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Amazon Cargo Plane Overshoots Miami International Runway; Hurricane Lowell Now A Category 3 Storm Heading For Hawaii; On The Ground At The Disaster Zone On China-Nepal Border; Prediction Markets Rumble Start Of College Football Season; U.S. Envoys Witkoff And Kushner In Ukraine For The First Time; Interview With Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA); New Hampshire Primary Voters Head To Polls Tuesday. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 06, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:12]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

Tonight we are starting with breaking news out of southern Florida. At least five people have been killed and five more injured after a cargo plane overran the runway. You can see the aftermath here. It was during landing at Miami International Airport this afternoon. You can see the massive plumes of smoke billowing from that scene moments after the crash. Officials said more than 60 fire units responded to try and put out the fire.

Audio from Miami-Dade Rescue captures the moments after the crash. First responders can be heard describing the scene, including multiple patients on the ground and aboard the aircraft. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, the planes on fire. Plane is on fire. Put your game faces on. This aircraft overrun the runway. It crossed 67th Avenue. It struck a truck. We do have a patient on the ground. We're looking at surveying the area for more patients.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be advised. We have three patients. Appears to be two black -- two black. We have two black and one red. Make this an MCI. We're out of water. We got to back up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now still a lot we don't know here, including not clear why the plane could not stop before the end of the runway. But I want to bring in CNN correspondent Carolina Peguero, who is in Miami for us, and CNN's safety analyst, David Soucie. Now, Carolina, I just want to start with what are you seeing on the

ground there right now, hours after this crash happened?

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Omar, well, the incident occurred right before 2:00 Eastern Time. And still at this hour, there's a heavy police presence as well as FAA officials that are investigating this crash. We do know that this cargo plane operated by 21 Air for Amazon cargo and shipments was trying to land here right before it crashed and struck several vehicles.

It was coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, we don't know the cause of the crash. We know at this moment that at least five people have died and five are injured in local hospitals at this hour, being treated, as well as audio that was obtained by CNN about the air traffic controllers at that time that apparently the pilots did not announce an emergency landing. But I do want to share with you and for you to listen what the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue chief said moments after the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF RAIED "RAY" JADALLAH, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: The airplane did strike a couple of vehicles that required a couple of victims that were actually trapped in the vehicles. So a complex extrication with our technical rescue teams started to occur. In addition to that, we had a very complex fire engine compartments that were on fire and including a search and rescue of the pilot and co-pilot that were trapped in this aircraft.

This incident will continue for the next several days as we play now a supporting role with the sheriff's office as they determine the cause of the deaths. Total 10 that were involved, five fatalities, three that are in critical condition that were transported to the trauma center, and another two that were transported to a local hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEGUERO: And now, as this investigation continues, we do have a statement from Amazon and it reads, "We can confirm that an Amazon airplane operated by 21 Air experienced an incident while attempting to land at the Miami International Airport today.

[19:05:06]

"This is a fast-moving situation. We're still gathering all the details." We hope to hear more information by local authorities as well as the FAA -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we're still in the initial stages of this investigation as well.

Carolina Peguero, really appreciate the reporting.

I want to bring in David to the conversation now.

Look, still preliminary. We've heard what we heard on the dispatch audio. We're getting some information from the scene from some local officials. What stands out to you about what we know so far?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, one of the things I'd be looking at, especially in that video, is as the aircraft comes in, you'll notice that the nose is not very high. It seems to be coming in pretty flat. Now, I did just reach out to or a person reached out to me, an experienced pilot that I know quite well that was on the flight that landed just prior to this accident, only a few minutes beforehand. And he told me that what happened as he came across the runway is that they were hit left and hit right, and it just became very dangerous for him.

And even as a senior experienced pilot, he said he thought they were going to crash. And that was on the American Airlines flight that was just preceding this flight. So at that point, it's clear to him, and from what I can deduct on here, I'd be looking -- as an investigator, I'd be looking at the wind shear systems to understand what the winds changed at that point. The reports also show that there were gusts of up to 26 knots at 180 degrees just prior to that landing as well. So -- and following the landing as well.

So that indicates to me that the pilot was trying to experience how to get the airplane on the ground. And it can get what we call a floating feeling. You're trying to land that aircraft, you expect to hit the ground. But as the wind shears roll across and they keep the aircraft lifted so it takes longer and longer and longer to land. And you really can't deploy any braking or anything else until those squat switches or until the aircraft is on the ground.

At that point, you can do thrust reversers and brakes and whatever you want, but any of those systems have to be firmly planted on the ground first. And it appears that they were not, in this case.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, its anecdotal evidence like what you just laid out from a pilot friend is yours. That's exactly the type of thing that investigators will be taking into account as they move forward with what they're working on. And to that point, look, weather is always a factor in terms of aviation, in terms of takeoff and landing. It's obviously goes without saying. It's why planes are delayed, canceled, et cetera, and more.

At what point does, if you're an investigator now, at what point does the weather turn into something that could factor into something like this?

SOUCIE: Well, you need to have a witness report of what happened to the weather during that time. As an investigator, you can't just rely on the standard reporting systems. There are wind shear indicators at that airport. So there's many different sources of what the weather is doing at the time. If you look at the weather just prior to the accident, it shows that it's pretty calm. There really isn't anything going on.

The winds are smooth, everything seems to be smooth, but weather can change in an instant and in this case it appears that it did. So investigators will be looking at those sources to find out what happened to the weather. They'll be looking to see if the pilots reacted correctly or not. Could they have maybe had time to identify the problem and then make a go around, which is where they would have reapplied the throttles and started to lift the aircraft again and go off.

But at this point, only the pilots can tell you what the situation was at any given point. But investigators will look at that. They'll look at the speeds that the aircraft halfway down the runway was still at 153 knots, according to flight radar data that we already have. So that's very high. And then also the data shows that at the point of exit the runway, when it was at the end of the runway, it was at 112 knots.

So you can imagine if you're in a car trying to stop a car at 110 miles an hour, now you multiply that times the weight of that aircraft, it's very difficult to try to stop an airplane at that point.

JIMENEZ: And yes, all factors that are being taken into account. And again, just these early stages of the investigation.

David Soucie, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

SOUCIE: Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, still to come, we are tracking a hurricane as it barrels straight toward the Hawaiian Islands. We're live from Kauai with a look at conditions there.

Stay with us. You're in the CNN newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:14:06]

JIMENEZ: Hawaii is bracing for a powerful Hurricane Lowell. A state of emergency is in effect as the storm, currently a category three, takes aim at Hawaii's western islands. Now, Lowell is expected to fall to a category two when it makes its closest approach to the islands, hitting them with heavy rains, possible flash flooding over the next two days as well. NOAA hurricane hunters flew over the storm this weekend to get a look at the eye of the storm. The aircraft collected critical data to help advance tropical cyclone research.

So we want to get a look, though, at the ground, at the current situation. Angela Cifone from our CNN affiliate KITV is on the state's far western island of Kauai.

So, Angela, what are you seeing right now? It doesn't look like the rain jacket is on yet, so that's good.

ANGELA CIFONE, KITV REPORTER: Yes. There's no rain jacket yet. It actually just started pouring a little bit, but then it kind of went away fairly fast.

[19:15:02] But we're not seeing too many impacts quite yet, but we are expecting to see them throughout the next night, day. But right now we've been here since yesterday and we've been kind of going around talking to so many people about how they're preparing. And, you know, one of the main things that they're doing is trying to board up, which is something that is different than we saw with Hurricane Lala when I was there.

But we're at Home Depot right now, and what we saw was the plywood, they're almost gone. There are so many shelves that are empty. There's also a sign behind me that says they're out of propane. We went to Costco yesterday, and it actually wasn't as crazy as you would expect, because a lot of the people started kind of freaking out on Thursday and Friday. So they were preparing right away and they were completely out of things, and they restocked yesterday. So that is looking good for people who are still trying to prepare.

But, you know, people are just really trying to hunker down and make sure that they're doing the right things to be safe because, you know, they had Aniki in 1992, which really devastated the island. So they know what these impacts can do to the island. So they're being very cautious of what is to come. And, you know, we talked to food truck owners. They're talking about closing and keeping an eye on the storm.

And so, yes, people are just really making sure they're staying safe. Actually, one of the food truck owners said to us, you know, it's more important to stay safe because it's harder to replace people than it is money. So people are really just trying to be really cautious of what's going on, especially right now. It's kind of the calm before the storm. So we're hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Always a wise mentality ahead of storms like this. Angela Cifone, really appreciate it. Reporting for our affiliate KITV there. Appreciate it.

All right. Meanwhile, 11 days after devastating flooding hit Nepal and China, some families are still holding on to glimmers of hope after two more people were rescued this weekend. Thousands more, though, are still missing and the death toll continues to rise. The U.S. State Department says about 75 Americans are among those unaccounted for, and officials say the complexity of the search and recovery means it will take some time before the full scope of the disaster is actually known.

You look at the satellite images. It does give us a sense of the devastation. This, for example, is the border crossing between Nepal and China, at least what was left of it. Typically, hundreds of people would pass through here every day, if not more. Now it's completely destroyed. You can't even really see it on this after image from the satellite here.

CNN is on the ground there as well on a rare government organized reporting trip accompanied by Chinese officials. We should note, though, CNN still does maintain full editorial control of the coverage. But I want to bring you Simone McCarthy's report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA CORRESPONDENT: So we're walking into the main hard hit port area now. I mean, even just some of the ground here is incredibly unstable. It's like -- it feels like it's almost hollow underneath. You can see there's quite large rocks here. There's also excavation going on behind us. A number of workers are actively in the midst of some of the response and repairs here.

We've been told as well as we were walking over, that there are the risk of loose rocks. I'm standing in the location that was once a five-story border checkpoint. This used to be a bustling hub of transit between Nepal and China, with travelers, travel agents, people involved in trade coming over that border, moving through what was once a huge building here. This is the spot where a huge wall of water washed over a five-story building in video that was captured on surveillance footage on August 26th, when devastating floods and landslides hit the China-Nepal border.

I am standing now in the area where that building was. This is Gyirong Port in Tibet, where CNN is part of a small group of foreign reporters who've been given access to this site. The first time that foreign media have been allowed entry. And now to see what the impact of that was here, where there's just -- I mean, you would you would never know that there had been anything here at all.

There's actually a sign which is indicating that this was a foundation. You can still see some rebar, but that's really the only thing that remains. There have been no survivors found in this location. And right now, the rescue teams are just contending with this heavy, heavy mud.

The road that we took to get in here was actually layered in some places with five feet of mud. It took the better part of a week for emergency workers to be able to enter via road. One of the other things that we can notice is that the flood waters actually reached so high up onto the mountain. You can see some of the greenery has actually been scraped away there as a result of just how high those flood waters came as they barreled through this area.

[19:20:03]

We asked one of the responders how long he thought the operations would continue, and he wasn't able to give an answer. They've put up a Chinese flag to memorialize what was here, but there's just absolutely nothing left.

This area has also been a focal point for families who are desperate for information about what happened to loved ones that they believe were at this border crossing at the time when that landslide and flooding hit this area. They're still waiting for answers. The government has yet to publish publicly a list of who was at the border crossing at the time.

Families are really desperate for more information about what happened here. And looking around, it's -- you can see that there's no answers immediately visible.

Simone McCarthy, CNN, Gyirong Port.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right. Simone McCarthy, appreciate that reporting.

We're following a number of stories this evening, including for you sports fans, those especially in Michigan. Check this out. The end of the Western Michigan game was so crazy one prediction market paid the wrong people. Yes, new era, folks.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. More coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:29]

JIMENEZ: All right, folks, college football is back. And how about a dramatic and controversial finish for that first full weekend here? The 16th ranked Michigan Wolverines, heavy favorites last night against Western Michigan but trailing 12-7. With time running out Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood threw up that hail Mary toward the back of the end zone, and it ended up out of bounds.

Broncos players were celebrating what they thought was a victory, but after a review, referees concluded there was still one second left on the clock. This time, Underwood made it count. You see him scrambling a bit, throwing up that hail Mary high at the front of the end zone, but this time staying in bounds, caught by JJ Buchanan. Michigan in miraculous fashion winning 13-12 but also leaving the Broncos heartbroken.

That would have been their first win over an app poll top 20 program in their history. The Big 10 Conference said in a statement that following video review, it was determined Western Michigan's number 18 started his jump from an established out of bounds position with his left foot and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock, which stopped the clock.

The ending of that game, though, was also an emotional roller coaster for fans and for sports bettors, people putting money in markets. The Kalshi prediction market says it mistakenly settled the more than $18 million invested for the game before the outcome was officially official, forcing the company to then claw back payments from some users. And that was just one of the problems for prediction markets.

CNN's Marshall Cohen has more.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Omar, it was a huge weekend for college football, and that means it was also a huge weekend for prediction markets. Most of their businesses, sports and football, is an enormous part of that. They've been looking forward to this all year, especially with college football and the NFL coming up as well. But it was a rocky start. Polymarket went down for several hours yesterday. There was an outage.

People couldn't get on the app. They did let the winners keep their money and they refunded the losers. But it was a really tough going for a few hours. And there were also problems for Kalshi, which is the biggest prediction market in the country, relating to that very controversial game last night. Michigan versus Western Michigan.

I'm sure you were watching it, I was watching it, too, when it looked like Western Michigan had pulled off the stunning upset. But then the refs put one more second back on the clock. Michigan threw a hail Mary and won the game. The only problem there was Kalshi actually resolved that market as if Western Michigan had won. And it did look like Western Michigan had won the game. But of course, obviously the final outcome was a Michigan victory.

And a lot of money was on the line, Omar. $18 million in total trading volume on Kalshi on that one game alone. I spoke about this with a spokesperson for the company, and here's what they said. Quote, "We corrected the result to a Michigan win, making sure all Kalshi customers got paid out correctly."

So what happened was they actually took the money back from the incorrect winners. They reimbursed the losses to the incorrect losers, and then ended up making sure that the right people got paid. But a ton of drama on and off the field for these prediction sites.

And I got to say, I've been texting with people from the casino industry, the sportsbooks, they are saying this is exactly why they think there should be more regulation for these prediction markets, which kind of look like gambling and feel like gambling, but technically are treated more like the stock market or commodities trading and regulated by the federal government. So the drama there continues.

And Omar, one last thing. CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use their data to cover major events, but they don't influence our coverage and we don't trade on prediction markets -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Marshall Cohen, thank you so much. Always appreciate it.

Still ahead, though, we are going to take you back overseas. A critical meeting between Ukraine's president, or at least one that he has long been waiting for. We're going to talk about what comes next after U.S. officials met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:34:22]

JIMENEZ: New tonight, two of President Trump's envoys are wrapping up their first trip to Ukraine as they try to renew efforts to end the war with Russia.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv earlier. Now, this is just a day after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow.

Look, a quick deal to end the war is unlikely, but Witkoff did appear optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: We came to see President Putin first. We needed to hear where he stood. We had good concrete conversation with him, which we advised President Zelenskyy and his team about. Both sides have to come to a resolution here, and my job and Jared's job together is to bring the parties together to narrow the issues between them, to create good communication channels and hopefully, we began that process constructively in the last 48 hours.

And we are confident that there will be a good resolution here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So let's talk about this a little bit with Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, a Marine veteran, also Commanding Infantry in Afghanistan and Special Operations in Panama.

Congressman, I really appreciate your time.

I want to start with Ukraine because you've previously said Putin is not serious about peace. What do you think it will take for him to be serious about peace?

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Good evening.

Thanks for having me back on. What it will take is for this administration to stop trying the failed approach that it has pursued for the last two years.

It needs to adopt a new approach grounded on a different strategy. What is that? First, clearly defined victory alongside our allies. Victory is a secure eastern border for Ukraine. It is accession to the European Union and it is freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Those are the three pillars of a victory for a democratic, prosperous, sovereign Ukraine.

Having declared those three pillars of victory, then you've got to empower Ukraine to actually achieve it, not just not lose, but win, authorize it to do strikes, double down on the sanctions against Russian energy, and actually invest in Ukraine's defense industrial complex so that you can create a military capable of taking this fight to the Russians.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the factors that that some have criticized in particular, that the U.S. hasn't done enough on is economically. And even Republican Senator John Kennedy today criticized the House for not passing the Russia Sanctions Bill before leaving town.

And look, it is of course not up to the Democrats, as you all are in the minority, maybe that changes in November. But is there more that Congress can be doing now, you believe?

AUCHINCLOSS: Passing the Sanctions and Tariffs Bill against Russia would be an important congressional action. What it comes down to is Russia's oil and gas sector that is the lifeblood of its war economy and this administration has been soft on it. What it needs to do, first, it needs to get tougher on countries that import Russian oil and we are looking here at Turkey and India in particular.

Number two, we've got to equip and authorize Ukraine to just launch a barrage of strikes against Russian oil and gas infrastructure, and then finally, we've got to use sanctions to crack down on Russia's shadow fleet that allows it to circumvent sanctions in the global oil economy.

If we really did those three things in concert, what you do is you constrict the revenue stream that is allowing Putin to wage this hideous war.

JIMENEZ: If Democrats were to win control of the House, as we talk about wars in at least in that part of the world, how does that change the oversight Congress can have over the war with Iran? And these questions of readiness for possible future conflicts.

AUCHINCLOSS: Deeply concerned about readiness. Not only is the United States in a much degraded position in the Middle East, it is in a degraded position in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe and that's not academic, Omar, as you know, you've got Russia ramping up gray zone actions against NATO countries. Youve got China ramping up gray zone actions against Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines. The world is a dangerous place.

This commander-in-chief is weak. The Secretary of Defense is incompetent, and Congress has a muscular role to play to keep the American public safe.

JIMENEZ: Before we go, I just want to ask. Look, Friday is going to mark 25 years since the September 11th attacks, and I just wonder for you personally, as a Marine veteran, how are you thinking about this particular anniversary as you reflect on maybe the reasons you joined the military, but also by the fact that you hear the U.S. is involved in another war in the Middle East, that that doesn't seem to have a clear end.

AUCHINCLOSS: Yes. I remember where I was, as I know you do on that horrible day. One, I keep those victims in my heart and all Americans should. Number two, I keep the unity that America experienced in those months and even years after 9/11 close to me as I engage in public affairs these days. Because, boy, it doesn't feel like were very unified these last few years and Americans need to reach back to that commonality of purpose and shared spirit.

And then, yes, I feel really strongly that I use my voice and vote to prevent this country from waging yet another failed war in the Middle East. We've gone through two in my lifetime. Americans are exhausted by it. it is expensive.

[19:40:10]

It is unfair to our troops. It does not make America more safe and if Democrats take back the House and Senate, we should end this war and we should end the tariffs associated with it.

JIMENEZ: You know, you talk about that that feeling of unity we had on, retired Colonel Mark Tillman, who is George W. Bush's Air Force One pilot that day and that that was the one thing he took with him as well, sort of that feeling of even with this tragedy, just the unity that so many Americans felt that, to your point, just has felt like a completely different world from the environment we are in now.

Congressman Jake Auchincloss, got to leave the conversation there, but really appreciate you stopping by.

AUCHINCLOSS: Goodnight.

JIMENEZ: All right on the politics front, primary season, it is almost over. On Tuesday, New Hampshire voters are going to head to the polls. We are going to have a preview next here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:45:23]

JIMENEZ: Voters in New Hampshire are heading to the polls this week for the Granite State's primary elections. Here to discuss what to watch in these races is Neil Levesque. He is the executive director for the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

So, Neil, let's start with the open Senate race to replace retiring Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. What are you watching for in this contest, and how significant is this race in the context of each side's chances at actually winning control of the Senate?

NEIL LEVESQUE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW HAMPSHIRE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: Well, so far there has not been a lot of influence or really focus nationally on this race. Both candidates, Sununu and Pappas, who are in the lead right now for their primaries, are really no drama candidates and maybe that's why some of the attention has gone to states like Maine and not New Hampshire.

But right now, we are seeing that these races are about a six-point difference between the two. And our primary is late, as you mentioned, it is this week. So candidates really don't get set up for the general election until Wednesday.

JIMENEZ: But, you know, one of the interesting things, even if you have a late primary to this point is like we've seen across the country this election cycle, you've got a progressive candidate facing off against an established candidate in the Senate Democratic primary, for example. How is what we've seen play out nationally within the Democratic Party playing out in New Hampshire?

LEVESQUE: Well, you're right, we do have a Democratic socialist, challenging Congressman Pappas, who has been in the seat for a long time. The fact is, is that candidate quality and who is running matters a lot in some of these races and in this case, in New Hampshire, I think that they're picking individual candidates. They are not going by who is a socialist and who isn't. That being said, we are watching to see how close she comes to Pappas and what the voter turnouts look like for Tuesday, because we see a lot of energy amongst the Democratic Party right now in our polling.

If we have a large turnout of Democrats on Tuesday, that will be factual data that we can compare.

JIMENEZ: You know, Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas, as you mentioned is vacating the first congressional district seat to run for Senate here. How is this primary race to replace him shaping up? And are there issues that are sort of dominating this race that candidates have been largely campaigning on?

LEVESQUE: It is rather interesting. In this race, we have a group of about five very talented candidates, including Senator Shaheen's daughter, Stefany Shaheen, the Vice Chairman of the party, Maurice Sullivan. These are candidates that are basically pointing fingers about who is taking more money that purportedly goes from AIPAC and supports Israel. This has been the main focus of the campaign, which really focuses on really Netanyahu and Trump.

And so this has been what everyone has been arguing about, not healthcare, not education, not inflation. It has been this. And so we are looking for these results to see how voters react in a primary to the AIPAC issue, if you will.

JIMENEZ: Yes, Neil Levesque, really appreciate you taking the time and breaking that down for us ahead of this better late than never primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Good to see you.

All right --

LEVESQUE: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: We are coming up on the anniversary of September 11th this Friday. And up next, I am going to talk to one of the French filmmakers who was inside the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:53:34]

JIMENEZ: So the only reason we've ever seen most of the harrowing moments from September 11th, 2001 is because two French brothers were shooting a documentary about firefighters on the streets of Downtown New York.

Jules and Gideon Naudet were following a young probee, a probationary firefighter essentially learning the ropes in Lower Manhattan when their cameras caught the first hijacked plane striking the North Tower of the World Trade Center. They were also on hand to film the collapse of the North Tower, and Jules' camera was rolling when the South Tower collapsed just before 10:00 A.M. on that fateful day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULES NAUDET, FRENCH FILMMAKER: If you would have put it in movie, people were saying, come on, you're exaggerating. It is, you know, too good to be true.

My camera became almost a shield against the horror, physical and mental. It was a way to concentrate more and more, not on what was happening on the outside, but what was happening just through that small screen.

When the South Tower collapsed, we hear this loud rumbling coming from somewhere above us that transformed into a roar.

Everyone stops and runs out. And as we are running, the ground is shaking. The difference between life and death was inches and seconds for -- for all of us.

[19:55:09]

And I was lucky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I am okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And Jules Naudet joins me now.

I really appreciate you taking the time here. I just want to start with what do you remember most about that day? What sticks with you?

NAUDET: Well, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

You know, the -- what I remember most from that day, strangely enough, is even though I witnessed the worst of humanity, what I tried to hold on to and probably what saved me mentally was to remember that I saw the best of humanity.

You know, between the firefighters, of course, and all the first responders going up as people were going down, but also the civilians who were helping complete strangers they have never met go down 70 or 80 storeys. And that sense in New York City, you know, we are not always the kindest with each other, trying to steal someone's cabs on Fifth Avenue, you'll see what happens.

But that moment, you had kind of a cocoon of appreciation, of being there for each other and that is what I try to hold on to is that life, that humanity, that throughout that horror was there.

JIMENEZ: You know, as part of this, you followed rescue crews into the North Tower, which was on fire minutes after that first plane hit. And in that sound clip, before we started this interview, you talked about the camera sort of being your shield in terms of the horrors that you were witnessing.

Did you have any hesitation rushing into that tower in those initial moments?

NAUDET: So initially, not too much because I asked the authorization to the chief I was with, Chief Pfeifer, who is an amazing person. And when I come in, you have to understand, most of us believe it is an accident. The fire is about 80-storey -- 86 storeys above and so I enter this scene in the lobby where I am surrounded by hundreds of firefighters. It is like, you know, all of the cast of the "Avengers," you know, they don't wear capes or shields or all of that. But, you know, you feel pretty safe and its only little by little that when the second tower is hit, when people unfortunately are starting to jump from the tower, the stress and the fear starts to creep up.

But at first I feel safe, strangely enough.

JIMENEZ: Did you have any idea that you were in the middle of a terrorist attack that would really change the course of history?

NAUDET: At first, not really. I think I have inkling that, you know, something unique is happening, but I was so much into it, it was hard to be, proactive. I was mostly reactive. You know, all of this horror. I had lived a very sheltered life up to that day and suddenly being faced with such raw horror and terror and death, it was hard to think beyond just my little scope, which was a few feet around me.

So the understanding of how that moment would change history at the time, not really. It only came later when I -- because at first I actually realized -- I actually think that there are many other people filming in the building with me. Only much later on would I realize I was the only one.

JIMENEZ: So let's talk about that much later on, because I can imagine, you know, you're very reactive in the moment. You're just trying to get from one spot to the next. You're literally just processing what you're seeing.

But then at some point after, I have to imagine you sat down, the dust settled both literally and figuratively, and you tried to process what you saw. What was that like?

NAUDET: Well, it was very hard to understand. I had been raised in France up until 16 years old and terrorism was something I had lived through over there. But at that scale, I think immediately you could kind of understand that something had shifted in the world and there was going to be an after what we had lived, but as to the moment and what to do with it, for us, it was much more immediate.

One was we knew we had filmed something quite unique, but also that came with a very big responsibility. We had filmed the last moments of a lot of these incredible firefighters, and so it became almost kind of a mission for my brother and I to do something that would reflect what we had seen this morning, the incredible courage, the incredible heroism that we had seen and we wanted to share that with the world, especially because, you know, it was a pretty bleak moment right after 9/11. You know, the world is horrible and people are horrible. And we felt that we needed to bring some hope into this.

JIMENEZ: Yes, well, Jules, I really appreciate one, you being here, but the work that you and your brother were able to do on that day, that still lives to this day. And thank you for taking the time tonight.

NAUDET: Thank you, Omar. I really appreciate it.

JIMENEZ: And thank you all for joining me tonight. We are going to leave you with a shot of New York City as the critical film "9/11" starts right now. Have a good night.

[20:00:33]