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CNN International: Official: At Least 290 People Killed In Air India Crash; Trump: Israeli Strike On Iran "Could Very Well Happen"; U.S. Democratic Senator Forcibly Removed From News Conference. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:18]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: I'm Zain Asher in New York.

We are following breaking news out of India, or at least 290 people are feared dead after an Air India jet bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad. In London, relatives and friends of passengers who had expected to be greeting their loved ones at Gatwick Airport this hour are instead grieving.

A warning, many of you may find the video about to show very disturbing. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in India on its flight to the U.K., before going down very quickly in a very densely populated area. Among the victims, most of the 242 passengers and crew. Others were killed on the ground near the airport, including some at a medical college there.

Incredibly, and this really is a miracle, police are saying that at least one man, one man, a British national who you see here on your screen on board the flight, actually managed to survive that crash. As we understand it, he is now being treated in the hospital. Presumably these are photographs from him in hospital.

India's Civil Aviation authorities are expected to take the lead in the investigation, with help from both the U.S. and the U.K.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAM MOHAN NAIDU, INDIAN CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER: We are going to do a fair and thorough investigation. We are not going to spare anyone. We are not going to leave any stone unturned. We will do properly according to the protocol, and we are going to go to the depth of why this incident has happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Devastated families gathered at the scene searching for answers as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BHAWNA PATEL, SISTER OF VICTIM: My sister was going to London. She was going to London. The plane crashed before she could reach London.

PRAMILA, MOTHER OF DOCTOR IN HOSTEL WHO SURVIVED: My son went to the hostel to have his lunch. The plane crashed at the hostel. Nothing happened to my son. I have talked to him. People died. I want to go inside to see my son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My office is 200 meters away from the crash site. I heard a loud noise and came outside. I then saw a thick cloud of smoke. People started running in chaos. Now that I have arrived here, I can see the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And that situation is one of utter devastation. CNN affiliate News18 actually visited the site of the hospital for doctors hit by the plane when it crashed, and they spoke to a first responder on the ground. Here's that report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARUNIMA, NEWS EDITOR, CNN NEWS18: This was a medical college. This was a hostel mess. And you can see right on the roof of the hostel mess, the tail end of the aircraft is still stuck. That is where the aircraft first crashed outside. This is not even as the crow flies. It's not even half a mile. It might have taken, you know, less than a minute and a half for the aircraft to reach here from the airport.

There's also a first responder, somebody who operates the ambulance services. This is a medical college campus. I'll try and see if they can tell us.

If you can tell us exactly what happened. What did you see?

FIRST RESPONDER: Suddenly, we got a call at 1:41 minutes that some something is crashed near our office, 200, 300 meters away from our center hospital. Our supervisor and our team rushed to the scene, and they found that a airplane has crashed. But we didn't identified it as a passenger or someone other plane crashed. Then we found that it's the passenger plane.

ARUNIMA: And you rescued people from the hostel. Also, at least 25 people.

FIRST RESPONDER: Yes, 20, 25 people rescued from the hostel.

ARUNIMA: Right. So that's an important point because what we are talking about in terms of casualty is not just the crew members and the passengers of the aircraft, but also those who were undergraduate doctors inside this medical college. They were here to have their lunch.

And I just want to quickly show you how far the debris have been flung apart. This is the second part of the plane, which is on the front side of the hostel building. And then just beyond that, perhaps you can see my video journalist zooming in on the remains of the luggage.

That's all that remains of this air crash. All of these debris just span that side. These are the debris outside the medical college hostel mess. And for the next half a kilometer or so, which is about one fourth of a mile, this is all that you're seeing, debris and parts of the Indian airlines aircraft that crashed.

And even as I'm speaking to you, maybe in the ambiance you can hear that's another aircraft which has taken off from the Ahmedabad airport. So, the sound is quite loud because it's just outside the airport wall.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Arunima, thank you. Really chilling video of the scene of the crash there.

Let's go to CNN analyst Mary Schiavo.

[15:05:01]

She served as an inspector general for the U.S. Transportation Department.

Mary, thank you so much for being with us.

Surviving a plane crash is really a miracle on God's green Earth. That is something that happens. I mean, as far as I can tell, based on my research, that's happened only a handful of times in aviation history. How on earth, Mary, does one survive a plane crash?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, you know where there's a fire, one survives by getting out. And I have had the honor over many years to represent some survivors of plane crashes. And in every case, they made the decision to act.

In one case, one survivor was actually taking her shoes off and already started napping and on takeoff. But she made the determination to crunch through fire and wreckage barefoot and saved her life and others. Another one, it was -- they were at the front of the plane and another passenger, the little girls' mother, actually shielded her body. She survived a plane crash.

So, it's possible, but usually it is a matter of getting out or somehow surviving the flames when there is no flame. It's astonishing. Or when the flames come after the evacuation has been done. In this day and age, it's not uncommon for the entire plane to survive a crash as long as there's no flame.

So, in this case, he was apparently next to an exit or very near an emergency exit, and he took his initiative and he got up and moved and ran to or walked to save his life. But I've worked on cases where it's happened.

ASHER: But when you think about what you're told during those sort of flight safety videos that we've all watched dozens of times, you know, you're told, you know, how to put on the inflatable vest, you're told how to put on the oxygen mask. You're even told where all the emergency exits are.

And if you are in the emergency exit row, you're asked, hey, listen, would you be willing to assist in the event of an emergency? And, you know, are you -- are you able -- are you willing and able to actually open the emergency exit door? Not once in my life have I ever thought that that information is ever going to be actually useful. Never have I actually thought to myself, I better listen to this very closely in case I actually need to exit a plane in case in case of an emergency, if there is a plane crash.

Just talk to us about just the level of ingenuity and how quickly he would have had to have thought on his feet in order to survive this.

SCHIAVO: Immediately. I mean, it is clear and I think that's what he said. He said, I -- you know, I got up and got myself out in those situations, in other cases where I've worked and have had the honor of working for survivors, besides, you know, the families of victims, that is what they did, each and every one of them. They made the decision that I'm going to go. I'm not going to wait to be rescued.

And, you know, I do lots of writing on aviation and law. And one article I wrote probably, I don't know, ten years ago, was how to dress on a plane to survive a crash, you know, close-toed shoes, less flammable, more natural materials, et cetera.

That one thing I wrote, despite all the other things I thought were better, gets the most to this day. Most people, you know, want to read that as to what to wear to survive. And I always ask for the exit row and I always read the card.

ASHER: Yeah. I mean, you know, everyone is sort of I think everyone watching this story is sort of putting themselves in this man's shoes and thinking, listen, if I was in seat 11A, would I have thought as quickly as he did in order to save my own life? And, you know, earlier in the day, we had been there was some possibility that there could be other survivors, is what we were hearing. But, you know, were still waiting to see if that is the case or not.

As far as we're concerned, and in terms of what police have said so far, there is only one survivor of this plane crash that we know of. I mean, God knows what is going through that man's mind in the hospital right now as he recovers.

Mary Schiavo, live for us there, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

ASHER: All right. As local authorities work to figure out what exactly led to this tragedy, the United Kingdom is now offering its assistance. The air accidents investigation branch plans to deploy a team to India. And we are getting new reaction from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There will be British and Indian families across the land who are absolutely impacted by this. And our thoughts first and foremost are with them. Obviously, the investigation is going on. We've dispatched investigation team that's been deployed. The foreign secretary is leading on this, and we'll obviously update as soon as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Let's bring in CNN's Nada Bashir live at Gatwick Airport in London.

So, Nada, you know, you have to imagine what a lot of families are going through. I mean, they thought they were going to this airport, to the arrivals area to pick up their loved ones after a long flight from India, only to find out that that flight is actually never, ever going to land.

Just walk us through what you know so far about what the families are being told.

[15:10:04]

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a huge moment of anguish for these families. That plane should have landed here at London's Gatwick Airport, just a little over an hour and a half ago. But of course, now this day has turned into a day of complete tragedy and devastation for those family members, friends, loved ones who had been anticipating to meet with their loved ones today, following the arrival of that flight.

What we've been told now from the authorities here at Gatwick airport is that they are providing support for those impacted, for those family members and loved ones. They have set up a reception center here at the airport, which is treated, being treated with the utmost privacy.

Of course, in this difficult time for those family members. But it's here at this reception center that family members and loved ones will be provided with updates from the airport and from the airline, and provided with support. And of course, important to underscore, of course, that among the 242 passengers that were on board that plane, including crew members as well, of course, 53 were British nationals.

And this is a country that has deep cultural and historic ties with India. So, there will be a huge swaths of the community here that are impacted in the united kingdom and will feel this quite keenly. And of course, we've seen that outpouring of support already from the government, as you heard there from the prime minister, Keir Starmer, who upon hearing that news early this morning said that he was being kept updated, that authorities in the United Kingdom were in close contact with officials in India. The foreign office also leading on that coordination as well, had in the last few hours set up crisis teams in both Delhi and London to coordinate that support.

And then, as you mentioned, Zain, we have seen now the British air accident investigation teams being dispatched now to India to support the investigation as it continues to unfold. And that's in addition to investigators from the United States who will also be providing support. So, this is a truly multinational investigation effort. Many will be waiting desperately for answers as to what led to this fatal crash. Many will be hugely, of course, devastated waiting for that news on the confirmation of their loved ones and how they are at this stage.

And of course, we saw that remarkable one survivor being confirmed. He is reported to be a British national. The state broadcaster here, the BBC has spoken to members of his family in the country as well, so there will likely be a sense of hope, perhaps, until we get that final confirmation around the possibility of others who may be injured and taken to hospital.

But according to officials, of course, that hope is dwindling. The vast majority, if not all, of the remaining passengers and crew members on board that flight are likely believed to have been killed. So, a huge moment of devastation for those waiting for their loved ones.

ASHER: And it is a bittersweet moment for the family of that British national because, as I understand it, his brother was also on the flight as well, in a different row. And obviously we don't know the fate of his brother at this point in time.

Nada Bashir live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Stay with CNN for more coverage of this breaking news story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:21]

ASHER: All right. Welcome back. Updating today's breaking news. At least 290 people are feared dead from an Air India plane crashing shortly after takeoff.

Joining me live now is Dr. Rajneesh Patel. He is professor and head of surgery at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He joins us live now.

Doctor, thank you so much for being with us, as you know, on what I can only imagine as an extremely stressful day. You know, we've been talking a lot about the sole survivor of this crash.

Can you tell us, you know, what sort of condition he's in? Weve seen photographs of him. You know, he seems to have sort of a bloody face. Just walk us through how he's doing right now.

DR. RAJNEESH PATEL, PROFESSOR & HEAD OF SURGERY, AHMEDABAD CIVIL HOSPITAL: No. There are many patients that we received today. This gentleman was lucky to be walking back out of the dangerous area. He is well under management and not very critical. He has some blood in the images, but he's not very badly injured. He is very comfortable and under strict observation, no issues. ASHER: As I understand it, he was limping away from the scene of the

crash. So, you know, based on reports, he limped away. So, he appeared to have sustained some injury as it pertained to jumping out of the aircraft. Can you tell us what happened in terms of what you know?

PATEL: Ne. No, he doesn't actually remember. There is a term called post-traumatic amnesia. He must have suffered that. Like, you know, he is not able to give me the complete picture of the event that happened sequentially.

What he says is at one moment, there was a lot. There was some kind of noise. And the other moment, he was -- he was out. And then when he got up, he was all surrounded by dead bodies and all.

So, this is what his description is while you see him limping. It was immediately after the injury. So, for a moment before he could recall, I mean, reconnect and stabilize himself. He was jumping or limping, but otherwise he has no -- no bone injuries and no limb injuries. No injuries otherwise. Just a little bit on the left side.

ASHER: So what you're saying is that the event obviously was so traumatic for him that there's a lot that he cannot recall at this point in time?

PATEL: Yes, yes, yes. I mean, after some time he may recover and get to know everything about recollect everything. But right now --

ASHER: And how long do you anticipate that -- okay. And how long do you anticipate that he's going to be -- he's going to have to stay in the hospital for.

PATEL: As soon as some legal matters are cleared. And a general -- what you call consensus is developed about how to manage these patients. We may need some clearance from the airlines and other things. Otherwise, he's perfectly all right. Within a day or two, he can go home.

ASHER: Incredible. And then we know that obviously the plane crashed into the medical college there in Ahmedabad. What can you tell us about those who were injured as a result of the location, in which the plane crashed?

PATEL: Yeah. The plane did not crash into the medical college. It crashed into the residential areas of the students of the medical college. So, it is just a nearby to the airport. And there was a place actually -- landed on the dining area. So, most of the students had had their food and gone.

So, we could -- we did not suffer a lot of casualties. But however, it did take in some students who were still eating around and few students had their relatives also visiting them.

[15:20:01]

So, these were the few casualties that we had. Overall, if you see, because of the fall and other things we have around some patients who are students and some of them, they are bystanders and all. So, all in all, we do not have many injured.

ASHER: But those who are injured. I mean, I understand you're saying the crash took place at the residential area of this medical college, and you had patients who had loved ones visiting them, and a lot of them had basically were eating food and had finished when this plane crashed.

But in terms of the type of injuries that were sustained by those who actually were injured and whether or not some are in critical condition or in the intensive care unit, what can you tell us?

PATEL: No, what happened is like, I am in the treatment side. So what patients that we received were basically put into two wards and classified as stable. They were put into wards. We had very few people admitted in the ICU because as a kind of injured kind of accident, that it was either it was two -- there were two folds. One either they are dead or the other thing, they scratched a little bit here and there.

We did not have many critical patients receiving who are still alive. Hardly, there would be one or two people who are admitted to ICU, and they may have succumbed later on, if at all.

ASHER: That's very interesting. So you're saying that because of the nature and the violent nature of this, of this accident -- I mean, there were really only two options. Some people were killed instantly. Most people were killed instantly, especially obviously those on board the aircraft. Or some people were able to escape, and really fortunately with very few injuries. Is that what you're saying?

PATEL: Yeah.

ASHER: Okay. Well, Dr. Rajneesh Patel, thank you so much for taking time. I'm sure it is a really busy day and lots of emotions there in hospital. So, thank you so much for taking the time today to talk to us. We are very grateful to you and the work you're doing there.

PATEL: Thank you so much.

ASHER: Of course, of course.

We've also heard from Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, who assured support for the families of the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL WILSON, CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR, AIR INDIA: I would like to express our deep sorrow about this event. This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India. And our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones. I know that there are many questions, and at this stage I will not be able to answer all of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: I want to bring in CNN anchor Richard Quest. So, Richard, I just spoke to the head of surgery at the hospital there

in Ahmedabad, India. He was talking about the sole survivor and essentially saying that the event was so traumatic that it's unlikely or very difficult for the passenger to remember absolutely everything.

But based on reports that we got earlier, the passenger had said that about a minute after takeoff, he heard a loud bang. Within that minute after takeoff. And then, of course, the plane went down. Based on that, based on the fact that there was this loud bang, I mean, you saw the angle of the plane as it was descending.

What does all that tell you, Richard?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Okay, let's look at the video. If you look at the video of the plane taking off, you get a wealth of information. The plane -- I'm going to talk you through it. Here we go.

The plane is going down the runway. It's getting to take off speed. We assume that the flaps are in the right configuration, and we assume that it's using full length of runway. Those are going to be key questions in terms of that. Then it rotates and lifts off the ground like this does.

Now it's clearly not having any difficulty getting into the air, but it should be climbing more steeply and somewhere around about here, which is probably where you're talking about the back. Thats the moment where you see the lift disappear.

Whatever happened happens around this moment, whether it's that loud bang that the person say they heard, whether its bird strike, whatever it might be, the sort of things that were looking at one were the flaps properly deployed. Number two loss of power. This plane lost power for some reason. But it does get into the air.

And I think what's going to be interesting is not only did an exogenous event take place, such as bird strike, which doesn't look like there because there's no obvious sign of an engine flaming out from those pictures. But what caused this plane to lose power? That it was unable to continue the climb? That's going to be the core of the issue.

ASHER: And talk to us about the safety. I mean, obviously, this just in terms of Boeing and their mounting troubles. But when you think about specifically, Boeing Dreamliner 787-8, this is a relatively new plane. I mean, it came out in 2011.

[15:25:02]

It's only 15 years old. It's relatively new.

QUEST: Just -- no, no, no. I'm just going to sort of let -- let's scotch that before it gets going. The plane, the plane is an absolute workhorse. When it came out in 2011, there are some very distinct problems in relation to the batteries and the lithium ion batteries that have been put in place. And they were overheating, and an entire room of the fleet was grounded for some months, whilst JAL and others had to deal with this problem.

But since then, there has been not a scintilla of suggestion that there is anything wrong with the 787 series of aircraft, and in fact it is now used in most fleets. Global airlines have them unless they've completely abandoned Boeing, they have the 787 because it is an incredibly versatile aircraft between the eight, the nine and the ten gives extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary fuel efficiency.

And therefore, airlines use it on specifically routes as the phrase is long skinny routes, which is exactly Ahmedabad to London where you have -- you don't need 300 or 400, you need the extra efficiency.

So, at the moment, at the moment, you've got two components. You're going to have the plane and you've got the engines, the GE engines. Focus will be on both of them, but it's way too soon to even put a cloud over either.

ASHER: Yeah. No, I was going to say that obviously it came out in 2011 and its had a really a positive safety record. I mean, obviously you talked about the batteries that that was an issue early on. But since then, I mean, it's -- it seems to have had a good safety record.

So just in terms of the investigation, we know that the U.K. authorities, the Indian authorities and also the U.S. are going to be working closely. Just walk us through what the investigation actually looks like.

QUEST: It's a well-traveled route and its well established by ICAO, which is the U.N. body that sets out the rules. It's known as Annex 13. If you want to get technical about it, and it gives chapter and verse on how this has to be done, the state where the incident takes place, i.e. in this case India is responsible for the investigation.

They've had long invest -- they've had long experience, unfortunately, of doing investigations, and they're very competent at doing them. I would expect you'd have hefty involvement from the NTSB in the United States, along with the AAIB from the U.K., if for no other reason than they are amongst the most experienced investigators in the world.

The next big core question. So, we've got two, two things besides the sort of the operation taking place will be the retrieval of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, and then where they are going to be read out. Does India have the capability? I don't know whether it does. We'll find out. And then after that will be the initial report.

Under Annex 13, there should be an initial statement after 30 days. You don't have to. But the rules do say there should be an initial statement or initial report after 30 days.

ASHER: All right, Richard Quest, thank you so much.

Stay with CNN. More coverage of this breaking news after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:49]

ASHER: And we are tracking the chaotic scene unfolding in India. At least 290 people are reported dead after an Air India plane crash. A warning, many may find the video you're about to see disturbing.

Less than a minute after departure, the Boeing 787-8 signal was lost. It went down just outside the Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat. Police in India say at least one passenger has survived. At least one passenger miraculously survived this.

On Thursday, Boeing released this statement on X saying, quote, we are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and standing ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.

A short time ago, the CEO of Air India, Campbell Wilson, spoke on his team's response efforts.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILSON: We are actively working with the authorities on all emergency response efforts. A special team of caregivers from Air India is on their way to Ahmedabad to provide additional support. The investigations will take time, but anything we can do now, we are doing. We know that many people are concerned for the welfare of their loved ones. We have set up a special helpline that friends and family can reach us at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN News18 managing editor Zakka Jacob has more on what we know about the sole survivor of that crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAKKA JACOB, CNN NEWS18 MANAGING EDITOR: What he said was that within 30 seconds of takeoff, he heard a loud bang. He was sitting at the seat 11A, which is the closest to the emergency exit, and he just jumped off the flight. He also went on to say that he could just see a huge plume of smoke, black smoke and fire. He said there was a lot of mangled remains around him, a lot of dead bodies around him. He got scared and he started running.

And then somebody on the ground captured that on a mobile phone of him limping towards an ambulance. And then he says the ambulance took him to the hospital. He's been identified as Ramesh Vishwash Kumar, a person of Indian origin but a British national. He was seated at seat 11A and it's quite providential, really, that he was not supposed to sit at that seat. He had another seat assigned to him. Something happened whereby he exchanged that seat, and he is, at least until now, the only known survivor of this crash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Let's bring in Alan Armstrong. He's an aviation attorney and pilot.

Alan, thank you so much for being with us. Alan, can you hear me? Alan, can you hear me?

Okay. It looks as though we don't have Alan. We were going to obviously talk to him about the investigation. We're going to try to get him back.

Okay. It looks as though we are trying to get him back. Let's see. Okay. Okay. We are going to try to get him back, and then I will circle back to him later on in the show.

We are getting more international reaction to the deadly crash. A short time ago, British conservative MP Shivani Raja told my colleague Max Foster about how popular that specific flight route is for Indian British citizens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIVANI RAJA, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Th this flight route in particular is incredibly popular, especially in Leicester. I've used it personally many times. My family used it. My constituents used it.

[15:35:00]

So, this really did hit close to home. And as a result, the community and the people here in Leicester are left quite shaken up, as you can imagine. The U.K. government has set up crisis centers in Delhi and London. The foreign office has got a helpline.

Also, I'm working with the Indian high commission here in the U.K., who have offered various different support lines. My office as well remains open to residents who have been impacted, either directly or indirectly.

So, there is a great sense of community support here, and a lot of my constituents have also expressed sympathies and have requested how they can best support the residents and the families here locally impacted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: As we wait to hear more details from authorities, CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien takes a closer look at what problems could have led to this crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: What really strikes a pilot as you look at that is there's no indication or evidence that the flaps had -- were deployed at that time. The flaps are the movable aerodynamic structures at the trailing edge of the wing, and the slats are similar structure structures at the leading edge of the wing. They increase the lift of the wing, crucially, during takeoff, when speeds are lower. In addition to that -- okay, so if you -- it's hard to see there, but

there's no indication that the flaps are deployed there. And interestingly, the landing gear is still down. So, you have a scenario on a hot day, a fully loaded aircraft for a nine hour flight to London Gatwick, and on a hot day, you have less lift in the air because the water or the air molecules are less dense.

You have evidently the flaps not deployed and the landing gear down, which increases the drag. So there are evidently a lot of problems which made it difficult for this aircraft to take flight and hold altitude, quite obviously.

Now, why would this happen? The 787 has, you know, been in service now for about a decade or so. It's never had a crash that involved fatalities. And it is a highly automated aircraft that involves all kinds of checks and counter checks and redundancies to make sure it's in the proper configuration before takeoff.

So very early to say why this is in this evident position of no flaps. But that would certainly explain why the aircraft could not maintain hold altitude or for that matter, climb.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. Let's go back now to Alan Armstrong, the aviation attorney and pilot.

It looks as though we do have you back now, Alan, if you can hear me.

ALAN ARMSTRONG, AVIATION ATTORNEY: Yes.

ASHER: So, our Richard Quest was actually talking us through the takeoff video of this plane in Ahmedabad. And essentially, what you saw is that the plane seemed to be gaining altitude, and everything seemed fine up until about 20, 30 seconds after takeoff. And then it really struggled to gain further altitude.

When you look at the video, when you see what happened to this plane, just give us your initial thoughts.

ARMSTRONG: The initial impression is -- well, first of all, I'm wondering where the gear is down. Is it 600 feet and the gears down? The gears should have been up at 400 feet. So, I'm wondering why the landing gear is down.

It -- I could be wrong. It looks like the flaps are retracted. I'm not certain about that. But if the -- if the flaps are down, they're very, very its very, very minor setting. The aircraft is not supposed to be taken off with no flaps.

So I'm wondering why did the flaps appear to be up, and why does the landing gear to be appear to be down? Was the flight crew confronting an emergency? The mayday call suggested they were.

So these are just a number of questions I have about the aircraft in this configuration. And I know if they'd attempted to take off with no flaps, they would have gotten an alarm. So I don't think they took off with no flaps. So those are some questions I have initially.

ASHER: And then, you know, the sole survivor of the plane when he reached hospital, obviously everybody, I'm sure, gathered around him and asked him what happened, including reporters. He said that he heard a loud bang.

Now I sort of want to put that in parenthesis, because one of the doctors at the hospital just came on the show and said that this person obviously suffered so much trauma that they can't necessarily remember everything. But based on what he said initially, he heard a loud bang at the time of around the time of takeoff and then obviously 30 seconds later, we know what happened.

When you -- when you hear that, when you hear that there was this loud bang, what goes through your mind regarding that?

ARMSTRONG: My first thought is that may be suggestive of a catastrophic engine failure. Certainly, that's something you would think about. But when the aircraft is certificated by the FAA in the United States of America, it is supposed to be able to climb on one engine. So even if it lost an engine, it should be able to climb.

[15:40:02]

That's what I'm wondering about. Why do we have this gradual descent and then this explosion?

ASHER: Right. Alan Armstrong, live for us. Thank you so much for your thoughts on that.

ARMSTRONG: You're very welcome.

ASHER: Okay, still to come, tensions worsening between Iran and Israel as U.S. President Donald Trump warns a massive conflict in the Middle East could be imminent. We'll have a live report for you after this short break.

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ASHER: All right. We'll return to our breaking news story on the Indian plane crash in a moment. But first to the Middle East, where tensions are soaring. U.S. President Donald Trump warns a, quote, massive conflict in the region could take place soon. It comes after Iran said it would ramp up its nuclear activities. The U.S. is pulling staff at some of its embassies in the region as well.

And Mr. Trump says an Israeli strike on Iran is possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like it's something that could very well happen. Look, it's very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Other than that, I want them to be successful. I want them to be -- we'll help them be successful. We'll trade with them. We'll do whatever is necessary. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Our security correspondent, Kylie Atwood, has been following this story. She joins us from Washington.

So just in terms of what the president is saying there, that an Israeli strike on Iran could happen. It could happen soon. Just explain to us the timing of all of this. Why is there heightened concern about this today?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So when you talk to U.S. officials, they are particularly concerned that the likelihood, the possibility of Israel striking Iran has increased today after Iran announced earlier today, as you said in the introduction there, that they are going to be ramping up their nuclear program, their uranium enrichment. And that's because the IAEA put out a resolution earlier today saying that Iran is not in compliance with its nuclear nonproliferation commitments.

[15:45:00]

So that is a significant development today. But obviously, over the course of the last few days and the last few weeks, really, U.S. officials have been concerned about Israel striking Iran.

We know that President Trump has had multiple conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he has tried to convince him not to go forth with that strike. He even said today that he prefers, of course, an Iran nuclear deal to Israel striking Iran. But he is also in recent days expressed some skepticism that those talks between the U.S. and Iran are actually going to be able to reach a deal. So, what we're looking at now are the sixth round of talks between the U.S. and Iran that are set to happen this coming weekend.

As of now, those talks are still on, according to senior administration officials. But obviously, the situation right now puts a lot of pressure on those talks, particularly as the United States has moved in recent days to draw down its personnel in the region from multiple U.S. diplomatic locations, Iraq and some constraints on what they can do in Israel, and also is allowing U.S. military families to leave the region if they want to, because of the heightened security concerns.

ASHER: Kylie Atwood, live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right, turning now to the immigration raid protests gripping parts of Los Angeles. Tension not only high in the streets with 700 U.S. Marines on standby for deployment, but look at what happened, actually, during a news conference held a short time ago by the U.S. homeland security secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): For the secretary, because the fact of the matter is, a half a dozen violent criminals that are rotating on your -- on your -- KRISTI NOEM, DHS SECRETARY: I also want to talk about specifically

how many of our ICE agents have been --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: It's really surprising scenes that that is U.S. Democratic Senator Alex Padilla essentially being forcibly -- forcibly removed while shouting questions at Secretary Kristi Noem.

Senator Padilla is a critic of President Trump's actions in response to recent immigration protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PADILLA: If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles for us.

So, Stephanie, you know, this administration continues to have a problematic relationship with First Amendment rights in this country.

Walk us through what happened because as it appeared in the video, Senator Padilla was simply trying to ask a question. He was shouting questions at the DHS secretary there. And then, you know, he was dragged out.

But as I understand it, you were in that conference. So, walk us through what happened.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Zain. I was in the room, and I can tell you that the press conference had already started. Secretary Noem was speaking at the time when he came in, he came in same door we all came in, from the behind us. And by the time he got up to the row about where I was sitting, we heard his voice.

And he has a strong voice. And he started to ask a question and immediately it seemed like, Zain, there were hands on him, pushing him back. He identified himself. They continued to push him back. He continued to talk.

At the same time, Secretary Noem paused for just a heartbeat and then kept going with her statements and what she was saying about the actions that they're taking here in Los Angeles, as far as the ICE raids and as far as DHS, and also as she said it, she put it in her statement that that they are here to, quote, liberate the city is how she said it, and that they are not going to go away.

So, she was making these points at that time. When he came in, he was pushed out. Now, when he was here, just when he was here talking to us right now and giving a statement, he says that he was pushed to the ground. He was handcuffed. He says that he was not detained and he was not arrested.

Later after that, while we were waiting to see who was going to come out, the secretary came out first and our producer, senior producer Jason Kovarik, was able to ask her a question about what happened. And she said that, you know, she wished that the senator had approached her in a different way, but she said that they had a cordial conversation and swapped phone numbers, and that they're now going to have an open dialogue. He seemed to reiterate some of that.

But what's also noteworthy about this entire very bizarre interaction here, it didn't seem like the people that were protecting Secretary Noem recognized Senator Padilla as a United States senator. It seems like they didn't know him, but that was something that was just noteworthy in that moment. And the fact that also when he was out here speaking, Zain, he also seemed to be very emotional at least two times where it sounded like he got a little choked up while he was talking about what just transpired here.

ASHER: Yes, they thought he was just a random person, probably a protester, possibly after at the time --

ELAM: It's not in a federal building, not in a federal building. It's really hard to get in there.

ASHER: Right, right. So they thought he was a random person. They didn't recognize him as a senator.

ELAM: They had to be cleared. They didn't recognize him as a senator, though, as you say.

ASHER: Right. Okay. So Stephanie Elam live for us there, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

We'll return to our breaking news after the break. Indian authorities are working to get the public answers after a horrific plane crash there.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:53:12]

ASHER: All right. Back to our breaking news story from India. In the midst of an unimaginable tragedy, the incredible discovery of one survivor after the crash of Air India flight 171. The man is believed to be a British national who told "The Hindustan times, it all happened so quickly. Officials say at least 290 people are dead, including some who were killed on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMIT SHAH, INDIAN INTERIOR MINISTER: There were 230 passengers, including Indians and foreigners and 12 crew members in the flight. There is some good news for one survivor. I have met him. The death toll will be announced by concerned authorities after DNA verification and identification of passengers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Less than a minute after departure, the Boeing 787 eight signal was lost and it went down just outside the Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat. The flight was headed to London Gatwick airport and was scheduled to land in the U.K. a short time ago. Among the fatalities, those who were inside a doctors' hostel at a medical college that was hit by the plane.

CNN's Will Ripley filed this report on the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over0: Horrifying scenes in India. Huge plumes of smoke rising over the western city of Ahmedabad.

Air India flight 171 bound for London Gatwick, disappeared from radar within seconds of departure.

Eyewitnesses say the jet plunged and erupted into flames with 242 people on board. Flight tracking data shows the Boeing 787 lost signal at 625 feet, less than a minute after takeoff.

JEFFREY THOMAS, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: This is a Boeing 787. This will be the first accident involving a 787, and it just celebrated a billion passengers carried safely over 11 years.

[15:55:00]

It's basically had a flawless record up until today. No passenger has been lost on a Boeing 787.

RIPLEY: Its safety record until today virtually spotless. The crash site, near a heavily populated area now swarming with emergency teams, India's civil aviation minister says all agencies are on high alert, coordinating rescue and recovery. Gatwick airport, where flight 171 was supposed to land, confirmed the incident. Instead of welcoming loved ones families, there are now contacting Air India's emergency support center.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Stay with CNN.

Richard Quest is up next.

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