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Bluefin Redeployed; Bluefin Technology; U.S. Ship in Plane Search; Students on Capsized Ferry

Aired April 16, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you so much.

Great to be with all of you here on this Wednesday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And we begin with another number, 41. Day 41 now in the hunt to find Flight 370. Right now really the best shot at finding this plane is the U.S. Navy's unmanned submarine believed to be at this point somewhere deep in the Indian Ocean. This is the third time the Bluefin team is sending down this sub.

The first time it hit its depth limit. Second time came to an abrupt end because of some sort of technical issue. While it was on deck getting fixed, they downloaded data. Once again, nothing found. Forced to cut short its 16 hour seabed mapping shifts (ph) twice begs the question, how long is this going to take? Sixteen feet long, it has to map a section of the ocean roughly 230 square miles.

So, here's a comparison for you. Chicago, hidden deep under water. The search area, roughly the size of America's third largest city. It's an area that will take months to scan and that is without these hiccups. Keep that in mind.

So, we have a bunch of experts coming up. We'll ask them if this is going to take so long, why not throw more of these pieces of technology at this? Why not more Bluefins to be used? And is this even the right device for the job? We're going to get those questions answered.

Also, these men and women, the mothers, the fathers, the aunts, the uncles, the families, the wait here increasingly agonizing. In fact, at this video conference briefing with Malaysia Airlines delayed, full of technical glitches. We are, again, witnessing anger boiling over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To show that this particular format has the results (INAUDIBLE), so we've decided to leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There they go, getting up and walking out. They say there have been too many lies, too many broken promises. So, today, they stormed out of the briefing. Let's take you now, 2:00 in the morning in Perth, Australia. Will Ripley on this once again for us today where the search is being coordinated.

And, Will, talking about the Bluefin, what are they hoping, third time's a charm?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they've -- this third mission does turn out to be a full 16 hour scan, as you mentioned, this would be the first time that it was able to complete it. We had the technical glitch, we had the problems with the water being too deep. And we've been asking the same questions that you're asking there in the U.S., Brooke, you know, what's going on with the Bluefin? Are there going to be additional resources brought in to help support the Bluefin, to help speed up this process?

I asked the search chief, Angus Houston, that very question at the press conference on Monday and his answer to me was, the Bluefin-21 is the only asset in this area available right now. There's nothing else anywhere close and therefore we have to make do with this piece of equipment. But when you see these hiccups, when we've now had two out of three missions cut shot and that we don't know yet what -- the jury's still out on this third one, you have to wonder, how long is this going to take and is this the right tool for this job?

BALDWIN: OK, so we're going to ask questions with our experts with regard to this one single Bluefin. But what about, Will, what about the oil slick, tell me about that, that's really been drawn from the ocean's surface in this search area.

RIPLEY: Yes. So we know that they -- you know, they found this oil slick near the area where the last ping from Flight 370 was detected and they took a two liter sample, which is, we're told, is sea water mixed with whatever substance it was floating on the surface of the ocean. That sample was brought by an Australian ship to an aircraft. The aircraft landed here in western Australia. And as far as we know it's either being delivered to a lab right now or it is at a lab where analysis could come relatively soon. We were told that this might turn around pretty quickly and we might get an answer definitively, is this a substance that would possibly be leaking from that Boeing 777? So that's something that we're definitely monitoring out here. No answers yet, though, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Will Ripley, we know you're -- you're staying on them for us. Will in Perth, Australia, for us.

But let's focus on this Bluefin-21 because this entire search at the moment is really hanging on this one piece of technology that's already hit two snags. So joining me to talk about this, Richard Gillespie, founder of International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, and CNN aviation analyst and science writer Jeff Wise.

So, gentlemen, welcome.

And, Richard, if I may, I'd like to begin with you. Just sort of reading what you told our producers, I understand you have experience working with the Bluefin specifically searching for the Amelia Earhart wreckage. And you say, sir, that this is the wrong technology for this search for this airplane. Tell me why.

RICHARD GILLESPIE, FOUNDER, INTL. GROUP FOR HISTORIC AIRCRAFT RECOVERY: Well, I can tell you that it didn't work for us. We were very hopeful that the Bluefin-21 would be the answer, the way to search to this very hard to find wreckage. What we found was that the Bluefin-21 couldn't perform reliably. We had extremely frustrating, aborted missions, just as we've seen in the Indian Ocean. We saw malfunctions. Sometimes -- sometimes silly stuff, like the propeller wasn't turning because it -- the shaft was just spinning and the prop (ph) wasn't tightened down on it. And then technical issues. It was just -- it was not fun.

BALDWIN: OK. So I hear your frustration. Give me other options, Richard. What else could they be using? What would be better?

GILLESPIE: Well, everybody likes to focus on the new and sexy. Autonomous underwater vehicles are all the fashion and they can operate well under the right conditions and with the right technology. It was a device called a REMUS 6000 that found Air France 447. But in this particular case, they might want to consider -- and I'm not an undersea search expert. I just know what doesn't work or didn't work for us.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GILLESPIE: But towed array sonar. It's an older technology. You use the same sonar but instead of sending it off in a fish on a programmed mission, and that's a very complicated thing to do as we're seeing, you simply tow the thing behind a boat at the specified distance and you don't run into these kind of problems.

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes. I --

GILLESPIE: It's not as sexy.

BALDWIN: This is where more your wheelhouse, sir, than mine. I do know that we talked a lot about the towed pinger locator and, Jeff, I want you to jump in because that, perhaps, was something separate from what you're talking about. But let's stay on the AUV issue. I mean Richard pointed out, Jeff, that, you know, three of those AUVs were used, three, to find the wreckage and ultimately the black boxes of Air France 447. Tell me why they're just using one Bluefin here.

JEFF WISE, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, they're only using one because that's all that they have available. And you wonder, well, if more authorities had exerted more pressure, if more of these things could have been scared up. You know, it's not that there's just one or two kinds of AUVs, there's all sorts of different kinds. There's all sorts of different manufactures that make them.

You know, apart from whatever technical glitches might crop up, the reliability of the machine, I'm not familiar with that. But I do know that this machine is operating right at the limit of what it's designed to do. Whereas something like the REMUS 6000 is designed to go another 1,500 meters deeper. So it's just -- it would be easy for this other AUV to do this kind of work where the Bluefin, it's really almost not appropriate for this job.

BALDWIN: I mean, I feel like though, at the same time, Jeff, you know, there is one school of thought. Maybe this is the more optimistic, I don't know, ignorant school of thought, which could be saying, hey, maybe this is a great sign, using one Bluefin. That tells me that they are in the neighborhood , ready to roll. They're going to find this thing. Are you that confident?

WISE: Well, -- well, I mean, I'm just trying to read into what the authorities are doing.

BALDWIN: Yes.

WISE: I mean we're just having to guess based on what we're seeing.

BALDWIN: Yes.

WISE: You know, you could say, well, they must be so confident that these pings match up with what we'd expect to find from the black box and that their -- think that one AUV will do the job. On the other hand, I would point out that, remember, they spent six days going pingless, waiting, you know, hoping that the towed pinger locator would detect more pings. They wanted to try to get every piece of information they could. Obviously they weren't satisfied or they wouldn't have waited so long. And so -- and (INAUDIBLE) such a huge area I find a little puzzling because, you know, the towed pinger locator range is only about one mile under water. So you would expect that if they have these four pings and they believe these pings are real and not false positives, that they -- you would think that they would believe that they have narrowed it down to a fairly compact area.

BALDWIN: You would think.

WISE: Right.

BALDWIN: You would think, we say again and again.

WISE: So why (ph) Chicago.

BALDWIN: Right. Right. Which is nothing, as they say.

Richard Gillespie and Jeff Wise, gentlemen, both of you, thank you so much for your expertise. We're going to have you back on a little later this hour with some more important questions because we have this incredible list of very wonky, if I may, you know, very in the weeds questions about, you know, what the families want to know from this investigation. So we're going to talk to a couple of those of you too in just a little while. So we'll see you. Stand by for that.

Just ahead here, we will go aboard this ship, the Cesar Chavez, with exclusive access to its mission. This is bringing fresh supplies to investigators searching for this missing plane. It is the only U.S. ship in the region and we will take you on it. Don't miss that.

Later on, suspicious activity along the Boston Marathon route. Have you seen this guy? Have you seen this video? A man arrested acting bizarre on the one-year anniversary of the Boston bombings. He was in court today. We have that update for you coming up.

And a ship in South Korea, this ferry, capsizes. More than 200 people are still missing. That rescue operation still underway. Stay right here. Special coverage continues after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

You know, with so much attention focused on the underwater hunt for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, it's easy to forget that the search continues on the surface as well. And just today, there were 11 military planes, three civilian planes, 11 ships scouring more than 21,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean for any possible sign of this missing plane. And our correspondent, CNN's Miguel Marquez, is actually aboard the only U.S. ship in this search for 370. The supply ship, Cesar Chavez.

Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Brooke.

CNN got exclusive access to that U.S. ship that's operating in the Indian Ocean as the search both above and below the water heats up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): An all-out push in the search for any scrap of debris from Malaysian Flight 370.

MARQUEZ (on camera): That's the actual search area?

CAPT. ROLLIN BELFI, CAPTAIN, USNS CESAR CHAVEZ: That is one of the search areas.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Captain Rollin Belfi, skipper of the U.S. Navy supply ship, Cesar Chavez, the only U.S. ship playing a role in the hunt for the missing plane.

MARQUEZ (on camera): What is it like to be part of this mission that has gripped the world's attention?

BELFI: Well, first of all, we're proud to play a part. I mean there's many moving parts on this mission.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Another moving part in this search for debris? The highly sophisticate U.S. surveillance and reconnaissance P-8, or Poseidon aircraft. New video shows the plane in action, capable of taking high-resolution pictures over enormous areas and detecting tiny pieces of anything floating.

Australia's HMAS Success is one of several ships investigating on the ocean's surface what the P-8 sees from the air.

Now with the Cesar Chavez in play, the search both on the surface and even beneath it can continue non-stop.

MARQUEZ (on camera): You're here for the foreseeable future? You going to go back and forth?

BELFI: There's no -- we are here as long as we're tasked by our -- by seven (ph) fleet. It's a 24-7 operation.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Like a massive floating 7-Eleven, the Cesar Chavez already taking on thousands of gallons of fuel and supplies, only hours in port here before another 1,000 mile, three day journey to keep the searchers searching.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: So the Cesar Chavez right now is still in port, taking on supplies, getting ready to go back out there again. As far as the Bluefin-21 goes, it is on its third dive right now. And it sounds as though it is going to plan. It will be down there for several more hours before its brought up, its data downloaded and before we know whether it saw anything down there.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Miguel Marquez, thank you so much.

And coming up, the families of those missing on Flight 370 waiting for any word of what happened to their loved ones. So what, if any, recourse do these families have trying to maybe sue for damages? And the bigger question, could they have their case heard in courtrooms in America? That's coming up.

Also ahead, this frantic search for nearly 300 people. Have you seen this? This ferry capsizes off the coast of South Korea. Rescuers there desperately trying to find any sign of survivors. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want you to take a look at something, because we have some brand new video to show you here of the suspect in that alleged bomb hoax on the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. He is Kayvon Edson. Here he is in court. This is just a couple hours ago. The self-described performance artist is charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device, a rice cooker inside a backpack. Edson was arrested yesterday after people spotted this man on the -- here's cell phone video recorded him acting strangely on Boylston Street very, very near that finish line where those two pressure cooker bombs exploded one year ago yesterday. You can see him barefoot. By the way, I was there. It was freezing cold and raining. Here he is walking around, wearing some black veil chanting Boston strong. And the mug shot. As you can see, he had paint below his eye and running down his face. He has been sent to a state hospital for a mental health check. Police also found a second backpack on Boylston Street. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire in the hole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: They were detonated by police. Turned out to be harmless.

But now I would like to show you something else. A much more positive image. And kudos to you "Sports Illustrated" in keeping with the spirit of Boston strong. Take a look. This is the cover of "Sports Illustrated" magazine out on newsstands today. The photo was taken Saturday right there at the Boston Marathon finish line. Some 3,000 people, including first responders, runners who were there around the blast, the mayor -- I think Big Papi might even be in there somewhere -- took a moment to take part in that amazing picture.

And maybe back to normal as far as class goes at Franklin Regional High in Pennsylvania. Remember, that was where a week ago a teenager allegedly went on that stabbing rampage, wounding at least 20 students and a school security officer. Well, our affiliate, KDKA, reports three victims still remain in the hospital. Students are back in class today and district officials released these images to the media showing posters of support and this guy, a therapy dog. Today, the school -- or I should say Tuesday the school opened its doors for the first time to students so those injured and impacted could prepare for today. And the students, along with school staff, also gathered for a rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really important that we just love each other and we stick together. And I love you all and I just wanted to tell you that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel really thankful that it seems like we're all going to be OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God was really looking out for us when this happened. Everything could have been so much worse than it actually was and we're so grateful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Prosecutors have charged the alleged stabber here, Alex Hribal, as an adult. A source told KDKA, Hribal may have been the target of a disturbing hazing ritual the week before the stabbings.

Now to that nightmarish rescue operation happening right now off the coast of South Korea. Let me just back up and explain this class trip to this resort island, considered the Hawaii of Korea, turned into this, a frightening, heartbreaking scene here. This ferry carrying just about 459 people capsized just shy of midnight. And the majority of those onboard were students and teachers from Seoul High School. This is video, as you can see, it's daytime at the time. This is from earlier. It's nighttime at the moment. Officials say at least (INAUDIBLE) are dead and at least 164 have been rescued. So now a U.S. Navy ship and military dive teams are searching very, very cold waters here for nearly 300 additional people. Shortly before 9:00 a.m., a passenger says he felt some sort of tilt. Another heard this big bang. And then a warning was announced to sit still.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There was an announcement telling us to sit still on the ferry, but the ferry was already sinking. Some of the students were not able to escape. The ferry started to list (ph), so we asked if we should escape now, but the announcement kept telling us to stay still. I'm so worried about the other students in our room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A short time ago, we got some video allegedly from inside this sinking ferry. And just to be clear, CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video here, but it claims to be shot from a cell phone inside the ferry. And as you're watching with me here, different people in life jackets and different points in time. We'll let this play out and see what else we see. But the families of those missing clutching their phones just to hear word that they are OK. And earlier this high school announced that all students had been rescued, but soon took that back. Parents, obviously, outraged. CNN's Paula Hancocks is outside an auditorium where the families are waiting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a heartbreaking scene here. We're at the harbor in Jindo (ph). And this is where many of the relatives of those still unaccounted for in that passenger ship sinking are waiting. Many of the families, many parents of high school students who were on that boat are simply sitting by the side of the water or standing by the side of the water looking out into the darkness willing their children to come back. They feel they cannot do anything else. They cannot leave.

They're not hearing much information at this point. It is, of course, dark, but the search and rescue operation, we're being told, is still ongoing. We understand there are still ships close to the ship that sunk itself and they are trying desperately to see if there are any survivors. But at this point, almost 300 people are still missing.

Now, there has been some anger from parents here. Some scuffles with police, suggesting that simply enough is not being done. They don't believe that this search and rescue operation is being handled correctly. It is inevitable that with such pressure and such desperation, there will be these kinds of scenes.

But we also heard just about an hour and a half ago one of the mothers actually said that she had just received a text message from her son at about 10:40 p.m. local time. She said that the text message said that he said there are survivors still on the ship. They are in darkness. They have no phone connection, no Internet connection and to get help and tell people they are still alive. Now, it's not clear at this point whether that is a test message that has come through in real time or just has been very cruelly delayed by the text messaging service. But certainly it is giving hope to parents here who are desperately trying to ask the emergency service to search even further.

But it is a very sad situation here. These parents feel they can't go home. They are simply sitting and waiting for any news.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, on the southwest coast of South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Paula, thank you so much. As you can deduce, this is just still happening, so we still don't know the why. Why this ferry overturned. But we will be talking to a CNN international anchor (INAUDIBLE) Korean. She'll join me in studio next hour. She's been going through these text messages. Pretty emotional stuff that parents have been getting from their loved ones who can't get off that ferry.

Coming up next, back to our special coverage of missing Malaysia Air Flight 370. Some of these families, predominantly Chinese families here, of the passengers, may try to go through U.S. courts to try to seek justice, but that may prove to be a tough task. We'll explain why, next.

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