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Egypt Paris-To-Cairo Flight Disappears With 66 On Board Over Eastern Mediterranean; Egypt and France Exchange Condolences Over "Fall" Of Jetliner; EgyptAir: Distress Signal From Area Of Plane; Egyptian Navy Conducting Search & Rescue For Plane 175 Miles Off Egypt's Coast. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired May 19, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: CNN is tracking the latest information coming in from around the world.

Welcome back to EARLY START. Thank you for joining us. I'm Boris Sanchez.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 5:30 in the east here. We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. Breaking news this morning. It has now been more than eight hours since an Egyptian passenger jet disappeared over the eastern Mediterranean.

EgyptAir MS 804 dropped from radar overnight enroute from Paris to Cairo about 175 miles off the coast of Egypt. Now, just hours ago EgyptAir reported there was a distress signal, from what they're saying is the general vicinity of the plane, sometime after that crash.

And within the last hour, the Egyptian and French foreign ministers exchanging deep condolences over what they're calling the fall of the aircraft. For the very latest let's bring in our Ian Lee. He's live at Cairo's international airport.

And I say the word crash. That is still an assumption. The Egyptian foreign minister calling this a fallen aircraft. We can assume this plane is somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea there, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: I think,definitely, at this point. It's well over eight hours since this plane disappeared from radar and no one has been able to pick it up since. So, I think you can make that assumption safely that this plane is somewhere in the Mediterranean.

In fact, we are hearing right now from the Greek Embassy in the U.K. tweeting this out that Greece is participating in the rescue operation underway in the Mediterranean region, 130 nautical miles southeast of the island of Karpathos.

The Greek armed forces have deployed a military C-130 aircraft and one earlier warning aircraft. Another C-130 is heading to the area, as well as a frigate. Helicopters are also on the scene. So, from what we're hearing from the Greek Embassy in the U.K., they seem to know the exact location, apparently, of where this plane is, saying that is 130 nautical miles southeast of a Greek island.

We haven't heard anything from Egyptian officials about that so far but talking to the family members here, they are saying that officials are telling them that this plane has hit the water. We do know that there is massive search operation underway by Egyptian authorities.

You have theEgyptian Air Force and Egyptian Navy, as well as the Coast Guard, searching this area for any evidence of the wreckage or possibly survivors, against all odds. But really, still very much early in this investigation.

Right now the main priority is finding out where that plane is, helping anyone who survived, if there are any survivors, and then they will start determining what exactly was the cause that brought down this plane.

SANCHEZ: Ian, we know the Egyptian president called an emergency meeting of his advisors -- an emergency national security meeting. What should we read into that?

LEE: This is following what we've seen after any sort of incidents in the air. This is actually Egypt's third incident involving an airliner in the past year, and after each incidence we have seen the Egyptian president call his national security team together to assess the situation and move forward.

The first incidence being back in October when ISIS blew up an airplane over the Sinai. Egyptian officials called an emergency meeting then. And then last March a man hijacked an airplane from Alexandria, Egypt on its way to Cairo. That plane was diverted to Cyprus. Again, the same situation.

Now, both those incidents involved foul play. We aren't saying that there is any foul play at this moment. We, frankly, don't know. But it isn't unusual to see an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in Egypt as the president tries to learn the latest developments.

SANCHEZ: All right, Ian Lee reporting live from Cairo. Ian, thank you.

ROMANS: All right, so Greece has joined the search, as you heard, for EgyptAir flight 804. They have deployed two aircraft to search from above. They're deploying a frigate to the area. Helicopters standing by for potential rescues or recovery operations.

We want to go to Athens now and bring in journalist Elinda Labropoulou. Tell us what you're hearing, Elinda, from the perspective of Greek authorities about where they think this flight might be and whether they've seen anything yet.

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well, the Greek authorities have been participating in this rescue and search operation from the very start. In fact, it seems that the last contact that was made with the plane was with the Greek authorities -- with the Greek air traffic controllers just a minute before the plane left the Greek airspace and crossed over into Egypt.

[05:35:00] We understand that this is standard procedure when an aircraft crosses from a country to the next. Now, at the time, the pilot does not appear to have reported any problems of any kind. And from what we hear from the Greek side, once the plane left the Greek airspace, just two minutes after that, the Greek authorities lost the plane off the radar.

And immediately they said they contacted their Egyptian counterpart, and this is the last that we definitely know of any contact with the plane was made. Now, after that we had heard that there was a distress signal of some sort but the Egyptian authorities have since said that this was not the case. They have denied that.

So at the moment the two countries seem to be working very closely together searching the part of the eastern Mediterranean where the plane was last found to be. This is about 130 nautical miles off the Greek island of Karpathos, so the Greek authorities have sent most of their forces around that area.

We have military aircraft scanning the area at the moment. A frigate is there and helicopters ready to really jump in as soon as anything is found. And everyone, of course, hoping that this will be more of a rescue operation rather than anything else.

SANCHEZ: All right, Elinda Labropoulou, thank you so much for your time. For the latest in the investigation let's go to CNN anchor and aviation correspondent Richard Quest. He's live in our Beijing bureau.

Richard, as we take a step back and look at all the details, there was clear weather. The pilots told Greek authorities that everything was fine as they left Greek airspace. There were indications that there was no certain distress signal from the pilots. Said they were still figuring out where the distress signal came from. What does all of this tell you?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. You've set up a very interesting set of circumstances that tells me that whatever happened to the aircraft, it was immediate and it was dramatic when the plane went down. Just bear with me one second. As a result of all of that -- forgive me, the microphone just slipped off there.

As a result of all of that, the nature of the incident and the way in which it would have been handled by the crew, specifically to the fact that they were unable to get a Mayday out. And this does -- you know, at the end of the day it does suggest either some form of bomb, some sort of terrorist activity.

But it also -- because we've seen it before, guys -- it also could be related to a mechanical fault and the way in which the plane was then being flown. Certainly, the profile of the aircraft and the way the profile of the flight means it was dramatic.

ROMANS: We know that they are not ruling anything out at this point, Richard. We know that there will be an investigation of every person who saw that plane, touched that plane, may have boarded that plane, may have worked on that plane. Tell us a little bit about where the investigation, you think, goes from here.

QUEST: The first thing that has to happen is find those black boxes. We say this every time, Christine. We always say find the black boxes and the reason, of course, is they hold the secrets of what happened, both in terms of what the pilots were saying to each on the cockpit voice recorder and on the parameters of the flight data recorder.

If it was an explosion, you'll hear the noise and you'll see the reaction. If it was a mechanical failure, you'll see exactly what it was that failed. Now, once you've done that -- but, if you look at the -- you can't just sit by doing nothing while you wait until you get the recorders.

So, you're looking at every passenger. You're looking at every potential threat. You're looking at everybody who touched the aircraft, from catering to engineering, to maintenance, to cleaning, the baggage handlers, to even check it. Anybody who could have got to that plane.

Metrojet showed that there were vulnerabilities, admittedly, in an airport where there were concerns. Charles de Gaulle, in Paris, is a very different kettle of fish. But, even so, I guarantee you tonight that CDG, in Paris -- they are examining every potential bit of security tape, every video, everybody who went near 804.

ROMANS: I'm sure you're right. All right, Richard Quest, thank you so much for that. This morning we're following all of these details, this breaking news. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo vanishes with 66 people on board. A search and rescue effort underway right now. We're live, next.

[05:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:44:00] ROMANS: OK, welcome back to CNN's breaking news coverage of the disappearance of EgyptAir flight 804. Here's what we know so far. The Airbus A320 was traveling from Paris to Cairo when it vanished from radar over the Mediterranean Sea, now nine hours ago. There were 66 people on board, including 10 crew members.

The aircraft went missing at 37,000 feet moments after crossing into Egyptian airspace. Egyptian and French authorities exchanging condolences over what they're calling the fall of the aircraft. The Egyptian military is searching for the jetliner right now with help from the Greek military, which says it is searching 130 nautical miles southeast of the island of Karpathos.

We're bringing you expertise as a veteran airline pilot to our discussion now of EgyptAir 804's disappearance. Captain Desmond Ross, the principal of DRA Professional Aviation Services, live this morning from Istanbul. Good morning. You have been watching these developments. You have seen what kind of information we've been able to confirm. Give me your read on what happened to this flight.

[05:45:00] DESMOND ROSS, PRINCIPAL, DRA PROFESSIONAL AVIATION SERVICES: You're quite right, it's a developing story and a lot of speculation. But, my gut feeling is telling me that there's been a cataclysmic event on the airplane.

This confusion over this emergency transmission or message that people are talking about. It's either a -- it had to be either a radio call from the cockpit, which we're told did not happen, or a transponder signal, which you can dial a particular code under the transponder and the radar will then show that there's an emergency on that aircraft, or the emergency locator transmitter on impact with water or ground would emit a signal which people can then home on to find the crash site.

There's not else that can get out from the aircraft. So, if there was a signal of any sort we should know what that was, but the usual sorts of confusion. It's a bit early. At 37,000 feet, flat level 370, there's no real issue normally for an aircraft unless something -- I mean, the pilots are not doing anything particularly unusual. The aircraft is just in cruise.

The only possible conclusion that you could draw there is that it would be either an explosion onboard the aircraft caused by what? Mechanical failure of some sort, an oxygen bottle exploding, a bomb exploding, which of course indicates terrorism. Speculation again.

But that area, and I've said it earlier today, is dotted with ships at the moment. It's a normally very busy area anyway -- the Mediterranean and that location, and particularly at the moment because of all the refugee crisis.

So, I'm very confident that somebody will have seen something. And I'm very confident that if the aircraft has gone into the water that there will be plenty of ships searching and the debris will be found. I would think that they'd find something today before the end of the -- before daylight finishes today. I'd be very surprised if they don't.

ROMANS: We have plenty of daylight. This has been underway now for some hours now, the search and rescue, and there are a lot of resources deployed there in the Mediterranean Sea. Captain Desmond Ross, thank you so much for that.

Let's get to London now, and Nic Robertson following the story from there. You know, Nic, authorities are careful not to rule anything out as is justified this early in an investigation. It was only recently that there was even an official confirmation where they talked about the plane had fallen. It was a fallen jetliner. Until then, it was just missing.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And it's still really too soon because we don't have declarative information on this expression of condolences, as well, between Egyptian and French officials. I think it's really too soon to read into that. But, we can actually definitively say that the plane has actually crashed, although that seems to be sort of beyond any doubt. But, that's not what's being said officially at this time. You know, the area of scrutiny that I think is going to come under the microscope at the moment is the aircraft appeared to have been passing out of Greek airspace into Egyptian airspace.

That is was, perhaps, two minutes into Egyptian airspace, 10 miles we were told. We were told that Greek authorities had, in fact, been in communication with theaircraft. That there was nothing untoward reported with this raises the question -- the expectation that Egyptian air traffic controllers would have contacted the aircraft as it came into their airspace.

We haven't received any information from the Egyptian authorities about whether they tried to communicate with the aircraft. What happened when they tried to communicate with the aircraft? How long they were trying to communicate with it? We don't have that sort of information yet.

Had the aircraft veered off its flight track? There's no information about that yet, although looking at flight tracking data it does seem to have been on the correct flight track. So, I think the fact that the aircraft disappears in this key area, an area of course that we witnessed with the MH-370 flight disappearance -- was a place where MH-370 -- the pilot apparently -- suggestions were, we don't know.

But, that's where the transponders went off on the aircraft, and the aircraft went off the radar. So we're at that key point. There is -- to add to what our last guest said there. There's also a lot of military activity --

ROMANS: Right.

ROBERTSON: -- in the Mediterranean at the moment because of the war in Syria, because of what's happening in Libya, because of the NATO vessels down below. There's a British air base not so far away on Akrotiri, where fighter jets take off.

So, we can understand and know that for certain there would be a lot of military radar and observations within that area of the Mediterranean that will, perhaps when they go back to their information, provide another layer of detail about what happened to the aircraft.

[05:50:00] ROMANS: They'll also be looking, I'm sure, Nic, at the surveillance footage from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Every person who got on that plane, every baggage handler who may have had access to that aircraft, because airport security will be part of this investigation.

ROBERTSON: We know that there were three security personnel as part of the 10 crew from EgyptAir that were on board that aircraft. They'll also be an analysis done of where they got on the plane. Did they get on in Egypt, did they get on in Charles de Gaulle? So, obviously, there will be scrutiny paid to the security checks that

were put in place on them, as well as the security checks that would have been caught on video at Charles de Gaulle Airport of all the passengers. Then background checks on those passengers.

Also, anyone that came in contact with the aircraft in Charles de Gaulle Airport. You know, the baggage handlers, the cleaning staff, everyone that came in physical contact with it. Likely the same for when the aircraft originally departed Cairo en route to Charles de Gaulle, as well, the same type of scrutiny.

But, of course, it's those security checks that we've become familiar with now. I mean, just a few weeks ago when an Egyptian airline plane was hijacked by a man purporting to have a suicide vest, we were actually able within a couple of hours from Egyptian authorities to have video of him going through the security at Alexandria Airport. Of course, the plane was diverted to Cyprus.

ROMANS: Right.

ROBERTSON: It turned out to be a hoax. But that level of surveillance is available, will be scrutinized right now, and may later be made publicly available.

ROMANS: All right, Nic Robertson for us in London. Thank you for that, Nic. And again, 66 people on board that flight. Fifteen French citizens, one Britain, and already, families in Egypt have started arriving at the airport there to get more information on their loved ones.

For the latest on the jet and its flightpath now and how weather could play a role in the search and rescue effort, I want to bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam in the CNN weather center. Clear skies at the time that this flight disappeared, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You are absolutely correct, Christine. I checked every single potential weather variable that could have a catastrophic impact on an aircraft. Turbulence, thunderstorms, wind shear, and none of it was present at that last moment of contact with the EgyptAir flight MS-804.

Here's the flight trajectory. Here's the eastern Mediterranean, where we believe whatever incident actually took place happened. Now, water temperatures, as we go forward with the likely search and rescue effort that is going to take place across this region, are roughly between 65 and 72 degrees.

Now, think about your body temperature. Ninety-six degrees, roughly, so if you submerge yourself in water that's colder than that, obviously that's going to impact your core temperature and that can have a problem with survival rates, especially for elderly, the young, and anyone in between, as well. But roughly, a survival rate with those types of water temperatures, typically between two hours and upwards of 40 hours for an extremely healthy young adult.

Now, in terms of weather coming forward we do have a storm system that will increase the winds, the cloud cover, and the changes of rain, but that doesn't happen until Friday. So, Christine, we do have a narrow window of time, at least 24 hours, where the weather should be pretty good for a potential search and recovery effort.

ROMANS: And plenty of daylight here left. Talk to us a little bit about the marine traffic there. I mean, we've heard again and again this morning that this is a busy part of the Mediterranean Sea, normally. There's a lot of military aircraft in the vicinity, but also the refugee crisis means that the seas are even more crowded than usual.

VAN DAM: Well, there's going to be all kinds of shipping vessels within this particular area, especially just coming off of the Greek islands. In terms of a weather factor to this, it doesn't appear that that's going to impact any of the search and recovery vessels that will be deployed to that area, at least for the foreseeable future. In 24 hours, that will change.

ROMANS: All right, Derek Van Dam for us in the CNN weather center. Thank you for that perspective.

VAN DAM: Absolutely.

ROMANS: That EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo vanishes. "NEW DAY" picks up our breaking news, next.

[05:54:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:53:35] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR": Good morning, everyone. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY and we do begin with breaking news.

A frantic search underway over the Mediterranean Sea for EgyptAir flight 804. The plane vanished from radar about nine hours ago while cruising at 37,000 feet, just minutes before entering Egyptian airspace. The flight had 66 people on board. It originated from Paris and was just 45 minutes from landing in Cairo.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alisyn, there's no word yet of any Mayday or word from the pilots of any problems, but there are conflicting reports about possible distress signals in the area where the flight disappeared.

The families of those on board were alerted. There's been an emergency response area set up at the de Gaulle airport and, of course, they're waiting for answers. And for us, there are lots of questions about the plane's safety record, flight crew, security, and possible terror links. So, we have this breaking news story covered the way only CNN can.

So, let's begin with Ian Lee, live at Cairo International Airport. Ian, the word from there? LEE: Well, good morning. What we're waiting to hear right now is any word from the search area that the Egyptian military is currently searching with coordination from the Greeks. We're hearing from the Egyptian armed forces that they have deployed all the resources possible. They have jets, they have boats.