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CNN International: Israel Delays Planned Release of Palestinian Prisoners; DC Fire: No Survivors in midair collision, now a Recovery OP; Regan National Airport to Reopen at 11 AM Eastern; President Trump Says He's Fully Briefed on the Collision. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired January 30, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and we have multiple breaking stories this hour. As you've been hearing, recovery operations are underway at this hour in the Potomac River in the nation's capital. An American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. military helicopter collided in mid-air near Reagan National Airport outside of D.C. Wednesday night.

You're looking right now at live pictures, both aircraft rather, fell into the Potomac after the collision, you see all the first responders there now. It is now a recovery effort. There were 64 people on the commercial flight and three soldiers in the helicopter. We just heard from the Washington D.C. Mayor and other officials saying, tragically, there are not believed to be any survivors.

We'll return to that breaking news shortly. Turning now to our other breaking news, Israel has delayed the planned release of 110 Palestinian prisoners, saying the troubling scenes around the release of the Israeli hostages were not acceptable. Earlier on Thursday, when seven hostages were released in Khan Yunis, they were surrounded by armed and masked people there, jostled by a large crowd.

Eight hostages, three Israelis and five Thai citizens have been released from captivity in Gaza and are now back on Israeli soil. The first to be freed was Agam Berger, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier, these were highly emotional moments when she was reunited with her family. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining me now from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. Jeremy tell us more about the release the scene and now the potential consequences.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, indeed, Fredricka. Eight hostages released from the Gaza Strip today, but it didn't all go as smoothly as Israeli officials had hoped or expected. We first saw, of course, the release of that Israeli soldier, Agam Berger, from the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

But it was the release of seven others in Khan Yunis, in the southern part of the Gaza strip that was unwieldy and chaotic and prompted concerns from Israeli officials. We saw in particular as one hostage, 29-year-old Arbel Yahud, who was taken captive from Kibbutz near Oz in on October 7th. She was surrounded by these mass Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants and an enormous unruly crowd. You could see in the images as she was being taken to that Red Cross vehicle, the look on her face seeming absolutely terrified by the scene.

It was very, very chaotic indeed, until she was ultimately brought into one of those Red Cross vehicles. Gadi Moses, who was an 8-year- old hostage, who was also taken captive from Kibbutz near Oz, was also included in that transfer. And then we also had five Thai nationals who were taken hostage from Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip on October 7th, who were also released in that very same exchange.

We understand that all of them are now on Israeli soil have been reunited with their families after more than 15 months of captivity Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then Jeremy, now Israel is saying it's delaying the release of the Palestinian prisoners. What -- there were more than 100 of them. I mean, what's the timetable that is being given now, if at all?

DIAMOND: That's right, 110 Palestinian prisoners were scheduled to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for those three Israeli hostages. The five Thai nationals who are being released are being released outside of the framework of this agreement. The bus carrying those prisoners was actually just beginning to leave of air prison in the West Bank, when suddenly it was turned around.

And that came at the same time as Israeli officials put out a statement saying that because of the chaotic manner in which these hostages were released, which the Israeli Prime Minister referred to as being cruel final moments of captivity for Arbel Yahud, because of that, the Israeli government delayed the release of those Palestinian prisoners.

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We are now learning that they are set to be released at 05:00 p.m. local time. That's just over an hour from now, so we expect that release to move forward. But clearly, only after Israeli officials raised severe concerns and objections to the mediators about the manner in which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad conducted this release today, making very clear that that was unacceptable and that it cannot happen for the next release, which is scheduled for this coming Saturday, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. All right, still to come, the latest on our breaking news. Recovery operations now underway after that collision between a passenger plane and a U.S. military helicopter in the nation's capital.

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WHITFIELD: All right, more now on the breaking news out of the Washington D.C. area, where recovery operations are underway in the Potomac River. This after an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. military helicopter collided mid-air near Reagan National Airport Wednesday night. Officials say they do not believe there to be any survivors. It's the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. in 24 years.

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JOHN A. DONNELLY, CHIEF, WASHINGTON DC FIRE & EMS DEPARTMENT: We don't believe there are any survivors from this accident. And we have recovered 27 people from the plane and one from the helicopter. The district office of the medical examiner has led on reuniting these bodies and these people with their loved ones, and we will continue to work to find all the bodies and collect them and reunite them with their loved ones.

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WHITFIELD: American Airlines Flight 5342 was just moments away from landing when it collided with that helicopter, sending both aircraft into the Potomac. A security camera caught the moment of impact, as you see right there. 64 people are on board that plane arriving from Wichita, Kansas, and three crew members were on that Black Hawk Helicopter.

Reagan National Airport is closed for the next couple of hours. Many planes are being diverted to other regional airports. Let's bring in CNN Correspondent Julia Benbrook, now. Julia, I mean, this is just so sad, but it's involving so many jurisdictions, all hands-on deck to figure out what happened? And now they're in recovery effort, trying to retrieve more bodies?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just devastating news overnight Fredricka. And this press conference confirmed what many had feared as first responders looked for survivors overnight in the dark with frigid temperatures in the water. They say that they are now turning from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. And we heard the DC Fire and EMS Chief there say that they do not believe that there were any survivors.

Now we know that there were 64 people on that American Airlines passenger jet, 60 passengers and four crew members and then three soldiers on that Black Hawk helicopter, when these two aircraft collided over the Potomac River. Now during the press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who I will note, has only been on the job for a few days. He was sworn in on Tuesday to this role.

He outlined a couple of things. He said that it was a clear night, and he said that while a collision like this is not standard, should not happen, that they believe that the aircraft was on a standard flight pattern and the helicopter was on a standard flight pattern. He expressed his condolences, as did the others who spoke at this press conference and said that people should feel safe when they get on a plane.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Safety is our expectation. Everyone who flies in American skies expects that we fly safely, that when you depart an airport, you get to your destination. That didn't happen last night, and I know that President Trump, his administration, the FAA, the DOT, we will not rest until we have answers for the families and for the flying public. You should be assured that when you fly, you're safe.

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BENBROOK: Duffy says that President Donald Trump has been kept up to date on everything that's happened. We know that he was in the Situation Room at some point after the crash. We don't know if we will hear from the president himself today. We do know that we will hear from the National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB, they are going to have a press conference.

They're managing expectations though of what we're going to learn during that press conference, instead focusing in on process, because there's still ways to go with this investigation. But as we continue to hear from officials, one thing remains certain, they know that something went wrong here and that changes need to be made to ensure safety, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much. All right, let's turn now to Stephen Wright. He's an Aviation Expert and Professor in Aviation at the Technological University Dublin. Great to see you. Sadly, under these kinds of circumstances, the recovery efforts still underway there in the Potomac River with sunrise, now with daylight.

And now -- you know just two days ago, on the job, the U.S. Transportation Secretary -- you know, says these were standard routes and flights. How do you interpret that?

STEPHEN WRIGHT, AVIATION EXPERT, TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY DUBLIN: The way I see this is that the aircraft that's coming into land is lined up. It's on its flight path. It's a standard sort of route into the airport. Nothing untoward taking place.

The helicopter, on the other hand, this by its route that's been published thus far. That's them flying along the river. And in short, what's happened is a loss of situational awareness has taken place, and this is between air traffic, the commander of the fixed wing aircraft, and also the commander of the Rotorcraft Helicopter. All -- parties have lost an appreciation of who is where, and that is how, probably this has happened.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's zero in on that, because -- you know this did happen at nine o'clock at night. The Transportation Secretary says it was a clear night. The helicopter crew was asked by radio tower. We've heard the recordings all morning long, you know, to keep an eye on the plane.

You know, follow it as it was coming in, I guess is the method. There was acknowledgement from the helicopter pilot that he could see the plane. Is it you're feeling that perhaps he didn't see that plane? Maybe had eyes on a different plane, because it was within seconds that there was silence on that recording after acknowledging, yes, I see the plane.

WRIGHT: But this is going to be the ultimate question that the accident investigators need to ascertain, because other factors also need to be established. So, once they recover the aircraft and the black box, certainly from the commercial aircraft, I suspect the military aircraft won't have one.

But the -- if it is fitted with the black box, then it will determine what the settings were for the aircraft, IE, the barometric altitude, because that is very important. It tells the flight crew what their specific altitude is. So, the helicopter pilot has said that he can see an aircraft, but as you said, is it the aircraft that's coming into land? We realistically we won't know that answer until the ATS -- I'd say the NTSB produce their preliminary and final reports, and that will take some time.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Reagan National Airport is really a very unique place. I mean, it's a very unique -- you know landing in takeoff location the runways, some of the runways are much shorter than at most airports. Reaction time is very limited. Do you see that as a potential element to the crash, meaning pilots have to make important adjustments when making landings and coming down very low at that airport and having to be in a position to stop very suddenly.

WRIGHT: No, not at all. And the reason being is, I started my career in Hong Kong at Kai Tak, perhaps one of the most challenging airports in the world when it was open to land.

[08:50:00]

There weren't any events where there were mid-air collisions or aircraft running off the end of the runway into the blocks of flats. So no, I think where this is all going to center around is people's understanding of where they are and who's around them, and the position of the traffic. And it seems that the emphasis has been given to a human to make a decision. And clearly there's been a misunderstanding in a decision.

WHITFIELD: Situational awareness you mentioned. All right. Stephen Wright, thank you so much. We're going to have more on this breaking news right after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right, back to the breaking news out of Washington D.C., the tragic mid-air collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Washington D.C. area. Officials on the scene say, tragically, there are no survivors, and their efforts now are focused on recovering the bodies of the victims.

The CEO of American Airlines is on the scene and pledges that his airline will do whatever it can to support the families of those on board. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT ISOM, CEO, AMERICAN AIRLINES: I want to express my sincere condolences for the accident that happened at DCA last night. We're absolutely heartbroken for the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew members, and also for those that were on the military aircraft. Our focus right now is doing everything that we can to support all of those involved, and also the PSA Airlines team. This is devastating. It's -- we are all hurting.

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WHITFIELD: Let's bring in CNN's Alayna Treene now at the White House. Alayna, what are you hearing from the president?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, we did. Fredricka, we heard last night, just two hours roughly after the crash had taken place, President Donald Trump said that he was monitoring the situation in a statement, also adding May God Bless their souls too. The victims that we now know there are no survivors from that crash.

Now, we also heard from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was at that press conference, I would note it is just his second or third day on the job after being sworn in as Transportation Secretary on Tuesday. He said that he was in the Situation Room last night with Donald Trump. I also spoke with National Security Adviser Michael Watts this morning at the White House. He said, as well that he was in the Situation Room with Donald Trump last night until very late.

Now, we did hear as well from the president directly. He posted on social media. I want to read you to some of what he said overnight. He said that he believed that the airplane was, quote, on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport -- to the airport. And this is kind of the key thing I want to point out. He said this later in this post, he said, quote, this is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented, not good.

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Now our own Arlette Saenz with CNN directly asked Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, at that press conference this morning, if he agreed with Donald Trump that this could have been preventable. Duffy said, absolutely he does believe that this was preventable. Of course, we are still trying to gather more information.

Now, one thing Fred that I'm still trying to learn is if we will hear publicly from the president today, from the White House, or if White House Press Secretary, Caroline Levitt, will brief I've asked the White House both of these questions. I'll keep you updated as we learn more.

WHITFIELD: All right, look forward to that. Thank you so much Alayna Treene. All right, we've got so much more on this breaking news across the day, right here on CNN. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "Connect the World" with Eleni Giokos is up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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