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Metal "Object Of Interest", With Rivets; President Obama Tries To Reassure Asian Allies Amid Growing Tensions In Ukraine; Al Qaeda Bomb Maker Possibly Among Dead; Teen Stowaway Recovering After Flight

Aired April 23, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

We begin this hour with major developments in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. First of interest has been recovered on the southern coast of Western Australia. Officials are calling the lead serious, but some have expressed doubt. In the meantime, stormy weather has delayed air searches for a second day. Below the waves the Bluefin-21 continues to hunt. Today the underwater drone will wrap up its tenth mission. No matter the challenge is the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the search will not be abandoned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We haven't finished the search. We haven't found anything yet in the area that we're searching. But the point I make is that Australia will not rest until we have done everything we humanly can to get to the bottom of this mystery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Erin McLaughlin live in Perth, Australia for us this morning. Let's talk more about this object of interest. Where exactly was it found?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, we understand it was found around 190 miles to the south of here to the south of Perth. The Australian Transportation and Safety Bureau chief telling CNN that the NTSB is currently in the process of assessing and analyzing photographs of the object. He described it as a sheet of metal with rivets. A source within the Australian defense force saying it appeared to have been coated in fiberglass.

It was described as a rectangular but torn and misshapen. Now Martin Dolan said that it was sufficiently interesting, but he did add a note of caution saying the more they look at these photographs, the less excited they get. We are aware of Australian media reports that more than one object has been found.

CNN has so far not been able to independently confirm those reports. We're also trying to get a better idea of the size of the object. We understand according to the Australian Maritime Authority that it is currently en route to Perth for further analysis -- Carol. COSTELLO: Erin McLaughlin reporting live from Perth, Australia this morning. So let's talk about this some more. I want to bring in David Soucie. He is a CNN safety analyst and the author of "Why Planes Crash" and Thomas Altshuler, he is the vice president of Teledyne Marine Systems. Welcome to both of you.

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

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Hello, Carol.

COSTELLO: David, let's talk a little bit more about this object of interest. So many pieces of debris have been found. We've been hopeful and then our hopes are dashed. What do you think about this latest find?

SOUCIE: Well, I don't like the way it was described first of all. They said a piece of sheet metal. That's what the structure of this aircraft is aluminum and that's distinguishable particularly if it's from this aircraft on the inside it would have a green color. Most of the aircraft parts even the sheet metal parts on this aircraft have an identification number on them.

If it was a smaller part, you may not see that. The idea of fiberglass somehow attached to it, it just doesn't ring true with me as far as part of this aircraft. I can see the skepticism and why the prime minister didn't mention it until he was questioned about it.

COSTELLO: Thomas, it washed up onshore, whatever it was, right. So how likely is it that debris from this plane would wash up on the shores of Australia?

ALTSHULER: Well, very much depends on where the plane went into the water. If you take away the search areas right now, look at the storms, look at how the big ocean circulations work there, it's possible, but David is absolutely right. The airplane, 777 is a complex system. Boeing knows their plane very well. It will be easy to identify whether it's from that air frame at the end of the day.

COSTELLO: Investigators are looking at it now. We should know soon and that's a good thing. David, Malaysia says it finished its preliminary hearing report on the disappearance of Flight 370. But authorities told our Richard Quest that they will not make it public. Why?

SOUCIE: That's a really good question. The preliminary report is a requirement of the ICAO and as I understand that preliminary report and as I understand Annex 13 Section 5, the responsibility is Malaysian Airlines to provide survivors of an accident what they think it is at that point so why it's not being made public, I have a question into Duane Warth ambassador for the U.S. And I'll have an answer from that I hope today as to why it's not being made public.

COSTELLO: It makes them seem so -- of course they seemed tone deaf through all of this. The families want answers. So give them this preliminary report. What's the big deal, Thomas? ALTSHULER: Well, you know, again, I think there will be requirements they need to meet, but I'm unsure what will be in the preliminary report. They have been pulling data out of many different places. There is risk the data is highly inconclusive and maybe inconsistent. Should it be released if there are requirements that it needs to be released? It should. But I'm not convinced that the report is going to have a lot of satisfying information in it.

COSTELLO: Probably not. Another development this morning. The transport minister says an international team will now take up the investigation. They haven't named who's on that team but who should be on that team?

SOUCIE: Well, certainly with any investigation they need to have any part of the aircraft that's manufactured, you need the manufacturer's representative particularly the engines. There should be representation from the manufacturers, from anyone along the operational chain of the aircraft including repair facilities, anybody else who had something to do with that airplane needs to be participating on the team.

As far as leading it and responsibility, ICAO Annex 13 does not allow Malaysia to simply say it's out of our hands. We're handing that over. They have to stay in control of that investigation unless they're deemed to be not have the equipment or the experience or the capabilities to do so. But ICAO have been quiet in this so far. I don't expect they're going to step in saying this is what has to be on there.

COSTELLO: So Thomas, this could be a really good thing that this international team is being formed right now?

ALTSHULER: Well, fresh eyes are probably critical at this point. You're 45 days into this. There's been a lot of false starts and inconsistent information. Bringing in a new group, bringing in a very experienced group to evaluate and investigate has really no downside at all.

COSTELLO: David Soucie, Thomas Altshuler, thanks for your insight this morning. I appreciate it.

The crisis in Ukraine showing no signs of de-escalating. This morning news that U.S. troops will now begin military exercises in Eastern Europe in direct response to Russia's actions. But Russia isn't backing down. It will deploy its own troops in the Caspian Sea. The actions come as Ukrainian officials restart what they call anti- terrorism efforts that will target pro-Russian militants in four eastern cities.

Both sides blaming one another for not enacting an agreement reached in Geneva last week. That deal would have disarmed some groups and returned seized buildings to their owners. We'll dig deeply into the Ukraine crisis later this hour. New York Congressman Peter King will be my guest.

President Obama is Japan today kicking off a four-nation tour aimed at reassuring Asian allies. The trip comes as tensions between Russia and Ukraine are soaring and U.S. troops are heading to the region. White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, traveling with the president. Michelle, the timing is pretty remarkable.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right, Carol. It's interesting. In the midst of the Ukraine crisis in which the U.S. has tried to take a lead in finding a diplomatic solution there, here comes this very important Asian trip in which some of the countries to be visited have very similar concerns even disputes with China over territory.

You can't espouse the values of sovereignty in one region of the world and not address it in another. One Japanese newspaper already asked President Obama about this dispute between Japan and China over some islands in the East China Sea. The president didn't try to walk a middle ground. He sided with Japan.

He said, yes, he believes Japan is the rightful administrator of those islands and that the U.S. opposes efforts to undermine that. You look at the Philippines and Malaysia, they have their own issues with China. This is sure to be an issue we will hear more about as this trip progresses --Carol.

COSTELLO: Michelle Kosinski reporting live this morning. Officials now say that the massive and unprecedented attack in Yemen killed 65 suspected al Qaeda terrorists. Sources say U.S. forces supported the joint strike from the air using Russian made Yemeni helicopters with night vision gear. CIA drones are also believed to have help target al Qaeda fighters, weapons locations and a training camp.

Now DNA tests will determine if an al Qaeda mastermind was killed during that very strike. Ibrahim Al-Asiri may be among the dead. He is believed to be al Qaeda's top bomb maker and the man behind the 2009 underwear bomb plot in Detroit.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom joins us from Washington with more on this. So the CIA went into that strike zone and collected bodies and DNA and sent samples to Saudi Arabia. Is that how it works?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There are a lot of questions as to if he is one of the militants that was killed. There are strong indications from the Yemeni sources that they believe if it wasn't him, another Saudi high value target from amongst the leadership was killed in those strikes. This is significant because Ibrahim Al-Asiri, as you mentioned, Carol, this is somebody who has had his fingerprints on virtually every major plot. Every major AQAP plot that's been hatched out of Yemen the past five, six, seven years.

Including the underwear bomber plot, including also the cargo plane bomb plot from October 2010, and also a plot to try to assassinate a senior level Saudi official in Saudi Arabia also in 2009. He's seen as a real threat and somebody that the U.S. and Yemen has been wanting to get for quite some time. The question is even if they have gotten Al-Asiri, will that degrade the capabilities of AQAP and most of the Yemenis I'm speaking with say they don't think so. That's why the operation is massive because they are going after training centers. They are going after hideouts. You have Yemeni boots on the ground going into parts of that country they have not dared go into before because Yemen has a weak central government and some say a weak military and they don't dare venture into hot beds where AQAP has a working structure.

Yemen is a very rugged country where there are plenty of places where AQAP to hide out. It's that dangerous even with a military escort. U.S. and Yemen striking hard and fast. They say these operations are ongoing. They are trying to take out top tier leadership but they are also more importantly trying to degrade the capabilities of AQAP, which is as many analysts say the most dangerous wing, most threatening wing of the al Qaeda network in the entire world -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mohammed Jamjoom, thanks so much. Still to come in that NEWSROOM, the critical minutes that may have doomed that sinking ferry off South Korea. CNN's Rosa Flores shows us training can mean the difference between life and death. Good morning.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We are in a full bridge simulator right now. We're exiting the port of Miami. Once we get into the waters, we're going to show you how complicated we can do an exercise and all of that after the break.

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COSTELLO: It's a busy morning of developments in the tragedy of that crowded ferry that sank off of South Korea's coast. Divers say they have found no air pockets in the submerged hull virtually dashing hopes of survivors. One hundred fifty six people now confirmed dead, 146 still missing. There have been two more arrests and failures in handling the on board crisis. Criminal charges have been filed against the captain and ten crew members now.

The criminal charges hinge on one critical presumption. The captain and crew were entrusted to respond quickly to an on board disaster and to save the lives of there passengers. CNN's Rosa Flores is about to walk us through some of the training for ship going emergencies. She's in a bridge simulator in Fort Lauderdale. Good morning, Rosa.

FLORES: Good morning, Carol. We're at Resolve Maritime Academy. What you're looking at is a bridge and Dave Boldt is here to tell us what this is. What are we looking at, Dave?

DAVE BOLDT, BRIDGE SIMULATOR DIRECTOR: This is a full mission bridge simulator. It's what you would see on the bridge of a modern ship.

FLORES: There's a lot of things we can do here. Let's start listing slowly to get perspective as to what this looks like. At this point if you're on the bridge, you would be concerned?

BOLDT: I would be concerned if you are stuck at this point and not rolling back. You would know there's a problem.

FLORES: We have a very rare look as to what could be happening below deck. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): On a ship, this is the universal sign of trouble. Inside this model ship hull, instructors from Resolve Maritime Academy train crew how to prevent a deadly disaster at sea. Like the sinking of the passenger ferry in South Korea. Investigators say the nearly 7,000-ton ship sank in about 2 1/2 hours.

Four hundred seventy six people were inside when a boy on board made the first call for help at 8:52 a.m. Local Time. The ship's crew made a distress call about three minutes later at 8:55. The crew's response is critical to preventing disaster. In this scenario, water is rushing in from an unknown source.

(on camera): Water is starting to rise. What do you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Main thing is to get away from the damage. Get outside. Let the crew know if you did find damage and make sure the crew knows about it.

FLORES (voice-over): They use anything they can to plug the holes.

(on camera): How much time do you really have to get out or to assess the situation when water really starts just gushing in?

PETE DONLON, TRAINER, RESOLVE MARITIME ACADEMY: It all depends on the scenario. How deep the hole is in the water. The deeper, the more water pressure pushing in.

FLORES: If I'm a passenger on the ship and I'm not familiar with the ship, what do you suggest I do to get to safety?

DONLON: Best thing to get to safety is follow the walls. Get to a ladder. Get outside. I always recommend getting to the main deck.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Here we're going to be able to do this list just one more time because we want to show you the perspective. Start doing that slowly. You can see it here from the bridge. We're going to give you perspective as to what passengers perhaps would be looking at. Take a look at our second camera. This will really give you a sense if you're a passenger, you can see life boats and how close the water is to the life boats there. I've got to ask you. In this particular case if a ship is listing at this angle and it's a ferry ship, if it's carrying cargo or carrying cars, what other complications could you see?

BOLDT: With any cargo there's always a problem the cargo may shift. That's the same in aviation and shipping. Obviously if the cars are strapped down and in place and everything is OK. If you get to a certain angle and they start moving, it can further complicate stability issues.

FLORES: A lot of different complications, Carol. COSTELLO: I would like to ask Dave a question about getting out of a ship in distress because in the South Korean incident, kids were told to stay on a ship. If I'm on a ship and I know it's possibly sinking, what should I do? I know the other guy says feel around the walls and get outside, but the ship is totally dark. You're unfamiliar with the ship. You may not know your way. What should you do for your own safety before that ship leaves the dock?

BOLDT: Well, I would say just like getting on an airplane, they recommend counting how many seats to an exit. It you are getting on a ship or ferry or cruise ship, not a bad idea to have an idea of your surroundings and have some personal responsibility that way as well.

FLORES: One of the things that Pete you saw in the piece also told me is it's so important for you to figure out the exits and for you to be familiar with the ship or plane or whichever vessel you are in to make sure that you know how to exit in case of an emergency and to take those drills very seriously. He says a lot of times people ignore them. In cases like this, extremely important.

COSTELLO: If an announcement came over the intercom on a ship, I would probably obey the command to stay on board. At what point should you not? That's the scary part. You depend on the crew to tell you what to do and in this case apparently the crew told these kids the wrong thing.

BOLDT: Yes. I don't know the details of this case, but in general on passenger ships you drill for this kind of thing. Every crew member has a specific job. So you have crew members in stairways and alleyways directing passengers toward the boat deck, toward the life boats and life rafts.

COSTELLO: The best thing is to know where the exits are. To know how to get up on the deck. To know where life jackets are. To know where life boats are and sort of take matters into your own hands if need be. And hope you have a great crew, right?

BOLDT: If need be, there's a lot of signage and directions. You should know where you are and what your escape route is.

FLORES: A lot of times you have to follow your gut and even if it's inconvenience to go to the upper deck to put that life jacket on, you can go back if it's not an emergency. Go back to your room afterwards. An inconvenience but it could save a life.

BOLDT: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: All right, Rosa Flores and Dave, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're learning more about why a teenager stowed away in the wheel well of a plane. After surviving subzero temperatures and barely breathable air, that 15-year-old boy is now recovering at a hospital in Hawaii. His family in seclusion back in California. CNN's Dan Simon is in San Jose. So this boy wanted to see his mom?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, to put it simply, it sounds like he was homesick. What we understand is he told FBI investigators in Hawaii that he wanted to go to Somalia and see his mom. He told classmates here in Santa Clara, California, at the high school that he was from Africa and he wanted to live here. That may give you some insight into his state of mind. Why he chose a Hawaiian Airliner specifically, apparently he didn't choose them. It was just the first plane he saw according to the FBI.

In terms of the time line of all this, we're getting new information. What we're told is that he hopped the fence here at the San Jose Airport at approximately 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Keep in mind, the plane didn't take off until 8:00 a.m. That means he would have been on the tarmac or in that wheel well for seven hours before it even took off. That raises even more questions as to how he went undetected for so long.

COSTELLO: I want to focus more on this 15-year-old boy. His family in California, are they with him?

SIMON: We don't know where they are. We've been knocking on the door at their home and we're not getting an answer. What we understand is that he is still in the hospital, the boy is and that he's in stable condition. He's apparently doing OK. At a certain point child welfare officials in Hawaii are going to make arrangements for him to come to California and that's if his parents aren't with him in Hawaii.

COSTELLO: Now to security at the San Jose International Airport. This teenage boy jumped the fence at 1:00 a.m. and spent seven hours on the airport grounds and nobody really noticed. Any improvements under way at the airport?

SIMON: Not yet. You know, what the airport director has said is that nothing is fool proof. Certainly proves the point in this particular case. He seemed to have hopped a fence that was six feet tall and had barbed wire on it. They'll have to look at the perimeter at this airport and airports across the country because as this teenager has proven, it seems something that you can do with relative ease -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Dan Simon reporting live from California this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, despite tough sanctions and threats of more to come, Russia shows no signs of pulling back in Ukraine. So what does the United States do now? New York Congressman Peter King joins us with his thoughts next.

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