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Erin Burnett Outfront

Awaiting Results Of Bluefin Mission; Search Officials Discussing Options If Plane Not Found; Teen Flies To Hawaii In Jet's Landing Gear; We Beg for Victims' Families' Pardon"

Aired April 21, 2014 - 19:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Next, a tropical storm hitting the search area for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Also we are awaiting at this moment, the Bluefin-21 underwater drone to surface. Did it find the plane

And how did a 16-year-old boy survive a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii in the plane's landing gear? We're going to show you how he did it.

And breaking news on the South Korean ferry disaster. The company that owns the ferry issuing a new statement tonight. We are live at the search scene. Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, two major plane stories we're following at this hour, the mystery of how a teen flew more than 2,300 miles from San Jose, California to Maui in the landing gear of a Boeing 767. We're going to take you inside a wheel well to see how he did this. It was 80 degrees below zero.

First though, we begin with the new details in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. We're now awaiting the Bluefin-21 underwater search drone to finish its ninth mission. That should happen any moment now and we'll find out did it find the plane?

Tonight, though, some are worried, telling CNN while they are talking about what happens if the plane is not found. Searchers have been focusing their efforts over the past week in just one place, a ten- kilometer radius around where they heard the second ping that they think came from one of Flight 370's black boxes.

So far they've completed searching about two-thirds of that area. After a week of hunting, they found absolutely nada. It's far from the only place they've spent time searching. We've shown you this. The search area in the Indian Ocean searching on a daily basis. Authorities started searching March 18th, absolutely nothing anywhere.

Miguel Marquez is in Perth tonight. Miguel, what are officials telling you about what they are going to do if we find out they saw nothing again, what are they going to do?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are going to reassess exactly what they are doing here. That ninth mission, it's a 115 square miles, 10-kilometer radius circle they are searching right now. The best hopes around that second ping that they got. It was the clearest signal that they believe came from that downed airliner, and they believe that it is in that area. They'll probably get through most, if not all, of that area very, very soon in the next couple of days.

If they don't come up with anything, they are going to have to figure out whether or not they are going to search another area using the Bluefin-21 or reassess altogether. We understand the U.S. Navy has discussions started about long-term search and recovery efforts. That may include even more resources, perhaps bringing ships back, resupplying everything and sending them back out in a much bigger way and with other equipment that would allow them to take a picture of the ocean bottom there in a much larger way -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Miguel, thank you very much. And I want to bring in now Mary Schiavo, Arthur Rosenberg along with Richard Quest, who tonight joins me from Kuala Lumpur, where, of course, it's tomorrow morning. Now Richard, more than two-thirds of this one area that they thought is the most promising, right, has been searched, but they found absolutely nothing. Now you have the typhoon about to come through the area. We could be socked in the next few minutes when we get the update maybe the Blue-fin found something, but it hasn't found anything before. If it doesn't, what's next? What's plan "b"?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Plan "b" is to regroup and to rethink the strategy of where they are looking, the resources and assets that they need. It does not mean, Erin, to be clear, going back to square one necessarily and throwing out the Inmarsat handshakes and all the pings. It does not mean discounting everything that's been done before. What it means is taking a cold, calculating look at the data and saying, can they refine it further, do they need more assets, and how much longer is it likely to take to do a more detailed search? Because if you just get rid of the pings and if you get rid of the Inmarsat and all of that, you really have nothing, because that is what everything has been based upon -- Erin.

BURNETT: Arthur, to Richard's point, he said just because they may reassess does not mean going back to square zero. These families, though, have said there's other theories, this plane could have been hijacked and taken somewhere else, to Diego Garcia somewhere in Afghanistan. These are the theories and the families who say they want answers to. I mean, is that just completely outside the realm of possibility at this time? That's certainly what authorities say.

ARTHUR ROSENBERG, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, just to add to Richard's statement, as much as it pains me to say, I do agree --

BURNETT: You hate to agree with Richard until he's on the other side of the planet. OK.

ROSENBERG: We're going to refine the data and also that the Inmarsat, the radar, the performance capability, the airplane, all coalesced in the same area. So I have a high degree of confidence that we're in this right general location, but not necessarily the right specific location. Now just to answer your question, the families, obviously, want to know what happened, how it happened, why it happened, motive.

Motive is the hardest thing to figure out in this accident sequence, but what I can offer up to these people is, human behavior, what people do, is motivated by internal and personal things. You can glean what people are thinking and motive from what they did, and we know what happened with this airplane from the time that it took off, we have 107, the ACAR systems --

BURNETT: We don't know what happened to it, though.

ROSENBERG: ACARS got turned off, we know that. Twelve minutes later, we have the final communication, "good night Malaysia 370." We know it made the left turn. We know it climbed to 39,000 feet. We know it descended, all these things. We knew it flew around the tip of Indonesia and headed south. These are intentional, deliberate acts in my view and smack of motive.

BURNETT: Mary, let me ask you this point. I want to emphasize, of course, there are people that say Inmarsat, yes, indicated it went south, but there's a big arc where the plane could have been, which included a lot of points that are north. Mary, when you take into account everything we've heard, including some of the new information that we have, which is the plane after the turn went up to 39,000 feet within its safe operating range and went down to 4,000 feet, which theoretically would have been able to avoid oncoming traffic, but possibly do you think could have been this whole thing could have been mechanical?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, and what we don't know is much greater than what we do know, and by the way, all that altitude data is highly suspect. Remember, first of all, they had it wildly fluctuating from 45,000, down to skirting radar down skimming the surface, now it's at 39,000 then we had the 5,000. Then we have it skirting Indonesia, but Indonesia didn't really see it, which is why Indonesia concludes that it skirted Indonesia when Indonesian radar is only on 12 hours a day.

I think that anything we're basing our calculations on the altitude is suspect. I think Richard's right. We've got to go with the Inmarsat data and the pings, because that's the best we've got, and I think it's very important to exhaust the current search area, which probably means more than just a day or two, probably a week or two, to finish all the ping search areas so then they can say, we've exhausted that. Now it's time to rethink. But I think that altitude data and whatever happened from the turn until over past Indonesia is suspect.

BURNETT: And Richard, should they bring in more assets at work? Air France 447, right, which crashed in the water off the coast of Brazil, never had a ping, but had debris. It still took them years to actually find that plane, but they had three underwater drones working 24 hours a day. This particular search could end up being the most expensive and extensive in human history. Why not put more assets on it right now to try to find it quickly and minimize the costs?

QUEST: Because those assets may not be available at the moment. They may have to be brought in. Remember one important point, when Ocean Shield set sail from Perth several weeks ago, it was done in a hurry. What was available, the Blue-fin was flown down from the United States, what else could they get in place? It is only with the luxury of time, refinancing, reconsideration, that you decide are you going to use AUVs, autonomous vehicles, or are you going to use remote- operated vehicles?

Those are the sort of issues they are going to use and incidentally, at some point you and I, Erin, do need to consider the various questions that the families, the detailed questions that the families are asking at the moment and what is behind these questions and what they feel they are not being told.

BURNETT: All right, well, thanks very much to all of you. And Richard's going to be in Kuala Lumpur talking to those families, reporting on that. We're going to have a series of special reports as he continues that reporting OUTFRONT.

Next, though, the teenager who flew from California to Maui in the landing gear of a jumbo jet. Think about that 35,000, 40,000 feet with no air and minus zero temperatures. How did he survive? We're going to show you exactly how.

Plus, a massive new raid on al Qaeda days after CNN airs new video of the terror group meeting. Is al Qaeda's top bomb maker actually dead?

And an American wins the Boston marathon for the first time in decades, an emotional finish for a city coming back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: An incredible survival story. Tonight, the mystery of how a teenage stowaway made it halfway across the Pacific Ocean by hiding inside the landing gear of a massive jet. It was a five-hour flight from San Jose to Maui, went up to altitudes of 38,000 feet. Obviously, that's a lot higher than Everest, everybody. Temperatures dropping lower than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit. No joke. The teen was carried off the runway in a stretcher, but he's alive, alive. Officials say it's a miracle, and tonight we're learning he is still in the custody of Child Welfare Services in Hawaii. Brian Todd is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ground crew noticed him wandering the tarmac in Maui disoriented. FBI special agent, Tom Simon, says this 16-year-old boy claims to have ridden to Maui in a wheel well of a Hawaiian Airlines 767 all the way from San Jose, California. The airport spokeswoman in San Jose says --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a very lucky boy today.

TODD: Officials have reviewed surveillance video and say the teenager was seen hopping the fence at the San Jose Airport and walking across the tarmac toward the Hawaiian Airlines plane. The Maui Airport has footage of him crawling out of a wheel well. We went into a wheel well of a 707, smaller than the 767's wheel bay, but security expert Raffi Ruan was able to show us how he could have wedged in. (on camera): In the wheel well, the center area here could be key, right?

RAFI RON, FORMER ISRAELI AVIATION SECURITY OFFICIAL: Yes. But with the setup here in the 707, this area here is probably the best location for him at this time, because that is where the space between the wheels would later on be positioned and that ensures that there would be slightly enough space for him to survive. And then he can improve his position once the gear is in.

TODD: Experts say if he did successfully stowaway, it's almost miraculous. The wheel wells of passengers' jet aren't heated or pressurized, they say, at a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, the cold air could have killed him.

MICHAEL KAY, FORMER ADVISOR TO THE UK MILITARY OF DEFENSE: At that height, you have temperatures of around minus 45 to minus 55 degrees c. Just to put that in perspective, skin freezes almost instantaneously around minus 44 degrees.

TODD: A loss of oxygen could have killed him, unless his metabolism slowed enough for him not to need much oxygen. The lack of security in San Jose is also being questioned in this case. Rafi Ron says the boy took advantage of a gap in the system.

RON: Right now, many of our airports are not protecting the perimeter well enough to prevent an incident like this one.

TODD: The airport spokeswoman in San Jose says that facility airport exceeds all security requirements and has an excellent track record. The TSA is assisting the airport in the investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: If this young man pulled this off, he would have beaten some pretty long odds. According to the FAA, since 1947, 105 people around the world have attempted to stowaway in the wheel wells of planes and 80 of them have died -- Erin.

BURNETT: Brian, thank you.

I mean, this is incredible when you think about this, that the chances.

I'm joined now by Les Abend, flown over 13,00 hours in a Boeing 767.

All right, I mean, you're sitting here saying this is incredible. He was shown a 707, which is a smaller jet, but you were saying that for this to happen, an older jet, it would be an even smaller space in the landing gear?

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I mean, this was a relatively to more modern airplane. I mean, I'm flabbergasted. I mean, I think if you step through this whole process, number one, he got through the cyclone fence (INAUDIBLE). How did that happen? Then he gets to the airplane. I understand that it was dark, but still, there's a lot of activity around the airplane, he gets up in the wheel well and doesn't attract attention. Now you've got this airplane, the 76 is a little more airtight. I shouldn't use the word airtight, but it is a little tighter than a 707, which is an ancient, ancient jet. He gets in there, he had to be in the right position, that's 20,000 pounds approximately of per square inch of hydraulic pressure that goes into that wheel well. So that comes up, he had to be in the right spot, otherwise he would have been crushed like a bug.

BURNETT: So you are -- I mean, essentially miraculous is the right word to use. He has 3,000 pounds of landing gear. It is just had this to skate by him. He happened to be in the right plot.

ABEND: And what happened when the gear came down? I mean, if the poor young man was unconscious, that's what happened with a 767 --

BURNETT: Some sort of a ledge or something holding him in there.

ABEND: The gear doors hold the gear up after hydraulic pressure is supposed to -- .

BURNETT: Shoots you out.

ABEND: Well, he had to be in the right spot if he was unconscious in order not to drop out of that airplane.

BURNETT: And you have to assume, you know, some of the reporting we've done today is that, you know, the body can kind of go into the metabolism would slow quickly in some sort of a hibernation mode for this to even happen, although you're saying there is some, quote, unquote, warmth.

ABEND: The gear itself in the cargo compartments are heated. Yes, I guess it's possible. None of us as pilots would conceive of attempting to do anything like that, of course, but the whole thing -- and I read these reports and I just couldn't believe that the security cameras caught them both in San Jose and in Maui.

BURNETT: They just announced at this moment they are not going to file charges. Everyone can see the breaking news on the screen. Obviously, the issue here is much more about an airport that would allow you to run on to the tarmac and climb into a plane, the issue seems to be there. But you're saying this is -- there would be no other source of oxygen or anything from your knowledge in the wheel well.

ABEND: And explosive depressurization situation, we have seconds before that mask cast to come on now a slow basis, who knows, maybe system slowly shut down.

BURNETT: I mean, look at this, you're looking at 38,000 feet, you know, almost 10,000 feet above Mt. Everest.

ABEND: It is 38,000 feet was the altitude I heard. It's incredible. Cabin is almost at 8,000.

BURNETT: Stunning. ABEND: Yes. It's -- I'm flabbergasted.

BURNETT: All right, thank you very much. It is the most incredible story today.

Ahead, a major raid on Al Qaeda, just days after you saw here on this show new video of the terror group meeting that CNN obtained exclusively. So did this raid take out one of the group's most wanted leaders? A huge development tonight.

And we are live from a search boat off the coast to South Korea. And there is desperate search going on right now for a miracle, for a survivor of the ferry accident.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: A huge development tonight in Al Qaeda, one of the most wanted men in the terrorist group may be dead tonight in what officials are calling a massive and unprecedented assault. Fifty five militants at least are dead, more raids are under way at this hour. This is an unprecedented event. The drone strikes come just a week though, after we first aired this video showing a large gathering of top Al Qaeda leaders.

Chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto has been working his sources.

And Jim, you know, why were these attacks conducted now? I mean, is there anything, any connection to the video, CNN's showing this video a week ago with a 60 or so odd militant leaders and now all of the sudden, they look like they are all being taken out.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the timing is certainly interesting, but no U.S. officials are going to make that connection. And the fact is, you know, to allocate these resources, multiple U.S. drone strikes and ground forces, as well as all those ground forces that many have sent in, you would need significant intelligence, you'd need significant reason to do that. In fact, the rules for U.S. drone strikes are very specific, you know, to target someone, they have to know this person is not just a militant, but it is a direct threat to the U.S. So, do they have to have all that.

That said, that video may have given you some intelligence, right? You know it may have given intelligence about the location of where these folks were meeting, and we do know at least one of these raids that's taken place over the last 48, 72 hours was in that same area, the same province where this video was believed to be taken.

BURNETT: So there are big questions about, you know, we talk about a lot of militants being taken out, but what about the bomb maker who's supposed to be the most prolific and talented bomb maker in all of Al Qaeda? Do we have any idea of how important some of these individuals are that they have taken out, or do we not know?

SCIUTTO: Well, these are what the Yemenis are saying. They are saying they have killed 65 Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-tied militants, that 25 of them are mid to high ranking. Of course, it's up to them to define, you know, what makes a mid-ranking leader. We don't have any information now that it's someone as high ranking as Al Serie (ph). He was believed to be one of the targets and you have an indication the targets were considered high value because you've thrown so much at them, right? But no information yet that he was killed in the strike or struck.

And usually it does take a number of days to prove the identities of anybody struck because you have to go down, gather DNA evidence, there's a whole process there. So we might not know for some time.

BURNETT: All right, well, Jim, thank you very much.

But obviously, you know, we'll be watching this story. Because if he was taken out, that would be an absolutely huge development, of course.

Next, we have breaking news on the ferry disaster. The company that owns the ferry begging for forgiveness tonight in a new statement we just obtained. But still tonight, hundreds are missing. We're going to take you live to a search base off the coast of South Korea to talk about whether there is a miracle.

Plus, why was the third mate with no experience at the helm of the ship when it was going through its roughest waters?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news: the owner of the capsized ferry in South Korea apologizing tonight to the families that lost loved ones and, of course, those hoping and waiting desperately for some kind of a miracle. The company says it is trying to rescue the 215 people still missing.

That is a number that continues to go down, though, and that is because the death toll is rising. At least 87 bodies have now been pulled from the underwater vessel. Most of them were on a class trip, teenagers.

Divers can barely see their own hand in front of their face, are the ones who are trying to battle the strong currents and try to get down there, desperately trying to find someone alive.

Back on the surface, radio transcripts are now coming out, providing an account of the tragedy. It's now resulted in an arrest of seven crew members including the captain, who is one the first to leave the ship.

Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT near the ship wreck, just off the coast of Jindo, South Korea, this morning.

And, Kyung, you're with the search. It's happening. I know a lot of search boats are around you, cranes trying to lift that boat.

What progress are they making, if any? KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's give you a look of what it actually does look like right now. This is a 24-hour operation, and just scan the horizon here, Erin, and you can see that there are dozens upon dozens of boats. You mentioned the crane, there it is, there are all kinds of search vessels here.

And that's the focus, this area right to the center that you're looking at. This is where the sunken ferry, it's below the water, we cannot see it, but they are building these search lines, getting into the hull of the sunken ferry to see if there is any way they can find any survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): "Our ship is listing and may fall." Recordings reveal the frantic ship-to-shore communications as the ferry filled with 476 people, most of them students, begins to list and take on water.

At 9:10, DTF, the center that monitors ship traffic asks, "How are the passengers doing?" The ferry replies, "It's too listed and they are not able to move."

Fifteen minutes later, panic sets in. The ship radios, "If passengers escape, can they be immediately rescued?" "Patrol ships should arrive in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" "Yes, ten minutes. Ten minutes."

The chaos and confusion all add up to an unthinkable crime, according to the president of South Korea.

"The actions of the captain and some of the crew are absolutely unacceptable," she says. "Unforgivable actions that are akin to murder."

The captain, who is facing five criminal charges, spoke about safety four years ago in a promotional video.

"As long as you follow the orders of our crew members," he says, "traveling by ship is safer than any other means of transport."

Now, that very captain faces tough questions about the orders he gave as his ship quickly sank.

"I gave orders to evacuate," he says, but that was after he told them to wait because rescue boats had not arrived yet. Most of those who obeyed are still missing, trapped inside the sunken ferry, and with each passing hour, the likelihood of a survivor being found fades, it is a reality that weighs heavily on the divers.

"We cry every day in search of the missing people," says a volunteer. So far, they have only recovered bodies -- one by one, they are brought ashore. They are 15, 16, and 17-year-old students, parents, and children. A national tragedy.

And for the families, a grueling wait for answers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: It's just so horrible, Kyung, and then you saw that boat go down, all those life boats, they had enough life boats for 20 times the people on the ferry, only one of them was deployed. I mean, how horrific and avoidable this was. I mean, are the divers holding up as they are trying to go in? They must feel that the whole weight of finding a survivor is on them.

LAH: They do, certainly, feel it. And each one of them has a sense of personal responsibility. They want to try to find survivors.

When you ask them, you know, the facts are that there probably aren't that many. They say, we have to believe that there is an air pocket, and look at all these assets. You jump on to any of these boats and talk to these people, they'll tell you the same thing, we have to believe that there's an air pocket, because most of the people out here on water, getting into this water, cannot fathom the idea of so many young children being dead.

BURNETT: Kyung Lah, thank you very much for reporting live from the waters next to where that ship is under water.

OUTFRONT now, Admiral Thad Allen, former commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Alan Kipping-Ruane, a naval training supervisor for rescue swimmers. He's been in this situation before.

So, Alan, let me start with you. I mean, Kyung talked about how dangerous this is for the divers, how they can barely, you know, see the hand in front of their face. What are the conditions that they are facing as they are trying to go into a ship with all kinds of wires and doors and objects?

ALAN KIPPING-RUANE, U.S. NAVY RESCUE SWIMMER: Well, Erin, when you're dealing with not only the darkness, but you're also dealing with some of the sediment, I believe, in the past week or so, they've had some terrible currents drawing through so they've had to call off the search a little bit. So, it's not only is it dark, but there's a lot of sediment and stuff getting moved around. So, it's almost like a sand cloud where you can't see your hand right in front of your face.

So, the divers are experiencing darkness and sediment, and it's making it very tough to figure out where they are going.

BURNETT: So, Thad, let me ask you -- how far can the divers go into the ship before it's no longer safe? I mean, I know they are desperately looking for some sort of an air pocket, but do you think they are able to get into the entire ship, or are they really just restricted to certain areas?

KIPPING-RUANE: I think they are trying the best they can currently. You know, a ship's built so the hull stays intact, so now it's on its side, you know, it changes the ball game regarding where they can or can't go. That's the kind of limitation they are facing, but, you know, I know they are trying as best as possible, you know, we talked about it's their personal responsibility to find as many survivors as they can, currently. So, I don't want to say they are restricted right now other than the hull being on its side, but they are finding ways to get in places they probably didn't think they could.

BURNETT: So, Admiral, what other tools could they use? Everyone's praying for an air pocket. They are having difficulty getting air pumped into the ship. They are also saying, well, perhaps, is there any way with a crane they could try to lift it? To try -- do you think they are doing everything they can do, or do you see some avenue that they could pursue that might result in a miracle here?

THAD ALLEN, FORMER COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD (RET): Well, I'm sure they are exhausting all possibilities. This is definitely a catastrophic event and we feel deeply for the families. The problem with moving the ship is you don't know if you'll make the conditions worse or not. But the ship is actually righted upright, water is going to fill the spaces where there previously wasn't.

They need to assess the condition of the hull and very, very carefully, and I'm sure there's a salvage team working on it right now, decide how the vessel should be lifted and what position it should be lifted.

BURNETT: So, Admiral, do you think it's possible at this point there could be survivors, or are we looking at a situation even if there were air pockets, that the air would be exhausted at this point because no new air is coming in?

ALLEN: Well, it's a function how big the compartment was and how much air is in it. Sooner or later, you'll run out of air, issues with temperatures of the water would limit survivability, in my view.

BURNETT: Alan, it's interesting, we talked to a Navy SEAL who's telling me, look, as long as the water goes below your core, below your waist, you could survive days of this 50, 55 degree water. It's really once it goes over your core you could have a problem.

So, people out there say there's no chance, there could be a chance depending on the water level, but you've been in these situations. How difficult is it to get someone out from a capsized ship, so if you find someone who's alive, I mean, how do you get into that space, get them out, given that it's underwater?

KIPPING-RUANE: Well, the first thing you have to consider is are they ambulatory, able to walk, or seriously injured? My guess is they could be seriously injured. So, not only are you trying to get them now, but now, you're not trying to make their injury worse.

So that's a big consideration trying to get somebody out. It's not easy. Stretchers, divers are trying to make sure the person is comfortable and has enough oxygen. You know, you're using a ton of resources to get these survivors out of the water, so there's a lot of things it can do, but it's not easy to get a survivor out, especially if they are injured.

BURNETT: Right. Admiral, I mean, I would imagine getting one person out, given that this is underwater and you're going to have to go from some sort of an area with air into the water, out through the ship and up, that would be incredibly challenging in and of itself, right?

ALLEN: Extraordinarily difficult and challenging given the visibility and the currents and the dive conditions that have been previously noted. This is really, really a hard thing to do.

BURNETT: So, Alan, let me ask you, as the question to the admiral, do you think it's possible that there are still survivors?

KIPPING-RUANE: It's not that it's possible, I believe that it is possible, you know, I was a rescue swimmer in the Navy and we fight to try and make sure that person's alive, even if we're told the likely chance isn't.

You know, just like the divers, they feel connected to those people, their sons and daughters down there and they are trying the best they can. I believe there is a possibility there's still people down there.

BURNETT: Admiral, how much time do you think we have left, given you both think there are survivors, how much time?

ALLEN: Well, it's dwindling and there might not be any time left. It's getting very, very critical.

BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to both of you. We appreciate it. It's good to hear experts still saying they believe that there are still people alive in that ferry.

Well, next, water where the ferry capsized is known as one of the most dangerous areas in the world. So, why was one of the least experienced crew members at the helm when it capsized?

Plus, Boston strong, an American runner wins the Boston marathon for the first time in more than 30 years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Tonight, divers are combing the wreckage of a ferry that capsized with hundreds onboard, and there are new questions tonight about why the captain wasn't at the helm as the ship went through the most treacherous part of its trip. The third mate was at the helm when the ship capsized.

According to "The New York Times," she's only 26 years old. She had no experience navigating a waterway known for rapid current. So it was only by chance she was in charge. It happened to be her shift when the ship got into trouble.

Chad Myers is OUTFRONT.

And, Chad, this waterway, young, inexperienced person at the helm, why is it so dangerous?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Big currents in both directions, depending if we're going to low tide or if you're going to high tide.

Major seven mile per hour this way or this way, and unless you're looking at the chart and you know exactly whether or not you have flat tide going to high or going to low, you may not know the direction of the current.

This is a funnel. Think about like trying -- you're washing your car, have a hose, put your thumb on the end of the hose, that's what we have here.

The hole is all the way through here. Here's where the channel for main ships should be, but put your thumb on the hose is right through there and that's where they were. That is 6.6 knots, do the multiplication, that's over 7 miles per hour that direction and over 7 miles per hour that direction.

Now it's not a difficult channel. It's been used for years and years and years, and we don't even think there's anything shallow enough because it's been used for so many years to cause any obstruction here.

Even some of the NOAA charts say rocks and things like, but we're talking 100 feet below the surface.

BURNETT: That's pretty incredible. As you say, we're going to be talking to a captain in a moment that's actually sailed through here before, but why is it such a popular cutthroat? Because that's what you're saying -- I mean, the main way would be to go around, right?

MYERS: Because here's where they have to go, they want to Jeju Island right there, and that is the shortcut. Fuel is expensive, time is expensive.

You're looking at they were going 16 to 17 knots here, almost 20 miles per hour, and if you take another route to the south, that would have taken you almost 40 miles out of the way, burned a lot more fuel and you would have burned a lot more time, and this would have been probably a significantly different event, but this is the route that they go. This is the route right through here, it's down through here. Here's where they rolled over and actually the boat continued to kind of drift in the current on up to here, where the current location is right there, and that's where the rescue and recovery is going on right now.

So, this is going to go for awhile. We know about the currents, talked about the currents with the divers being in them six to seven miles per hour one way or the other, and that's what you have in this treacherous, treacherous channel.

BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to you, Chad.

And now, William Doherty joins me, retired captain with the U.S. merchant marines.

You have navigated these waters, Captain. You know what Chad's talking about when he's talking about the current going one way, then the other.

What do you think about how this ship was sailing and the fact there was a 26-year-old third mate at the helm?

CAPT. WILLIAM DOHERTY, U.S. MERCHANT MARINETS (RET): Well, the age wouldn't be as important to me as the experience. It appears she had very little experience, particularly in that waterway. Obviously, you know, I would make a decision to go through that waterway after taking a look at what the benefits were, what the risks were.

BURNETT: Right.

DOHERTY: It's not the most hazardous, but it's definitely one that requires skill.

BURNETT: So you wouldn't have let a third mate, even though this is a popular cutthroat, you wouldn't have let her on the bridge by herself?

DOHERTY: She would have been on the bridge. That was her normal duty hours, but what we call bridge resource management, the existing circumstances and conditions raises the level of awareness in the number of people in the navigation team, namely myself. There's no way I could see I wouldn't have been on the bridge.

I may or may not have left her at what we call the corn (ph), but I would have been there to look over her and to immediately make any corrections.

BURNETT: So, is this water incredibly dangerous? As Chad was saying, there was people very commonly use this cutthroat because it saves you 40 miles.

DOHERTY: We have waterways like that all over the world. We can't bypass all of them. The currents in here would be similar to going between the straits that go between Sicily and Italy, you know, if you go around, the expense and the time would be excessive. So, you raise your bridge resource management level to the highest level, meaning the captain would be on the bridge, I might even have an extra officer on the bridge to look at radar plotting.

So, in other words --

BURNETT: Him being in his cabin asleep or something is not protocol?

DOHERTY: I couldn't see myself in the cabin in those waters.

BURNETT: And what about this issue of the life boats that we were talking about, just a couple probably deployed. When the ship first went down, you saw all these life boats and people who are --

DOHERTY: Ship had 47 inflatable life rafts.

BURNETT: Forty-seven.

DOHERTY: Forty-seven, and two were deployed. The number is important, because that means that the life rafts weren't that large. They could have been deployed by one or two crew members, inflated and passengers embarked. It wasn't a difficult situation.

What appears to have happened is that the crew and the master failed to carry out their emergency procedures. We have a station bill. Everyone on the ship has a emergency station for various emergencies, fire, abandon ship, man overboard, and --

BURNETT: And so it sounds like from what you're saying, I know there's a lot of questions about what happened, so that at least the loss of life could have been prevented.

DOHERTY: It doesn't sound like even the alarm was raised. And the alarm would have had to have been raised, that's a signal for crew members to go to their emergency station. You can't raise that from a lifeboat. You can't raise it from shore. And the passenger should have been mustered and instructed in emergency procedures and given honest information on the hazards.

BURNETT: If there were lifeboats, we wouldn't be talking about this now.

DOHERTY: Right.

BURNETT: All right. Well, captain, thank you very much.

DOHERTY: Thank you very much.

BURNETT: Now, I want to check with Anderson Cooper with a look at what's coming up on "AC360" -- Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Erin, more ahead on the breaking news on the program.

Rescue has turned to recovery off the coast of South Korea. Have the latest efforts on water and on land where more crew members have been arrested and the captain could spend life behind bars.

Also tonight, other deadly accidents where captains have done their duty, staying with their ships, trying to save lives, sometimes even going down with the ship. Randy Kaye has that story.

And a miracle above the Pacific, this 16-year-old stowed away in a wheel well on a flight from California to Hawaii and somehow he survived. Gary Tuchman has a test tonight of showing of just how small the margin is for survival, putting himself a 767 wheel well. We'll also talk with the doctor who studied how the body reacts to extreme temperatures and altitude and explains why the teen perhaps lived.

It's all the top of the hour, Erin.

BURNETT: That's just a miraculous story. All right.

COOPER: Unbelievable.

BURNETT: Yes, I know, want to see more on that.

All right. Thanks, Anderson.

Now to a story we've been following out of Nigeria. Tonight, 200 school girls are still being held hostage by a Muslim terror group called Boko Haram. The name means Western education is simple. They burnt people in mosques and churches, slit throat, shot people point blank and tonight, the government is under fire after first saying the girls were free and saying, oh, I guess that's not true.

Vladimir Duthiers is OUTFRONT in Abuja, Nigeria.

VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, the principal of the Chibok government's girl secondary school in Borno state says that after reviewing the registry and consulting with parents, at least 230 girls were abducted from their dormitory Monday evening by suspected Boko Haram militants, and at least 190 are still missing, far more than previously thought.

And while Nigeria's military and local government officials say everything is being done to find these girls, that's going to prove to be very difficult. It's believed that area where the girls have been held is the area around the Sambisa Forest, near the border with Cameroon.

Now, this remote and dangerous region, the Boko Haram stronghold, is in the past has been bombarded by the Nigerian air force, but that isn't an option now, and all out offensive on a defensive heavily guarded position could lead to high casualties on both sides, including the girls.

Meanwhile, a video surfaced on Friday showing a man claiming to be the leader of Boko Haram, Abukakar Shekau. In the recording, the man claims responsibility for attack on a crowded bus station April 14th that killed more than 70 people and injured at least 130 -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Vlad, thank you very much. And Boko Haram, one of the most dangerous and horrifically violent militant groups around the world, has been stepping up its attacks in recent times. As we've been saying, things like burning people in churches and mosques has become par for the course with that group.

Well, the Boston marathon was today, and it had a pretty incredible outcome. An American tonight won the race for the first time in three decades.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Boston strong. In a show of force, 36,000 people came out to run the Boston marathon today. The city rallied to show its support a year after the horrific incident where two bombs killed three and wounded more than 260 people. The race went off with extraordinary security measures. More than 3,500 police officers, hundreds of surveillance cameras, dozens of bomb sniffing dogs.

Thirty-eight-year-old Meb Keflezighi was the first to cross the finish line, the first American man to win that race since 1983. It was an emotional day as some ran to honor the dead, others ran to honor the wounded and some just to show they could do it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More waves of people, each about 9,000 strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You couldn't ask for a more perfect day for a marathon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people can't wait to get going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The iconic race is being held under tight security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the minute we got off the buses, there's just a palpable energy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're claiming the sport back from what happened last year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the first wave right on their heels, the elite men take off. So many things different about this year's Boston marathon -- emotions, memories, heartache, hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last year, I was on the ground at the finish line. This year, I'll be running across.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think one of the great things about today is it felt so normal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The terrorists did not do what they intended because Boston strong and will remain strong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was important to come back this year and be part of reclaiming the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's got it, the fastest woman to ever run from Hopkinton to Boston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here in one spirit and we're trying to prove Boston is strong and there's no race like it in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An American will win the Boston marathon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: MEB, pretty incredible day.

Be sure to watch CNN's special tonight on the Boston bombing anniversary, it's called "Back to Boston: Moments of Impact", and you can see it tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

And tomorrow, I want to tell you about a programming note here OUTFRONT. We have more on the mist of Flight 370 and the key question of -- if the wreckage is found, could passengers cell phone messages and videos exist. Could they be found? Could they be retrieved?

We've actually spent the past few weeks on this with an investigation and we're going to show you what we found, whether the messages can be retrieved, whether we'll know what those people were thinking and feeling. Whether they were alive and what they wanted to say to their loved ones.

Those phones could have been at the bottom of the ocean for weeks and we're going to complain how we can replicate that and show you what could be on them.

Thank you so much for joining us. As always, we appreciate it. I'll see you back here same time tomorrow night.

"ANDERSON COOPER 360", though, begins right now.