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Two Rescued After Small Plane Crashes Into Maryland Power Lines; Tornadoes, Damaging Winds and Hail Threaten the South Tomorrow; More Companies Turn to "Shrinkflation" To Combat High Inflation. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 28, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: A pilot and his passenger are so fortunate to be alive. Their small plane crashed into live power lines and it got stuck. This happened early Sunday evening in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Authorities say the plane dangled, suspended nearly 100 feet above ground for nearly seven hours.

But before rescue teams could save the passengers, workers had to ground the electrical tower. This whole thing knocked out power to more than 100,000 customers and forced all Montgomery County schools to close for the day.

Scott Goldstein is the chief of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. Chief, good to have you here. This is amazing. You were able to save these two. Let's start with how they're doing. What do you know about the pilot and the passenger and their condition right now?

CHIEF SCOTT GOLDSTEIN, FIRE RESCUE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND: Right now, as we speak about 3:00 on Monday, one had been discharged from the hospital and one was still in observation and likely going to stay another day, but both are in great condition considering the circumstances that they endured yesterday.

BLACKWELL: Do you know which one has been released if it's the pilot or the passenger?

GOLDSTEIN: I don't have that information.

BLACKWELL: OK. So, let's start at the beginning and what you know at this point. I know there is an investigation going on, but are there any indications of why this happened in the first place?

GOLDSTEIN: Nope. Don't have anything, Victor, on that. You know, we first got a 911 call for an airplane into the power lines, and indeed that's exactly as you see it, as we saw it, and roughly 100 feet up. So, a lot of things then had to be considered and taken into account.

BLACKWELL: Let's keep this video up because we've been saying a plane into power lines, but is it balanced?

[15:35:00]

Is it being suspended by the lines or the nose is stuck in the tower? What actually are we looking at right here?

GOLDSTEIN: Right, so there's two parallel high tension power lines there, actually. The plane struck the north tower wires. So, they struck the wires on the north tower, and then became implanted or became entangled in the structure of the south tower.

The engine is entwined with the tower's structure, with the -- everything from about the leading edge of the wings back being suspended by that entanglement of the engine and the tower structure. But yes, as you reported, that's about 100 feet in the air where they're at.

BLACKWELL: Thank God they didn't try to climb out of that if they could. We don't know their condition at the time. But I mean, how tenuous was this that -- I mean, this could have fallen at any moment. How did you get them down?

GOLDSTEIN: Well, indeed. So, the communications was a great part of this. They talked to a 911 operator for a great bit of time. We were relaying messages to her, and she did an excellent job as an intermediate with us, and then we transitioned to talking to them directly from the command post to give them confidence, to give them reassurance, to talk with them about their injuries.

But indeed, the plane could have become dislodged, could have potentially fallen. There was a great concern of ours. The biggest concern as I think you alluded to is, the static electricity or the residual electrical charge or danger that that tower presented would have been -- could have been deadly to anybody.

The two folks in the aircraft or any of the fire rescue personnel that had gotten near the tower prior to that grounding and bonding being implemented.

BLACKWELL: I see there was a cherry picker to go up and get them, but you say you were in communication with the pilot and passenger. What were they saying during these seven hours?

GOLDSTEIN: So, we were talking to them for reassurance and confidence. Talking to them about medical conditions, providing information on what their injuries were, providing them an update as to what we were doing. Because their perspective was blocked partially by the wings, partially by their elevation. As some of the footage shows, it became very foggy and misty at a period of time. So, their perspective was limited.

So, we were giving them those frequent updates, regular updates as to what was going on, and that, you know, while they saw a vehicle or that bucket truck, tower truck up there, what they were doing was the bonding and grounding and the next step would be this, and the next step after that would be -- that this would be, you know, our activity.

So, it was great that, you know, just after midnight once this plane was secured -- that was the second thing we predominantly did was secure the plane to the tower so that it would have limited or no more options for falling, and then work to remove the two folks from inside the cockpit or inside the aircraft.

BLACKWELL: Well, Chief Goldstein, as you described it, this story became more dramatic. It started to get foggy, and then it was misty. I mean, a miraculous rescue there. I think the force and I know the pilot and passenger passed it on. But for the work that you and your crew did to get these people to some safety, and now we know that one has been released from the hospital. Chief Scott Goldstein, thank you so much.

GOLDSTEIN: Thank you very much.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: What an incredible story, Victor. I mean, if you had sneezed, you could have dislodged that plane.

BLACKWELL: Unbelievable that it was the nose that was in there, and maybe just kind of leaning on one of those wires. Great work.

Oh my gosh, what a rescue.

All right, we also have incredible images out of Hawaii for you where the volcano known as Mauna Loa is erupting. We're going to show you next.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: For the first time in 40 years, the world's largest active volcano, Mauna Loa is erupting on Hawaii's big island. The eruption sparked an ashfall advisory earlier today. New video, look at this, shows what the sky looked like after the volcano started erupting Sunday night. You can see the plumes of rising smoke and lava flowing down the side.

CAMEROTA: Officials say there's no threat to communities. Mauna Loa covers half of the big island of Hawaii.

Meanwhile, nearly 2 million people from Louisiana to Tennessee could face significant tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: Meteorologist Tom Sater is tracking this for us. Tom, what do they need to know

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST AMS: Well, what we need to know is if we can recall what happened on the 8th of November, a very rare level four out of five for severe weather issued by the Storm Prediction Center. On that day November 8 this month we had multiple fatalities. Numerous tornadoes Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, the stage is set again for tomorrow and it looks pretty bad.

Right now, it's clear. High pressure is in control. We've had all kinds of record warm temperatures this morning. All-time November records. We've had our fair share of blizzards. The coldest air of the season is moving in.

[15:45:00] This is the power behind this engine. Notice the snowfall from Salt Lake City, over towards the front range of the Rockies and it spreads all the way up towards Minneapolis. Well, when it moves into this tropical air mass to the south, we're going to see an environment that's going to be so volatile.

The problem is this time a year, the sunsets earlier so we're in darkness. We're going to have numerous tornadoes where you won't be able to see them.

Here is our trouble spot here. Flashflood threat all the way up into the Ohio Valley, but this is what I want everyone to see, notice the red. This is a level four out of five. This is the first time during a month of November we've had two of these events with a level four out of five.

This is our tornado area. So again, anywhere from Louisiana up toward areas of Kentucky, western Tennessee, tomorrow afternoon into the evening hours. So, get your phones ready, make sure you have the alerts on because it's going to be a frightening day, we believe. Second time this month. Very rare for the month of November. Crazy year.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for that warning, Tom Sater.

BLACKWELL: So, if some of the products that you buy are not more expensive, there's a good chance that you are just getting less and you haven't even noticed. The man on a mission to expose what's known as shrinkflation joins us live, next.

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[15:50:00]

If you think that some of your everyday products are getting smaller, it's not all in your head. This is the phenomenon known as shrinkflation. Retailers downsizing their products so you pay the same price, or maybe you more, but actually get less.

CAMEROTA: More and more companies are making these adjustments because of inflation. And joining us now is shrinkflation expert Edgar Dworsky. He's the founder of consumerworld.org. Edgar, great to have you here. So, I don't think that some of us can see this because actually the products are getting bigger, but the contents are shrinking. So, let me show some examples that you've sent us.

Here is Smart Balance. OK, so this is like the butter substitute. On the left is the old Smart Balance. The right is the new one. You think, oh, this is great, I'm getting more for my money. But in fact, what are you getting in that package?

EDGAR DWORSKY, FOUNDER, COMSUMERWORLD.ORG: Well, the old one is 64 percent oil. So, oil's the first ingredient in the product. The new one is only 39 percent oil. They reduced the oil content by almost 40 percent. That is an amazing change. Now water is the first ingredient so they literally watered down the product.

BLACKWELL: Are they trying to be slick with the packaging with some of these products? They get taller, they get wider. The shape of the bottle changes but you're really getting less. You think you're getting more.

DWORSKY: Actually, in some cases like cereal. You can look at two cereal boxes, the old and the new side-by-side, they look identical. Only if you turn them sideways do you see the new one is narrower. I mean, frankly, some of them are getting so narrow I don't know how they stand up on the shelf anymore.

CAMEROTA: OK, let's look at another example that you sent. Toilet paper. So, here's Charmin. And the old one on the left, new one on the right. Mega looks bigger, but in fact, what's the truth?

DWORSKY: Well, the one on the left is 264 sheets. That's the old one. The new one is 242. So, you lost 22 sheets on a roll. In a 12 pack, that's the same as getting one less roll. So, you're really getting 11 rolls but still paying for 12.

BLACKWELL: Edgar, are these price -- are these in lieu of price hikes or are these products becoming more expensive and smaller at the same time?

DWORSKY: Typically, when it happens, the price stays the same but we're in such an inflationary period we're really seeing both things happen. So, the item could be getting smaller and the prices going up. Paper products prices are just crazy now. It's unbelievable.

CAMEROTA: OK, I think we have another one you sent us. This is detergent -- clothing detergent. Seventh Generation, and they look -- I mean, here again, the one on the right looks bigger. This is Seventh Generation. The print looks smaller, but what are we missing?

DWORSKY: Well, the old one has 100 ounces. The new one is 90. So, you lost ten ounces. You lost 10 percent of the product. I can't tell the difference between the bottles. I don't think it's obvious which one is the old and which one is the new.

That's why you've got to look at the fine print. We all have to become more net weight conscious, net count conscious. Look at that fine print on the package so you know are you getting less than you got last time you bought it.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I try to read the orange price per ounce sticker on the shelf and maybe should that -- you know, should I buy a different package, different brand.

CAMEROTA: Yes, but that's your choice. I mean, if this is how they're packaging it now and you realize you're getting less, what's your choice?

DWORSKY: The value of unit pricing is when you have different brands and different sizes and you want to compare to see which one is the best value because the large size isn't always a good deal. What Victor's doing is absolutely the way to do it, use the unit price right on the shelf.

CAMEROTA: You're a genius.

BLACKWELL: Got you.

CAMEROTA: It's what I've learned.

BLACKWELL: Edgar Dworsky, my man, thank you very much. Good to have you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Edgar.

DWORSKY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: In a rare show of widespread dissent, thousands of protesters in China are demanding change to the nation's zero-COVID policy, even calling for the removal of Xi Jinping. We'll talk about that and Dr. Fauci's going to react to all of it.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: OK, breaking news, S&L alum Pete Davidson has a new woman in his life. He was spotted at a New York Knicks game with model Emily Ratajkowski. Neither has confirmed they are a couple.

BLACKWELL: Now she is the latest in the line of high profile women he has been romantically linked to. Kia Gerber, Kate Beckinsale, Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian. He's got some appeal.

[16:00:00]

CAMEROTA: I wonder what his appeal is. I mean, he obviously has a big personality.

BLACKWELL: A huge personality, yes.

CAMEROTA: Yes, he has a huge personality. I don't know. All right. Also, Victor, it's like when one beautiful woman begets another. Like when he's engaged to Ariana Grande, it's like, oh, if he is good enough for Ariana Grande, I can date him. I think that's part of the --

BLACKWELL: There's a curiosity about the personality. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.