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At Least 2 Injured in Military Aircraft Crash in Texas; Mississippi Has Highest COVID-19 Deaths Per Capita in the Nation; FDA Panel Backs Boosters for People Over 65 and Those at High Risk; DHS Ramps Up Deportation Flights to Haiti. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired September 19, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:16]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news out of Texas, near Fort Worth, where a military aircraft has crashed in the town of Lake Worth heavily damaging two to possibly six homes. At least two people are injured.

We have a team of correspondents and analysts covering this breaking news. CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz is standing by for us. Let's begin with CNN's Camila Bernal.

Camila, what else do we know?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Well, we don't know a lot, and we are waiting for authorities to give us an update. We're expecting Forth Worth police and fire to give sort of a media briefing. So what we know at the moment is that this was a training aircraft, a military training aircraft that went down into a neighborhood basically and we're being told that between two to six homes were damaged, and at least two of them severely damaged.

We're also being told that between two and three people have been taken to the hospital. It is unclear how severe the injuries are. We still don't know whether or not these people were members of the military or people who were inside of these homes, but we are being told that they are asking residents to avoid the area.

This is in the 4,000 block of Tejas and Dakota in the Fort Worth area, and so we are waiting for authorities to really tell us exactly what happened. We have also reached out to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve there in Fort Worth. We have not heard from them. So we are waiting to hear exactly who this is and what happened, exactly why this happened. We are expecting that update within the next couple of minutes.

Hopefully we will get that information, but at moment we really are just waiting for those details -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila. As soon as you learn, please pass it on to us. So, Peter, that there is a nearby joint base that possibly this

military craft originated from, what are the rues? What do you know about the kind of training exercises that would take place over a very populated area?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it's really early in this process. If it wasn't an Air Force training aircraft, it could be a two-seater, what they call a T-38 Talon which is used fairly regularly in the training arena. You know, the pilots, there's no indication whether the pilots were injured or whether they ejected. They have the ability to eject from the aircraft at very low altitude.

The military will take the lead in the investigation of this accident. The NTSB generally just plays a supporting role. It depends really on what the mission of the aircraft was. If it was a normal military training operation, the Air Force has a bifurcated investigation process. One is a safety investigation and then a second investigation which is more confidential looks at other aspects, but this is, you know, all the attention right now should be focused on, you know, aiding victims, helping them at the hospitals and finding out what happened to the crew members on board.

WHITFIELD: Again, we understand that at least two, possibly even as many as six residences, homes, may have been impacted with this accident involving a military flight. Again, we don't know what kind of aircraft was involved here, how many people on board, Peter. All of those kind of basic questions remain unanswered. We are awaiting a briefing coming soon.

Again, you mentioned, Peter, that the military will lead the investigation, so how forthright might it be in making public, what kind of training exercise it was, how many people may have been involved and what could have gone wrong before notifying, say, the FAA?

GOELZ: Well, the -- you know, these kinds of accidents occurred. They're tragic but they occur in training situations, and the military has as much interest -- more interest than anyone else in finding out what happened so that it doesn't happen again. They have a pretty solid safety record. If it was a Talon it's a pretty long-standing training aircraft with a good -- a good record, but they will -- they will be exhaustive in trying to find out and, you know, the destruction of the homes and the injuries and hopefully no fatalities will really be an incentive for them to get this done fairly quickly.

[14:05:18]

WHITFIELD: All right. Peter Goelz, thank you so much. Camila Bernal, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

GOELZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And now to the surging number of COVID cases and a death toll figure not seen since March of this year, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. is now reporting nearly 2,000 COVID deaths a day. That's the highest seven-day average since March 2nd. Alabama announcing that for the first time in its history deaths in 2021 will surpass births.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT HARRIS, ALABAMA STATE HEALTH OFFICER: We have data going back to the first decade of the 20th century so more than 100 years and it's never -- that's never happened before nor has it ever even been close before. In World War II or during the flu pandemic of 1918 or World War I we've never had a time where deaths exceeded births until this past year, and it is certainly possible that could happen this year as well if we continue in the same rate.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Alabama is far from alone. Mississippi has the highest number of coronavirus deaths per capita in the country, and the state's death rate is the second worst in the entire world, only behind Peru.

CNN's Nadia Romero is here with more on all of this.

Nadia, what is being done to slow the spread in Mississippi?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we heard from Governor Reeves there in Mississippi today, earlier on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper really doing what a lot of Republican governors are doing, using the same playbook, to downplay the pandemic and talking mostly about personal responsibility, not supporting mask or vaccine mandates, and politicizing the issue rather than focusing on the public health crisis that we're dealing with.

But as you mentioned, it's not just Mississippi. It's a lot of southern states, and we're seeing Georgia and Florida hitting grim milestones as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMERO (voice-over): Florida, Alabama, a big-time college football showdown Saturday in the heart of SEC country but also big-time COVID- 19 country. Florida reported fewer than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases over the past week for the first time since July 16th, but the state also surpassed the grim milestone of 50,000 deaths from the virus.

KENT DONAHUE, SPOKESMAN, ORANGE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: 96.6 percent of those individuals were unvaccinated. So we encourage you to go out and get vaccinated.

ROMERO: With no masks or vaccine mandates some 80,000 fans packed the Florida stadium to cheer on the Gators and the Crimson Tide raising concerns the game could become a super spreader event. And Alabama what could be a misleading statistic, ICU bed capacity is going up, meaning more availability in hospitals there. But --

DR. KIERSTIN KENNEDY, CHIEF OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE, UAEI: It is not because these patients are miraculously getting better and going home. It's because they're dying and that is really alarming for us because, again, this surge is primarily impacting those that are younger, and so this is not what we were expecting.

ROMERO: In the last 60 days, about 60 percent of all COVID-19 outbreaks in Georgia happened in K-12 schools.

ANNA ADAMS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GEORGIA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: The vaccinated message from Georgia Hospital Association standpoint is, you know, we want you to trust the science. If every scientist in the world has been focusing their attention on developing a vaccine and they feel that it's safe and trusted, you can trust in that science.

ROMERO: The situation in Georgia is so grim that COVID is even wreaking havoc at Atlanta Zoo. That's right, primates impacted by the pandemic, too. Eighteen out of 20 gorillas there have COVID-19 symptoms. Nine of the primates have tested positive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that there may be differing opinions.

ROMERO: Friday afternoon an FDA Advisory Committee declined to recommend a Pfizer booster shot for every one 16 and older, and instead advised a third dose of the vaccine be given to people 65 and older, and those at high risk. This weekend health experts weighed in on that decision.

ANDY SLAVITT, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER FOR COVID RESPONSE: There's really compelling data above 65, maybe above 50, but if what you care about is keeping schools open, and what you care about is reducing the spread, and what you care about is keeping businesses open, you can really justify dropping that down to a lower age.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMERO: While many kids will be going back to the classroom tomorrow, not students in one public school in East Harlem, New York. Now schools in New York have only been in session for about a week now but already those kids will be going back to remote learning after 19 confirmed COVID cases among staff members there -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: My gosh. That number alarming.

All right, Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

All right. Today, Dr. Anthony Fauci defended an FDA panel for limiting the Pfizer booster recommendation to Americans 65 years and older, and to those at high risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I don't think they made a mistake, and the FDA absolutely should not ignore them.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is in Delaware for us, where the president is spending his weekend.

[14:10:04]

So, Arlette, Dr. Fauci isn't giving up on boosters for nearly everyone at some point?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, he's not, Fred, and Dr. Anthony Fauci says that the FDA very well may revise their decision down the road. For the time being, this recommendation from the advisers really limits the plans that the Biden administration had hoped to put forth this week. It was just a month ago that the Biden administration officials were saying that they would be ready to roll out booster shots for all Americans starting the week of September 20th.

That is tomorrow, but that will not be happening. Now officials say that this was always dependent on those recommendations and rulings from the FDA and the CDC. And that group of FDA advisers said that for the time being they only believe shots -- booster shots should be given to those in higher risk categories, including individuals 65 and above. Part of it is that they're saying they need to see more evidence that boosters are needed across the wider population. But take a listen to a bit of what Dr. Anthony Fauci had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: When all is said and done, an optimal regimen may be three shots for everyone, but right now based on the data that was examined by the advisory committee, their decision, which I respect, is to go the way we just said, with having some limitations on it. Remembering always that data keeps coming in on a weekly basis, and we're going to see likely an evolution of this decision.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And one thing that Fauci and other officials are also saying is that there needs to be an emphasis on getting those initial two shots out to all of those Americans who are still unvaccinated. And this comes as the COVID-19 pandemic really remains the top priority for the Biden administration, not just domestically but also globally.

On Wednesday the president will be hosting a virtual COVID-19 summit alongside the United Nations General Assembly. One of the issues that will be discussed in that meeting is the possibility of more global vaccine donations, really across the board, across the world as the president really wants to get a handle on this pandemic, not just here but also for friends abroad.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette Saenz, thank you so much.

All right, joining me now to discuss further Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency medicine professor and associate dean of Public Health at Brown University.

Dr. Ranney, so has information about booster shots been clearly communicated in your view to the American people?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Well, Fred, I worked the last two nights in the emergency department. This was a topic of much discussion. Even my own nurses and doctors are confused about what the next steps are. So let me be super clear. For now what is approved pending the CDC's meeting later this week is a booster shot for people who received Pfizer more than six months ago and are age 65 plus.

We may also see boosters approved for people like health care workers or teachers who are particularly high risk of catching this disease. The reason they made that decision is because of the FDA's judgment that the goal of vaccination is to prevent severe disease, hospitalization and death, and the only people for whom we've seen the two doses don't do are the age 60 or 65-plus.

So to me the takeaways are if you got Pfizer more than six months ago and you're age 65 plus, get ready to show up and get a booster. For the rest of us, hold tight and stay tuned.

WHITFIELD: So President Biden's sweeping vaccine mandates, you know, have raised some questions about whether natural infection, you know, should count as being partially or fully vaccinated. Dr. Fauci says people who have had natural infections have some immunity, but it's not clear how much. Should those people be exempt from vaccine mandates?

RANNEY: There are two reasons that people who have already been infected with COVID should not be exempt from vaccine mandates. The first is, is that the level of immunity that you get from having had an infection is not standardized. You may have good immunity or you may not, and there have actually been studies showing that natural immunity is not as good as vaccinated immunity or is as good as national plus vaccine immunity at protecting you from the Delta variant.

The second reason that those people shouldn't be exempt from the mandates is because we have no way of confirming. There's no national data set of who's been infected and who hasn't. We need a way to confirm that people have immunity and for now that's showing your card.

WHITFIELD: So Montana is a state that's kind of, you know, under the microscope. It's one of 11 states where mostly unvaccinated COVID patients are occupying more than 40 percent of the state's ICU beds of the health care officials there and in other places are now working under critical care standards, preparing to ration care because of the overflow of patients. Take a listen to this.

[14:15:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SHELLY HARKINS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, ST. PETER'S HEALTH IN MONTANA: We are at point where not every patient in need will get the care that we might wish we could give. It is not business as usual at your local health care system. By almost every single measure we are in a far worse position than we ever were in the winter of 2020 during our first surge.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. So what are your concerns about how patients will be able to get care and treatment?

RANNEY: Those crisis standards of care are such a horrible, horrible situation to be in. You know, in emergency medicine, we activate those standards when there's a mass casualty event, a mass shooting, a bus rolls over, a huge fire. To be on that state for an entire state means that patients are going to be declined care. People who are old or don't have a lot of years left to life may not get hospital beds. They're going to have to triage or ration care.

People who come in in cardiac arrest may not get CPR and patients who would otherwise get hospitalized may be sent home with loved ones who are going to be scared and not have full capacity to take care of them simply because there aren't enough beds and nurses. It is an unacceptable state for us to be in in the United States of America, and it is not fair to those doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, EMS providers.

It puts our health care providers in a state of moral injury where they are going to have to see people die who they would normally be able to take care of.

WHITFIELD: And in fact on that issue of doctors, other health care providers, you have been in contact with many who were trying to find help on Twitter and in Facebook groups. To what degree are they looking for help and how are people able to help them out?

RANNEY: So we have a number of private physician, emergency medicine, other medical groups, Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, Twitter. And people are posting, I've been looking for a bed for a very sick patient, a patient with cancer, a patient who has a complicated high- risk pregnancy, a patient who is having a heart attack. I've tried calling 30 hospitals and can't find a bed. So people are posting on social media to try to find beds for these patients to save their lives because their normal systems of care are so broken.

Just yesterday I had someone tweet at me seeing if I could help find a bed for someone. I've, unfortunately, been unable to do so, but I had another friend that transferred a patient from Oklahoma up to Connecticut in order to get them the ICU level of care that they needed. It's just a poor situation for all involved.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Extraordinary situations, extraordinary measures.

Doctor Megan Ranney, thank you so much. Be well.

RANNEY: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, and this update now on our breaking news story out of Texas, video just now into the NEWSROOM after the aftermath of a military plane crash. You can see the smoke billowing there into the sky. The plane crashed into the town of Lake Worth just outside of Fort Worth. Heavily damaging two to possibly six homes. At least two people are injured.

We're expecting a news conference to begin at any moment. Of course we'll continue to monitor it and bring you the information as we have it.

Plus, it is being described as a dire situation at the U.S.-Mexico border othered, and now the U.S. border chief is speaking out about the growing migrant crisis. We'll go live to Del Rio, Texas, in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:22:47]

WHITFIELD: The Department of Homeland Security says it needs more help in handling the crush of migrants at the U.S. border in Del Rio, Texas. Just moments ago DHS officials gave an update on what needs to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAUL ORTIZ, CHIEF, U.S. BORDER PATROL: We're working around the clock to expeditiously move migrants out of the heat elements and from underneath this bridge to our processing facilities in order to quickly process and remove individuals from the United States consistent with our laws and our policies.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Rosa Flores is in Del Rio, Texas, for us. So, Rosa, what are you seeing there on the ground? How are they beginning to make plans for these deportations?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fred, that was the top cop at Border Patrol, Raul Ortiz. He has been the highest-ranking member that we've seen here in Del Rio since this humanitarian crisis broke. Let me tell you about what he said but let me show you exactly where I'm at so you can get a sense of the situation. This is where the international bridge is where the thousands of migrants are waiting to be processed by federal immigration authorities.

You'll see that there are buses. Those migrants are being loaded on to those buses and sent to other areas along the U.S.-Mexico border to be processed by U.S. immigration authorities. Now, here's what Chief Ortiz had to say. Yesterday DHS released a strategy how they're planning to process all of these individuals. Yesterday officials said that 400 agents and officers were going to be deployed to this area.

Ortiz update that had to 600 up. So there's more agents that are headed this way. He also says that the Title 42 flights to expel and remove Haitians will be upped. We don't know exactly the number of flights. We don't know exactly when those flights will start, but he did say that they are planning to move about 3,000 migrants every single day. I can tell you that that is a huge increase from just a few days ago, the mayor of this city telling CNN in the past few days that they have been able to move several hundred migrants a day, so that is a huge increase.

[14:25:04]

We are still waiting, Fredricka, for the exact census, the population, number of migrants who are under the bridge at this hour. We don't have that number right now, we're asking, but if you just do the math just a few days ago the mayor had said that this was going to take about two weeks for the processing.

Now if they start moving about 3,000 migrants every single day to other processing facilities, Fred, we should be seeing the number of these -- number of migrants that are waiting underneath this bridge reduced and that, of course, is what local officials are saying.

I just was listening in to a press conference with the local mayor. He says that now he does have the resources necessary to deal with this crisis -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Extraordinary. Rosa Flores in Del Rio, Texas, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

And more now on this breaking news in Texas where a military plane crashed a short time ago, and you can see the smoke billowing into the sky. These images just coming in. The plane crashed in the town of Lake Worth, heavily damaging two to possibly six homes. At least two people are injured and being treated.

We're expecting a news conference to begin at any moment, and when that happens we'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: -- Lake Worth, Texas, right now for an update on that military plane crash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pilot had ejected and was caught in some power lines and another pilot had ejected and was found in the neighborhood nearby. As you can imagine the officers summoned additional emergency responders. The fire department responded along with our partners at Medstar. We've also relied heavily on our neighboring agencies for assistance throughout this ordeal and that includes Medstar, EMS, the Fort Worth Fire Department, the Fort Worth Police Department, the Tarrant County Constable's Office, Tarrant County Emergency Management that's on scene assisting us as well, along with the Texas Emergency Management office. So regarding the specifics of the incident and what's taking place at the scene I'm going to turn you over to Chief Arthur to address that and then we'll stick around for a few minutes to address any questions that you may have. So Chief Arthur?

[14:30:00]

CHIEF RYAN ARTHUR, LAKE WORTH FIRE DEPARTMENT: Thank you very much. Like Chief Manoushagian said I am Chief Ryan Arthur, the fire chief here in Lake Worth. Just to bring you up to speed on a little bit of what's transpired since we were notified of the incident. There are three homes involved. Fortunately nobody was injured. No resident was injured. The two pilots have been transported to the hospital. We do have tremendous amount of support from our local fire department organizations and police department organizations from Fort Worth to Saginaw, the Navy Air Station, Lockheed Martin including Tarrant County Emergency Management.

Great support from them. This incident could have been much worse knowing that this plane went down in a residential area here in Lake Worth. So as I mentioned, we're still on scene with our partners like I mentioned with Fort Worth, basically going through the seen and working with NCIS and the Navy Air Station and Lockheed Martin to ensure that all the items are photographed and then moving on from there.

As I had mentioned the three residents, three homes that were involved. We do have Red Cross on scene for them so we are getting assistance to those residents impacted.

Is there any questions that I can answer and pretty much open it up right now to any type of questions that the media may have for the fire department?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Being how close you are to the Naval Air Station and the police chief has shown some moment ago about the man about identifying potential crash zones, you know, so close on landing and takeoff? Is this something you practice for before?

ARTHUR: We do.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Or work with NAS to --

ARTHUR: Yes, sir, we do. It is a drill and a training exercise we do on a very regular basis that in fact through our Office of Emergency Management that is one of our highest priorities. Other cities in Texas, it could be natural disasters such as tornadoes and even ice storm. But for us it is a downed military aircraft since we are in such a unique position.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Were you able to talk to the pilot at the scene? Were they able to say anything about how the -- it actually happened, about why they had to eject or what went wrong with the plane, anything like that?

ARTHUR: Not at this time, no, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And has there been other aircraft crashes in the (INAUDIBLE) zone?

ARTHUR: I can't be specific. I may have to ask -- we can ask Chief Manoushagian to come up to answer that. In my time here, I am -- no, this has not happened before.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And just for clarity, when you say the pilot ejected, did they remove themselves from the plane? ARTHUR: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was it the result of crash?

ARTHUR: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They removed themselves?

ARTHUR: That's right. They did. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I understand that power is out. Any idea how long that will remain?

ARTHUR: I would speculate, and this is strictly speculation. It may be a few days. The biggest thing is going to get the wreckage and the items at an area before they can resecure power and really utilities to any of those homes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Outside of the three homes, how much of the community is impacted by this or the power outages or in that particular area?

ARTHUR: I would say roughly a two to three-block area is going to be impacted surrounding that immediate location.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How many residents are we talking about there?

ARTHUR: Probably roughly 60 percent to 70 residents.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Any advisory to the community who may be in that immediate zone right now?

ARTHUR: The big thing for us is safety, making sure that everybody stays out of that location. We do have barriers up throughout the area. Please stay out of that area. It's going to be hazardous for now until we get that debris cleaned out. That would be the biggest thing that I can provide to the residents here in Lake Worth.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are there any schools or hospitals affected by it?

ARTHUR: Not at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you think (INAUDIBLE)?

ARTHUR: I can't comment. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And just what perspective in terms of what the emergency teams are dealing with in that area right now.

ARTHUR: Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The plane you said crashed in a residential area.

ARTHUR: Correct. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you talking about a field or did they crash

into the homes?

ARTHUR: Fortunately it wasn't the actual home. It was a little bit of damage has occurred to all three residents, but actually it's in it a backyard. Fortunately, again, that is one of those that we can say it's very fortunate that it could have been a lot worse if it would had been a direct contact into a residence. Fortunately that's not the case. We did have some damage that occurred from I would speculate maybe wings or other debris that caused the damage to the homes, but as I mentioned it could have been a lot worse for sure.

[14:35:11]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there a military representative here who can tell us a little bit about what the mission was this morning, or have they shared that information with you?

ARTHUR: I am unfamiliar with that, but I do believe we do have some -- we do have some and we can share that. Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you know anything about the pilots other than their conditions currently?

ARTHUR: No. That's all the information I can provide right now. Chief Manoushagian?

MANOUSHAGIAN: Just a couple of things that I wanted to share with you. First is that our hearts go out to these military members and their families. I'm not a pilot, but I am a veteran along with Chief Arthur and many of the others in the room, and I would imagine that for a pilot this is the day that you dread, that you hope never comes, and so for them and their families who have experienced that -- that worst day, we just want them to know and their families to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them.

And for all of our service members, this is going to have an impact on our local community because we are a military community. So we just want to know that we as first responders, we as the city of Lake Worth are standing with you and support you through this.

Speaking to the schools and hospital question that you had, we are -- this crash location is a block away from NA Howry Middle School, but I've been in contact with the school staff, and we do not expect school operations to be affected tomorrow. We believe we'll be able to collapse this perimeter enough that the majority of the roadways will be open and that school should be able to go on as planned for tomorrow. Any other questions?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) what the mission was this morning?

MANOUSHAGIAN: Yes. So there are multiple military representatives on the scenes from NAS Fort Worth. We have representatives from the Air Force and the Navy on scene. I think they are working collaboratively to work through this incident. Exactly what the mission is we're not privy to that, so we'll just have to get you in touch with them to explain that. We do know that it's a training jet.

So it wasn't a prop plane. It was a jet. Exactly what model and what the training mission was we can't say. There was a question about ejection so this was a jet so this is the traditional ejection seat where the canopy comes off and the pilots are ejected in a seat, and that is the parachute that got caught up in the power lines that when our officers arrived on scene that's what they observed was the pilot in the parachute caught in the power lines.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What should people do if they find debris? I guess debris was scattered across the area so people might come across something.

MANOUSHAGIAN: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So that's a wonderful question. If a resident were to find any debris we asked that they not touch it, that they leave it in place, specifically the ejection seats. Now we have officers that are on those ejection seats, but we've been advised by the military that there is a chance that there could be unexpended ordnance in those seats and so we need the public to maintain a 100- foot perimeter away from them, just to ensure that they're safe.

But our federal partners will be coming in to the neighborhoods to catalog and collect all of that debris and that debris will help paint a picture of what happened. So we need the public to leave that alone. If you have any questions, if it's blocking your car, anything like that, give us a call, we'll get you connected with the right people and we'll try to get somebody over there to catalog it so that it be can moved and you can go on about your life.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They just call 911?

MANOUSHAGIAN: Please don't call 911 because it's not an emergency. We would be happy to field their call in our non-emergency line which is 817-237-1224.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you repeat that one more time?

MANOUSHAGIAN: Sure. 817-237-1224. That's the Lake Worth Police Department Communications Center non-emergency line. Anything else?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. You're listening to a briefing coming out of Lake Worth, Texas. Two military pilots able to eject to safety when their training jet crashed. It did collide and involved three homes on the ground, but you heard from authorities there saying no direct hit to any of the homes, and miraculously no residents had been reported injured.

Let's talk about the investigation this way forward.

[14:40:01]

Joining me right now Mary Schiavo is a CNN transportation analyst, Peter Goelz back with us, CNN aviation analyst.

Good to see both of you. Oh, my goodness. I mean, this is something else, but thank goodness, no serious injuries. We hear that two pilots have been rescued. One of the pilots got tangled into power lines with his parachute.

So, Mary, give us an idea of how this investigation moves forward. This is typical to have military air training in the area with the joint base nearby. We heard from the authorities there, the fire department saying they have done regular drills and training about what to do when responding to a military-involved accident of this caliber.

So how do you see the investigation moving forward?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, as we just heard in the briefing most importantly of course for the residents to let the investigators know if they find pieces of the aircraft, but the most important witnesses are fortunately, thank heavens, still alive and that is the pilot. They will be able to tell the investigators what went wrong.

Undoubtedly they were in communication and probably had plenty of time to get mayday calls off or whatever. In using their ejection seats, however, it's real important what the briefing also said is that those seats do have explosive canisters on them. He called them ordnance, unexploded ordnance, but that's what the seat of the jet, and then a second canister goes off to get the chutes open and to give the pilots some measure, not a lot, but some measure of control over that seat.

And then of course there's your reserve also if the chute doesn't automatically that the pilot can reach and grab so those seats do pose some danger. But first and foremost they will be asking, you know, what went wrong with the plane, at what point did it pose the danger to the community, was there any other way you could have ejected? All of those questions will be asked by the investigators.

But, once again, I mean, ejection seats are wonderful things and they have saved two lives, and they have had problems with them in the past, but they appeared to function today as they should. The power lines (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: And Peter, how do you see this investigation moving forward? The military will take the lead in the investigation, but it will be a collaborative one.

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes. The Air Force, the Navy Air Station drills for these kinds of things. There are procedures. As I mentioned earlier it's generally a bifurcated investigation. One part that is completely safety-driven that says, you know, what happened, how can we have it not happen again, then there's a second level of investigation that is more confidential that looks sometimes at human factors but the military, the air services are very used to doing these kinds of investigation, and they'll get it done.

Occasionally they reach out to the NTSB, but generally they conduct it themselves and they get it done in a prompt manner.

WHITFIELD: Well, I am so glad we are able to report that these two pilots ejected to safety and that no one else was injured on the ground, especially involving those three residences that did feel some impact from this military jet going down there in Lake Worth, Texas.

Thank you so much, Peter, Mary, really appreciate you.

We'll be right back right after this.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:16]

WHITFIELD: All this week in a special series called "Champions for Change," we will spotlight innovative thinkers and bold doers, challenging norms and making lasting impacts.

My champions are in a group called Diving with a Purpose. They are passionate about the oceans that cover 70 percent of our planet. Among the concerns the vitality of the coral along Florida coast lines which inhabit some 7,000 species. Plus, they help protect shorelines during storms. And as a scuba diver of 30 years myself their missions are dear to my heart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRAMER WIMBERLY, LEAD INSTRUCTOR, DIVING WITH A PURPOSE: I want to save the ocean because it's beautiful. I want to save the ocean because I spend my life there. I want to save the ocean because I want my children to be able to see and experience the beauty of it.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Kramer Wimberly's passion is coral reefs. They're home to a quarter of all sea life. They're vital to global ecology and they are dying. Wimberly is a lead instructor with the group Diving with a Purpose.

(On-camera): What is your purpose?

WIMBERLY: My purpose has morphed over time.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): At first the avid rec diver of 30 years joined DWP because the scuba diving group founded 16 years ago assembled mostly black divers to help look for a sunken slave ship, a watery tomb. Spending so much time in the water, he noticed other mysteries.

WIMBERLY: There are a lot less fish and there's a lot less coral.

WHITFIELD: So he added and dive partner Rianne Tyler added an ecosystem monitoring program to the group's mission. They call it Diving with a Purpose Cares.

[14:50:06]

WIMBERLY: Corals can't move. Right? So they are directly affected by the changes and the rise of sea level. We're dumping seven million tons of plastics and garbage in our oceans annually. So we're killing the corals.

WHITFIELD: Once a lawyer and firefighter, DWP Cares is now his life's work.

(On-camera): What caught my attention about them is that they were combining a sport that I love, scuba diving, and of course they were conscientious of the environment. More importantly they have incorporated the next generation.

(Voice-over): 18-year-old Ohio State freshman Greg Hood gets it. He learned to dive through DWP and has committed to the organization's five-year training program that teaches ocean conservation techniques.

GREG HOOD, FRESHMAN, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: I like to say I'm an advocate for reefs, because like I said, a lot of people don't know what's going on.

WHITFIELD: In Key Largo's Pickles Reef the eco divers lay down a 100- meter tape measure called transect and then count and measure species along it.

(On-camera): So I've loved diving for a long time. And I was really excited and anxious when my son became of age where he could start the process in getting certified and now he's 16 and he's my best dive buddy.

I love hearing his observation. I'm looking for things whereas he is seeing things.

(Voice-over): This partnership between the young and seasoned diver is behind the magic of Diving with a Purpose.

WIMBERLY: Problems that I think are insurmountable they are problem solving now on how to resolve.

WHITFIELD (on-camera): It was very beautiful.

(Voice-over): Beautiful but not bountiful.

(On-camera): What I saw were just beautiful pockets of colors, but just as I was in that moment I looked down and I thought to myself, well, then, what is that? And suddenly I realize I'm floating over a reef graveyard, just broken, crushed, demolished, finger coral.

(Voice-over): Plus, this sobering catch of the day. A floating tangle of plastic. The good and the bad are uploaded to Noah's coral reef database informing the scientists of today and inspiring the activists of tomorrow.

WIMBERLY: All of the youth in the program are not going to end up working in the field of marine biology or ecology but they are learning the importance of it and what their place is and what their responsibility is. For me that's enough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that is one of the best parts passing on to the next generation. I mean, I have all the answers, but they have the tools in search of some of the best answers, and we'll, of course, continue to share these inspirational stories all of this week and be sure to tune in Saturday 8:00 p.m. Eastern for the "Champions for Change" one-hour special.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:01]

WHITFIELD: A massive and growing wildfire in California has reached a small area of the iconic Giant Forest inside Sequoia National Park. The world's largest tree dubbed the General Sherman is now wrapped in aluminum base burn resistant material to try to protect it against the flames. The tree is 275 feet tall and more than 36 feet in diameter at the base making it taller than the Statue of Liberty from its base to the torch.

Clayton Jordan is the superintendent of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.

So good to see you. First off, I mean, there are several communities near the national park that are also being impacted. Can you tell us about evacuations?

CLAYTON JORDAN, SUPERINTENDENT, SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK: Yes, unfortunately, right now it's going through rivers, California is under mandatory evacuation. The fire is not imminently approaching that part of the community at this moment, but, unfortunately, these fires are continuing to grow and we expect that those evacuation zones may get expanded and ultimately before this fire is under control it could tragically affect other communities.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. Clayton, this is so touch and go and so frightening. I mean, tell us about the Sequoia grove as well. You know, we saw the foil wrapped around the trees to help protect them from the flames. But where do things stand right now?

JORDAN: Yes. So, you know, this fire -- has two major components here. Our primary focus is on protection of the communities and always will be. And that's where most of the firefighting efforts are focused. But we do have a special team of resource managers led by park staff that is focused on protection of the sequoias while the firefighters deal with the main threat of the fire. And so there are a number of tools that we use and in the case of some of our most iconic trees such as the General Sherman tree which is the largest tree in the world, we have -- one of our tools is to be able to wrap it in a high-tech aluminum foil, fiber glass fabric, and that protects the base of the tree where there are past fire starts from allowing the fire to get into the trees. And it's one of many measures that we're taking to try to protect these really important trees.

WHITFIELD: That's extraordinary. So you have a lot of confidence in that foil. I mean, we just looked at images where it's not just the tree at the base but you're using that foil on other things as well.

JORDAN: Yes, this foil, it's very similar, it's the same material that firefighters use for their emergency shelters in order to repel that heat. We use that same foil to wrap small buildings like historic buildings and other things of that nature so it really does help to protect but these giant sequoias could be threatened by fire that gets into the ground and in which case obviously the foil would not help us in those cases.

WHITFIELD: So, Clayton, what about you and your colleagues, other, you know, park employees? How are you going to stay safe?

JORDAN: Yes. So we have evacuated all the residents of the park, all the employees are safely out of the evacuation zone, so now it is just select staff and mainly firefighters. We have about 700 firefighters on this. We have about 15 aircraft, a lot of tankers, so there is a lot of activity around but it's really directed at the fighting efforts.