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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Search for Missing AirAsia Flight 8501; Deadly Greek Ferry Fire; North Korea Blasts Obama; Graham Suspects China Part of Sony Hack; Jim Harbaugh, 49ers Part Ways

Aired December 29, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Grim news this morning in the search, the desperate search for AirAsia flight 8501. Investigators revealing now they believe the missing plane and its 162 passengers is now at the bottom of the sea. We are bringing you live team coverage on the very latest into the investigation. The search and what went wrong. They say early conjecture is that plane is missing in the ocean.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you today. I'm John Berman. It's Monday, December 29th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And we do want to welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. And we begin with the very latest in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501, which vanished Sunday en route from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people onboard.

Indonesian officials do say their early conjecture. Right now, their suspicion is that that plane crashed into the Java Sea. Although, there seems to be no hard evidence of that yet. Ships, planes, helicopters have been combing the waters. So far, no sign of the plane or any wreckage.

It is not known for sure if bad weather was a factor, but the pilot had requested a higher altitude to avoid storm clouds before that flight disappeared from radar.

CNN's Andrew Stevens is live in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Andrew, just a short time ago, you spoke with Indonesia's vice president for the very latest on this search.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. He was pretty blunt, too. We are more than 30 hours into this search and still no positive sign on what happened to 8501. And the vice president, Jusuf Kalla, saying that after 40 hours, you would have to say that the chances of finding survivors are very, very slim, particularly if that plane ended in the water, which certainly looks the most likely scenario. He has been talking to the families of the passengers and the crew

here at Surabaya Airport. This is the crisis central for the entire story, John. And he has been telling them that they and the president are doing everything they can. That is all he can say at the moment because there is so little the information to go on.

There have been reports of objects spotted perhaps of significance that was spotted by an Australia reconnaissance aircraft. I asked the vice president about that. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: There have been reports of objects floating in the search zone. Can you tell me, are they in -- do you know if they are linked at all to the missing plane?

JUSUF KALLA, VICE PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA: Yes. Until now, the answer, not yet any object. Some reports from Australia. But now, we're clarifying. It's not yet clear that the object is from the plane or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: So, not yet clear. And we always put a health warning on this, John, because remember, MH-370, with so many reports of debris in the water and oil slicks in the water surrounding the disappearance of MH-370. They all proved to be wrong. What are we? It disappeared on March 8th and still not one sight of that aircraft.

So, the search here continues for 8501. We have about an hour or two hours of daylight left. It is a big search crew out there, multiple ships, and multiple planes. But as yet, nothing concrete.

BERMAN: Andrew, any sense of what investigators are honing in on the most right now? Is it the last verbal contact they had with the pilots, asking to fly a different route, a higher attitude?

STEVENS: It seems to be that, yes. The last known communication was one of the pilots requesting a diversion asking to go higher. That was actually refused because there were aircraft above Flight 8501. 8501 also requested to turn left, which was given permission to do so.

That was the last known conversation with the cockpit. And extrapolating from there, they are looking at the most likely zone where the plane may have gone down.

Remember, there was bad weather. Some say severe weather in the area at the time. And the pilot looked like he requested that deviation to get above the bad weather. Obviously, he did not get it. If he had flown into that storm, it could have been a very, very difficult situation. It could -- I talked to air pilots and experts on the ground here -- and they will tell you that an A320 flying into a heavy severe storm could have catastrophic consequences.

Also, one thing to mention, John, the emergency location transmitter has not been set off. This is basically, the beacon that is not pinning if there is a hard landing on the plane. That has not been heard of in these 30 hours since the plane went missing. So, a lot of questions why that has not been triggered, either.

BERMAN: If that was on land or surface of the ocean, you would expect to hear that by now. That's one reason why they think perhaps it could be deep under water.

Andrew Stevens for us from Surabaya, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. It has been more than 30 hours now since the last contact with that flight. More ships and planes and helicopters are joining the search this morning.

And our Paula Hancocks joins us live from the staging area in Indonesia.

Tell us what's happening there, Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, we have over the past couple of hours seen things winding down for the day, at least at this particular staging area. As Andrew says, we are running out of daylight. So, these planes and helicopters will not be going up in the dark.

But, of course, those ships will be staying out on the Java Sea. They can use spotlights and potentially sonar and try to continue with that search. It is still a very large search area. We spoke to the head of the search and rescue operation here on this island.

And he said it is 240 by 240 nautical miles. Now, this is one of the islands that's closest to the last point of contact of that airline. And, of course, this is where they are basing their search.

But he said they have not narrowed it down yet. They don't have the data to be able to do that. As soon as they have data, they'll be able to look at a specific location. But at this point, they can't. Now, of course, because there are so many boats and ships involved, so many planes, helicopters, they have to cordon this off very carefully.

They have to narrow it down to certain areas in the way that they have sliced it up into sections, if you like, to make sure that they are not overlapping areas, that they're not missing any areas. And to make sure they are very systematic about this.

Now, I did ask the officer here whether or not the lead that could be any survivors this late on. He said if it landed on water or crashed into the water, it is highly unlikely. But if this plane crashed on land and he said there is a potential, the jungles to the east of this area, potentially there could be survivors -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Paula Hancocks, so many questions and so many hopes for the families gathering. Thank you, Paula.

BERMAN: A lot of the questions seem to surround the weather right now. What role did the weather play in the disappearance of this flight? We do know that the pilot asked for and was denied a higher altitude

before the plane vanished because there were planes above. An aviation expert talked to CNN about a report of radar showing the AirAsia jet climbing and perhaps stalling out because it was flying too slowly. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFFREY THOMAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/MANAGING DIRECTOR AT AIRLINERATINGS.COM: This appears as though it's going to be a weather-related upset. We do know some concrete facts here, whereas in the case of MH-370, we were flying blind, if you like. We know that the captain requested a climb in altitude from 32,000 to 38,000 feet.

We know that he asked for a deviation from his track to go left of track from the route to avoid thunderstorms. And we know that there were severe thunderstorms in the area. We have seen the radar printouts of those. So, that is absolutely crystal clear they were severe and there were many of them. So, we do know that.

We know exactly where we lost contact with him as well. So, it's a fairly defined box for the searchers to look; whereas at MH370, we had virtually no idea where it went. So -- and then what we also have been able to obtain from some pilots is a radar printout of the aircraft. What it shows is this particular flight at an altitude of 36,000 feet and climbing, but traveling at approximately 105 miles per hour, too slow to sustain flight.

So, it looks like on this radar evidence that we have that he was involved in some upset, high altitude aerodynamic upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. For more on what weather conditions the AirAsia pilot may have been trying to avoid, CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the look that for us.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine.

Yes, the conditions across the Java Sea and really across Indonesia this time of year is not the best time. October through April, this is when we have monsoon in place, this is when we have rainfall sometimes, we've seen this week, on the order of several feet in the matter of a couple of days.

Take a look, this is the flight track that they took on Sunday morning. Here's the last known point of contact. That is the storm we are talking about, because an average thunderstorm typically spans anywhere between 20,000 feet and 30,000 feet. This particular thunderstorm, the tops of the them reach some 53,000 feet.

This Airbus not capable of climbing those altitudes. So, of course, you would think it would go around it. They are down draft associated with this, as they tried to go into, certainly headwinds as well. The instability in the atmosphere is very dangerous scenario. We don't think weather by itself played a role in bringing this plane

down. Typically, it is several scenarios to cause these sort of devastations and tragedies. And again, this particular storm as large as you could see it anywhere on our planet over portions of Indonesia.

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Pedram for that. Now, AirAsia is a relatively young airline, has a near flawless safety record. What about the aircraft itself?

CNN's Rene Marsh with more on the Airbus A320 and its safety record.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know this is a newer aircraft, roughly six years old. The delivery date: October 2008.

Now, as far as flight time, we are told by Airbus it has 23,000 flight hours. It's what you would call a workhorse for commercial aviation. It is a well-travelled aircraft. The safety record for the A320 is pretty good when you consider the millions of flights this family of aircraft has made.

Now, at this point, Airbus is careful with the language it is using. It is not dipping into the arena of speculation. They say they are waiting and they are collecting information. They are making it very clear that they are ready and willing to work with investigators once it moves on to the investigative stage.

We also know that here in the United States, the National Transportation Safety Board, they have opened up the lines of communication. They have been in contact with Airbus, the manufacturer of the aircraft. They've also been in touch with the French equivalent of the NTSB and we're also told they've been in touch with the Indonesians. The Indonesians will likely lead the investigation.

At this point, the NTSB says they are monitoring the situation. They are ready to provide some technical assistance if they are asked for it.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Rene Marsh, thank you for that.

Investors are selling AirAsia shares this morning. The stock is down about 8 percent right now, the biggest one day decline in three years. You know, the missing jet is damaging AirAsia's reputation as a reliable low cost carrier. The airline has had no fatal crashes in more than a decade of operations. It is regularly named the best low cost airline in Asia. Its CEO Tony Fernandes is reaching out to the public through social media since the jet disappeared, calling this, quote, "his worst nightmare". This morning, he tweeted, "keeping positive and staying strong. My heart bleeds for all the relatives of our crew and passengers." BERMAN: Twelve minutes after the hour right now. There's another breaking story we're following this morning. The efforts to reach passengers trapped onboard a smoldering Greek ferry following a fire that broke out on the ship off the coast of Italy.

Italian coast guard says one person has died there. More than 300 passengers had been rescued. Rough weather is hampering to save more or to get to more than 100 who are others still on board that vessel.

CNN's Elinda Labropoulou is live for us via Skype from Athens.

What's the latest this morning?

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do know that more people have been rescued this morning. Operations seem to be progressing a lot faster. Over 350 people, that's more than 2/3 of the people, have been rescued. But still close to 150 people remain on the ship.

Progress is underway, but people are being removed by helicopter. Most helicopters can take one to two people per basket. An effort had been made initially to tow the boat, but that was abandoned due to the weather conditions.

Those who have arrived in safety in Greece or Italy by now, are well in health. They have been examined by medical teams. Some of them seem to have signs of hypothermia, which is logical for people who have been sitting on a ship outside for 30 hours before they were able to reach safety.

A lot of them are complaining about problems with their throat and eyes. They are talking about lots of smoke. This is something eyewitnesses from the rescue boats have been able to see as well. There's been a lot of smoke.

We are not entirely sure that the fire is completely out because it is impossible to check at this point. We do know that the weather conditions in the area remain particularly difficult for rescuers.

BERMAN: All right, Elinda Labropoulou.

These pictures are remarkable that we're seeing here, the thought that there are still more than 150 people on the vessel harrowing for them, I am sure.

This situation cannot be over soon enough for them, I think. And we all hope for a safe conclusion soon.

Fifteen minutes after the hour. North Korea berating President Obama after Sony's release of "The Interview." That controversial film pulled in millions this weekend. The drama is far from over. We are live with the very latest after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We're following breaking news this morning in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. This plane disappeared Sunday with 162 people onboard. It was headed from Indonesia to Singapore. It vanished over the Java Sea.

In the plane's final communication, the pilot asked for higher altitude due to bad weather, but was denied because of air traffic above him. Indonesian rescue officials say the suspect the plane is at the bottom of the sea. That is the early conjecture.

But there has been no confirmation and the country's vice president tells us they still consider this is a search and rescue operation. Ships, planes, helicopters all searching while families of those onboard anxiously wait for any answers.

BERMAN: Some other news developing this morning, North Korea is blasting President Obama, firing off a personal insult and blaming Washington for its own Internet outages and the release of the Sony film, "The Interview." Now, after first canceling the release of that film, "The Interview", because of violent threats from hackers, Sony scored pretty big this weekend, with more than $15 million from digital downloads of the film. They have plans to expand online distribution.

Now, though, a prominent U.S. lawmaker is suggesting that North Korea may have had help from China in hacking Sony Pictures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You can't talk about North Korea without talking about China. You need to have a heart to heart with the Chinese. I can't imagine anything this massive happening in North Korea without China being involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Being involved. That's a pretty harsh accusation there.

CNN's Will Ripley following the developments live from Beijing.

What would China's involvement be, Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we know China certainly has been an internet supporter of North Korea in the sense they have much more massive infrastructure here than they do in Pyongyang. In fact, North Korea still relies on Chinese servers to actually connect to the Internet.

But U.S. law enforcement is saying, as far as orchestrating this attack, they believe North Korea is the only nation that was involved, even if there was some sort of technical reliance on China's high speed capabilities.

BERMAN: And what about right now, the things that North Korea is saying about President Obama? And what are they saying, anything new about the Sony hacking?

RIPLEY: Well, you know, North Korea was so indignant about the portrayal of their leader in the film. And there are some who would argue that they had every right to be offended and angry about a film showing, you know, Kim Jong-un's head exploding and bursting into flames. And yet, their rhetoric over the weekend from their state media where they compared President Obama to a monkey in a tropical forest, saying that his actions were reckless in allowing "The Interview" to even air, it certainly seems as if one side is speaking very viciously about the other's leader and one is hurt by the actions of a Hollywood film studio.

BERMAN: Will Ripley for us in Beijing, appreciate you being with us. Thanks so much.

Twenty-one minutes after the hour. And when we come back, it is a grim day for coaches all across the NFL. Many, including this man, are out. But where is he headed next?

Andy Scholes with the details and the "Bleacher Report", next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The NFL regular season is now over. Some teams heading to the playoffs, others with big changes starting now.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, guys.

You know, today is known as Black Monday in the NFL. It is the day where many teams who did not have a good season decided to fire their coach. We already had one change last night as the 49ers and Jim Harbaugh mutually decided to part ways.

Now, Harbaugh and the Niners front office have been at odds for a time. And check out the awkward hug between Harbaugh and Niners CEO Jed York before yesterday's game. That picture says it all right there.

Cool moment late in the fourth quarter. Craig gets the interception to seal the win for San Fran. And he's going to come to the sideline and give Harbaugh the ball. The Niners win this one 20-17 in Harbaugh's final game with the teams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM HARBAUGH, COACHED 4 SEASONS WITH 49ERS: The way I feel about these players and coaches and this staff and this organization, it's the time of my life.

REPORTER: Will you miss the NFL in anyway?

HARBAUGH: The NFL going somewhere?

(LAUGHTER)

REPORTER: You might be, you might be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Harbaugh reportedly has a six-year, $48 million offer from his alma mater Michigan to be their next coach. That would make him the highest paid coach in all of college football.

All right. The Packers and Lions squaring off yesterday with the bye in the first round on the line, Aaron Rodgers is going to find Randall Cobb for the touchdown to put Green Bay up 14-0. But as you can see, he would go down with an injury. Rodgers was carted off, sending all of Green Bay into a panic.

He, however, returned. And in the fourth quarter, Rodgers on the ground after a pass, and Ndamukong Suh steps on his calf. That sure looks intentional to me. Suh, we all know, has a reputation for being a dirty player, and he's likely going to be hearing from league office about this one. Packers win the game, 30-20.

Now, scary moment for the Steelers on Sunday night football. Their star running back Le'veon Bell gets hit low by the Bengals' Reggie Nelson. Bell leaves the game for a hyper-extended knee and did not return. But that didn't slow down Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger finds Antonio Brown, who's not going to be caught on this play.

Steelers go on to win the NFL North. After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin, he has some words with Nelson. Marvin Lewis has to come in and break this fight up after the game as things got heated there.

So, here's what the playoff picture looks like in the AFC. Patriots and Broncos are going to get the bye. Steelers will host the Ravens. While the Colts will host the Bengals.

In the NFC, you got the Seahawks and Packers with the bye on the first round. Cowboys is going to host the Lions. And then, the arguably worst playoff match up ever, the Panthers will host the Cardinals. And I call that the worse playoff matchup ever, guys, because the Panthers, of course, have the losing record and they're in the playoff, and the Cardinals are down to their third string quarterback.

BERMAN: I think the Seahawks look so darn good, but anyone has beaten them in either league at this point, sadly.

Andy Scholes, great to see you. Thanks for that.

ROMANS: All right. Twenty-six minutes past the hour. We are following breaking news this morning. The desperate search for missing AirAsia Flight 8501. This plane vanished midflight with more than 160 people on board. Live team coverage on what we're learning now next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)