was over. -- his reign's terror was over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Brooke Baldwin reporting from Boston.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the hope for finding Flight 370 is a 15-foot long torpedo-like scanner. Brian Todd got a unique look at the Bluefin 21.

Hi, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. This is a very sophisticated underwater vehicle designed to take a mosaic of the ocean floor and map it for debris. We'll also why it didn't quite live up to the job on its first deployment. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)