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Laura Coates Live

CNN's Laura Coates Reports About the Tragedy on the Potomac; Trump Blames DEI for Deadly Crash; CNN Remembers the Lives Lost on Flight 5432. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired January 30, 2025 - 23:00   ET

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


[23:00:00]

MISHA MITROFANOV, TEAM USA PAIRS SKATER: We lost parents. They were like parents to the rink. Their students were like their kids. They devoted their lives to this sport. They absolutely loved this sport. And to lose them is like losing your parents. That's the best way to put it. They were unbelievable skaters, unbelievable coaches. And nothing but excellency was expected from them, and that's what they gave.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And you can watch more of our interview on the "NewsNight" page at cnn.com.

Thank you very much for watching "NewsNight." CNN's coverage continues with Laura Coates right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): An urgent search for answers.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Crash, crash, crash. This is an Alert 3.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The deadliest plane crash on American soil in nearly 24 years.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Sixty-seven people are presumed dead.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): A desperate search in near freezing cold water.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Bodies of more than 40 people have so far been recovered.

UNKNOWN: Not sure how to process it.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Students and parents, world champion figure skaters.

UNKNOWN: I picture them right here.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): There are a lot of people hurting today.

UNKNOWN: We will help find out what happened.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): One controller working two positions simultaneously.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): What altitude was that Black Hawk at?

UNKNOWN: We are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening. I'm Laura Coates live from Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. Right behind me is the site of the nation's deadliest aviation disaster in nearly 24 years, a Black Hawk helicopter colliding with an American Airlines airplane in the low skies above the Potomac River. Sixty-four people were on board that jet. Three were inside of that helicopter. No one survived.

All day, teams have been trying to recover the remains from the wreckage. And as of tonight, 14 plane passengers are still missing. The freezing water, the debris is making it extremely difficult. And now, a crane is being brought in to help reach more of the victims.

Tonight, we know both of the jet's black boxes have been found. They'll play a very crucial part in trying to piece together how in the world this tragedy even happened. So, we're finding out what was going on in the control tower. A source is telling CNN that one air traffic controller was working two different tower positions at the time of this fateful crash. We're also getting conflicting information, whether that is actually usual, unusual, or what.

Now, the airspace around Reagan National Airport is incredibly complex, and that is an understatement. In fact, it's so complex that there have been some major close calls even recently. Do you know that just one day before yesterday's crash, another flight was forced to abort its first landing due to helicopter traffic? And the runway being used by the plane just last night, runway 33, that is apparently one of the most complicated approaches in the entire country. It's also right by a corridor that's used by helicopters.

Now, here is the control tower directing the jet to runway 33 after it was originally supposed to land on a different runway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Bluestreak 5342 Washington Tower (INAUDIBLE) 320 at 17, gusts 25, can take runway 33?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah, we can do 33 for Bluestreak 5342.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Can confirm runway 33, runway 33 cleared to land.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Four minutes later, the control tower spoke with the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter. The controller told the pilot to pass behind the jet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): PAT 25, do you have the CRJ in sight?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): PAT 25 has aircraft in sight, request visual separation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Now, the helicopter pilot says he saw the plane. But then just 13 seconds later, this happened. The Black Hawk collided with the plane, erupting into a fireball. There was an audible reaction inside of that control tower, and then radio silence for several seconds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh my --

(SILENCE)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).

(SILENCE)

[23:05:00]

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Tower, did you see that?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I can only imagine what is going through their minds during that silent period. And you can hear the tower scrambling to try then to redirect other flights after that crash.

Now, at this point, the fiery wreckage had fallen into icy waters right on the Potomac. And dispatchers, they were rushing to get rescue crews right to the scene to try to help. A ground controller gave the alert that all runways at the airport were then closed, and she told firefighters what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): It was probably out in the middle of the river. I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone. So, I haven't seen anything since they hit the river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: CNN's Danny Freeman is here with me. Danny, just one day before the tragic crash that has brought the nation to a halt, another flight landing at this same airport, apparently, had been forced to go around because of helicopter traffic. What happened?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Laura. You know, the more we learn about some of the near misses that have occurred at this airport behind us, the more staggering and shocking what happened last night really does become.

We learned from CNN's Oren Liebermann and Aaron Cooper that just on Tuesday, a plane had a near miss because of a helicopter, and they had to abort their landing. They were ultimately able to land safely. But we've also learned through our teams at CNN that that's not the only near miss that has happened in recent years. In the past three years, at least two other pilots, Laura, have reported near misses specifically upon landing here at Reagan National Airport, specifically because there were helicopters in the way.

These were passenger planes, Laura, that actually had to make evasive actions due to helicopters. There was also a third incident regarding two military helicopters that almost collided at one point again over the past three years. And these instances are so important, perhaps, to what comes next because there are members of Congress who have been saying for years, and certainly the past 24 hours, that there is just too much traffic with just the planes, let alone with these military helicopters that, as you've been talking about, again, for the past day and a half or so, come in and out very frequently.

COATES: Complex, challenging, difficult. These are all the words you've been hearing people describe what it's like to even land and navigate at this airport, let alone the congestion of the air traffic.

And yet we still know there is a recovery operation underway. Sixty- seven lives impacted, and all of their loved ones wondering if they will have their loved ones remains brought to them. Where do recovery efforts stand today?

FREEMAN: So, at this point, Laura, we know that a little bit earlier this evening, the recovery efforts paused. They stopped for the night for a couple of different reasons. One, obviously because the sun went down, there was no more daylight, also because of the water conditions.

But -- and this is the part that's really hard to process: The first responders who have been out there doing this hard work, they feel that they have already been able to recover the bodies that were able to be recovered without moving debris out of the way or without potentially freeing people from the wreckage.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins, she actually spoke to the president of the D.C. Fire Association who really illustrated what this harrowing task is like. Take a listen.

COATES: Hmm. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE HOAGLAND, PRESIDENT, D.C. FIRE ASSOCIATIONM, IAAF LOCAL 36: This is terrible and it's graphic, right, but they encountered people inside the plane still strapped in their seats and they weren't able to remove them right away. Our divers and the Metropolitan Police Department's divers dived continuously for five hours in these frigid cold temperatures. They were only working in about eight feet of water, so they were able to identify victims with flashlights from the surface as well as retrieve them from underwater.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Hmm.

FREEMAN: Again, just heartbreaking.

COATES: Heartbreaking.

FREEMAN: Heartbreaking. Impossible to imagine being out there trying to go through this process. At this point, we know that more than 40 bodies have been retrieved. But like I said, this process is not done yet. And first responders, they say that they are going to continue until they find every last one of these victims, Laura.

COATES: The harrowing experience of what they're trying to do and to try to get people. Unbelievable. Danny Freeman, thank you so much.

Tonight, we have dashcam video obtained by CNN that shows the stunning moment the American Airlines flight collided with the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter right over the Potomac River. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): -- is it.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): It's blue. It's blue.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh!

UNKNOWN: What happened?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh, my God!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh, my God!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Oh, my God. Joining me now for insight into how this tragedy may have happened, former Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot Elizabeth McCormick.

[23:10:00] I've been really eager to speak with you, Elizabeth, because there are so many questions people have, and they really want to understand how this could possibly have happened given the experience, the expertise, the training, exercise, everything. Help me understand what it's even like to fly a Black Hawk in a very congested airspace with night vision goggles and how much, you think, those conditions may have contributed to what has happened.

ELIZABETH MCCORMICK, FORMER BLACK HAWK PILOT: Yeah, that's -- so I'd say that flying a helicopter is like being in the front car of a roller coaster you control. It is that maneuverable. It allows you to be able to move in, you know, to new positions and move forward, back, quickly, side to side. In night vision goggles, you can't out fly what you can see, so you have to be more careful.

And then -- but look at -- look at this footage right now behind you, all the lights, like night vision goggles are typically where we're flying in treetop levels, in, you know, for preparing for training for combat. All the lights, that ambient light kind of glows out, you can see kind of like a halo, like kind of glows out in the night vision goggles and makes visibility even harder than what it might be.

In fact, you know, I don't know if they were actually wearing the goggles during that last part of the flight because there was so much ambient light. They might have -- might have pulled them up.

COATES: What an important point, because even last night when we were out on the scene and you had first responders trying to navigate the waters, they asked the crew to turn off any light that may go on to the water because it might diminish their ability to utilize their night vision goggles. And it didn't even occur to many people of how that might actually interact, let alone what you've described.

And we have a military official who told reporters, Elizabeth, that one pilot had a thousand flying hours. The co-pilot had --

MCCORMICK: Uh-hmm.

COATES: -- 500 flying hours. Can you give me a sense of what that level of experience might contribute to? Is that considered very experienced enough that that might not have contributed to what happened?

MCCORMICK: Very experienced. So very experienced. You come out of flight school with only about 100 hours. So that is a high level, 10 times 10 for what I understand was an instructor pilot with a thousand hours. So especially when you consider that during certain budgetary where, you know, we've cut back on training hours.

COATES: That strikes me particularly. And so, we don't actually know. Of course, we're still waiting. The investigation well underway. The rescue operation continuing. We don't know what went wrong. But given that experience level, it raises more questions.

But you have drawn attention to three possible contributing factors. You've talked about the insufficient crew for visual flight operations. The Black Hawk was flying too high and air traffic control communication could have been more precise.

So, the first issue in terms of the number of people who were a part of that visual flight crew, did they have enough people? Given the ambient lighting, given the air traffic congestion, would three people have been sufficient, do you think, to be able to have the full line of sight?

MCCORMICK: No, absolutely not. I want you to visualize, like, even if you're in your car and you're driving in your car, you can only see without them -- because we don't have rearview mirrors, right? You can only see basically from about your three o'clock to your nine o'clock. That's all you can see.

In a helicopter, we have two crew chiefs, typically. We have spots for two crew chiefs right behind the pilots. Their seats face outward. They have a window they can slide open. They stick their head out of the window and look. We only had one.

I don't understand why a crew of four under this kind of conditions, a dense airspace, a visual flight, where clearance is the responsibility of the Black Hawk to maintain their visual clearance from other aircraft, I don't understand why we only had three, especially night vision goggles as well. It -- I think and one of the things I call for is for the Department of Defense to start requiring a crew of four as a minimum crew, not a crew of three.

COATES: And contributing to that and adding to that, the night vision goggles, which could further limit the ability to see as much as you need to. But I'm struck by what you said about the responsibility of clearance landing with the Black Hawk crew. We know that they were flying at an altitude that you say raises eyebrows. Why -- why was the Black Hawk flying above its designated altitude? Any idea of how that could have happened?

[23:15:00]

MCCORMICK: The only thing I can think of is that they creeped up because of all the ground clutter with the night vision goggles and the reflections of the lights on the river and they might have lost track of their altitude. That's the only thing I can think of. I'm not sure what else, why else they would have, unless there was something else I'm not aware of.

COATES: Elizabeth McCormick, I know this is underway. So difficult to try to unpack. Thank you for your contribution this evening. We appreciate it.

Tonight, there are growing questions over what caused this mid airplane and military helicopter collision claiming the lives of 67 people. Here to unpack more of what we know at this hour, we have CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien, we have the former NTSB investigator, Alan Diehl, and a retired air traffic controller, Vincent Sugent. Thank you for this trifecta of expertise.

I want to begin with you, Alan, because there are a lot of questions about what has happened. And I have to know what comes to mind for you when you hear that this may not be isolated in terms of a near collision. Another flight just a day before this extraordinary tragedy had to abort its first landing attempt and dodge around a helicopter as it flew near its path. Is this a pattern?

ALAN DIEHL, FORMER NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Truly scary, yeah. Obviously, this -- I've flown into this airspace when I was FAA employee, and it wasn't -- this is years ago -- it wasn't this -- nearly this busy. Obviously, things have gotten much busier and all the restrictions have come in post 9/11. So, this is such a demanding place. It's not surprising that there are previous incidents, but they should have been addressed and remedied.

Clearly, they have -- there's a NASA reporting system where you can report problems called the Aviation Safety Reporting System. I'm sure people are looking at how many incidents have occurred -- incidents have occurred at this airport.

Reagan is a very demanding airport. I know. When the FAA had us flying out of there in fixed wing aircraft, not helicopters, they always demanded that we had two pilots to refer to, back to what Ms. McCormick said about the Black Hawk crew. So, it's a very busy place. You need a lot of eyes looking out. I'm not surprised that there has been a previous incident.

COATES: You know, Miles, it's so unsettling for so many people who have been following this. Nervous, perhaps, already about air flights and travel, but also the idea of the traffic and the complexity and challenging nature for so many people who were trying to navigate in otherwise congested airspace.

And this seems to have been a known issue over at least the past three years. I mean, pilots they have reported near misses with helicopters at this very airport. As Alan said, this airport is incredibly congested here in the nation's capital. How hard is it to land here, given all of these factors?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Laura, this airspace is uniquely complicated, and I would submit, uniquely dangerous. I don't know of any other airport in the United States where there is a helicopter corridor 200 feet below where the final approach glide slope is for an airliner. Those helicopters have to stay 200 feet or lower, and the aircraft above them are only at about 400 feet. That is precious little space and affords very little margin for error.

And so, when you add the complexity of this airspace, the increased amount of traffic, the need to put these helicopters to this narrow corridor along the Potomac River, that particular place, that spot where this accident occurred was an accident crying out to happen. It's amazing it hasn't happened previously, but there you have it. Those two aircraft were on the horizontal place where they should be. There was an X that met there. And they had to be 200 feet apart, and they weren't on this occasion, and that's why we had this tragedy.

COATES: You know, I can't help but wonder if one of the factors for the investigation, Vincent, of course, will be whether what makes it particularly complex for commercial airlines to land makes it perhaps advantageous for military training given what they might confront in conflict times as well.

But let me ask you, Vincent, we are also learning tonight, one, one air traffic control was working two tower positions at the time of the crash.

[23:20:01]

Is that abnormal? Could that have been a contributing factor or is it commonplace for these positions to be combined?

VINCENT SUGENT, FORMER AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Well, it is normal around the national airspace and that is a bone contention between controllers and management, on one to combine and de-combine. His voice didn't give me any concern that he was behind or he was rushing or that he was overloaded. His transmission seemed to be appropriate for the situation. The exchange between him and the pilot seemed appropriate. He just didn't seem overloaded at all. But it is normal to combine positions up, yes.

COATES: I mean, on that point, and I think it's so great that you're talking about the kinds of cues that you would have picked up on, air traffic controllers, it must be an extraordinarily stressful job in the best of times, let alone a congested airport like we have. But the idea of controlling it when you've got these two corridors, one helicopter-based, one airline-based, does that add to the difficulty in being able to differentiate and convey the right information to the pilots from both aircrafts?

SUGENT: Well, sure. Like, I never worked at that complex of an airspace. I worked in Detroit Tower. But we did have aircraft. We did the same thing. You have in sight, past, behind. But it is much more congested there. The lights, he could have misidentified the CRJ. There are a number of things that could have happened. But yes, it is much more complex there. But those guys are trained very well. They're trained to work the positions combined, they're trained to work that type of traffic, and they're very good at it.

And, you know, things happen just like in any other job. The pilot could have misread something, missing something. The controller, you guys talked about that earlier, go-around. You know, the humans are involved in this. And when mistakes are made, you have to send aircraft around to avoid it, regardless who made the mistake. So, given that, the complexity of it is absolutely there. But they're very well trained. We have the best controllers in the world. I'm sure DCAs are up for the task.

COATES: I want to thank everyone. It seems that all the questions we have, the one that's probably most important to those loved ones who have lost their loved ones is can I wake up from this nightmare?

Just hours into this investigation with no clear answers still. And yet President Trump is suggesting he knows who to blame, perhaps the helicopter pilots, Democrats, and yes, even DEI.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, SENIOR STAFF EDITOR FOR NEW YORK TIMES OPINION: That's why I'm trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Because I have common sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan brings her common sense. She's standing by to respond to all of that next. Plus, the questions tonight about just how congested this airspace really is and whether a new law may have made it worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: President Trump is blaming his two favorite boogiemen for the deadliest air disaster in America in two decades, DEI and Democrats. Less than 24 hours after the collision, while rescue workers search the frigid waters for the Potomac survivors' potential, Trump walked into the White House briefing room to point the finger at disabled people and diversity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I do want to point out the various articles that appeared prior to my entering office, and here's one. The FAA's "diversity push" includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing. They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA's program. Then it's A group within the FAA, another story, determined that the workforce was too white, that they had concerted efforts to get the administration to change that and to change it immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And it didn't end there. Trump also blamed President Obama and President Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground. And he's a disaster now. He has just got a good line of bullshit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Buttigieg responding on X, writing -- quote -- "Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying." With me now, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat from Virginia. She's the first Black woman from Virginia elected to Congress. This -- was this the appropriate time or place for President Trump to make these statements?

REP. JENNIFER MCCLELLAN (D-VA): Absolutely not. And first of all, what he should have done is what I want to do right now, and that is to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family members who are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones' remains.

[23:29:57]

A hearty 'thank you' to the first responders who have been working to recover those bodies under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. That is what the American people needed yesterday, is to hear our leader to provide comfort and not to speculate and to bring out his favorite boogeyman, as you said, and to jump to conclusions that Black people or women working at the FAA caused this tragedy.

COATES: In fact, the idea he blasted the FAA, as you heard, for hiring people with disabilities. But a pilot program, congresswoman, that started during his first administration and ensured people with disabilities would have the same hiring standards and hiring practices as anyone else, why would he be blaming them in particular? What are we missing?

MCCLELLAN: Because what he always does is rather than looking at the facts, rather than being responsible and letting the investigation happen, look at what actually caused this accident and then do something to make sure that something like this never happens again, he takes this opportunity to politicize it and to stoke division in this country, which he has been doing since day one of this administration and since he first ran for president nine years ago.

COATES: Let me ask you about the FAA. They say that they need -- if I got my number correct -- about three thousand, three thousand more air traffic controllers. Trump wants federal employees to maybe take a buyout. What impact would that have?

MCCLELLAN: That would have a huge impact on what we already have as a shortage, and you already have workers that are stressed and trying to meet the needs to keep the American people safe. He also ousted the head of the FAA and has created chaos since he has come into office.

What we need right now is to let the NTSB do its job, to find out what cause or causes occurred to lead to this tragedy, and then we need to take an action to make sure that something like this never happens again.

COATES: While we are waiting for all the information to unfold, it's important to note that you were one of the members of Congress who voted against expanding the, you know, ability for more flights to come in and out of this airport. Do you stand by that today?

MCCLELLAN: Absolutely. All of the Democratic members of the Virginia delegation have been speaking out for a long time that this airport is already too congested. You've talked about the complicated traffic patterns here. We all asked our committees not to put new slots in. We all voted against the bill for that very reason.

COATES: You know, this is an administration that's brand new, although it's a familiar one. Some of the cabinet members even hours of having been sworn in, transportation secretary, the defense secretary. Do you have any concerns about the ability of this administration to navigate this tragedy and understand what happened?

MCCLELLAN: If this administration takes the responsible road and says we're going to look at what -- at the facts, we're going to look at what actually caused this tragedy and act to make sure it never happens again. But they've shown from day one, they're not interested in helping people and solving problems. They are interested in stoking chaos and division. They are interested in retribution against their political enemies. But that is not what the American people want. That is not what they expect of their leaders in a moment like this.

COATES: You're, I believe, on the Armed Services Committee as well, congresswoman. We lost three members of the military who were in that Black Hawk helicopter. Do you have any information as to what that investigation will look like or whether their training practices might be impacted?

MCCLELLAN: That is part of what the Army and the NTSB will work together with all of the relevant agencies to determine. They are going to look at the people involved, the equipment involved, and the atmosphere involved to see was it a human error, was it an equipment, was it a confusion because of the congestion here? And so, I trust the Army and the NTSB and all of our federal partners and everyone involved to look at the facts, and then if they see changes that need to be made to bring that to Congress's attention, we will act.

COATES: Is there bipartisan support behind that at this point?

MCCLELLAN: I certainly hope so.

COATES: Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us this evening.

MCCLELLAN: Thank you.

COATES: Up next, remembering the victims of Flight 5432. Among them, a gregarious flight attendant who -- quote -- "died doing what he loved." One of his friends and former colleagues live with me next to share his story.

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[23:35:00]

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COATES: One of the many lost souls on last night's fatal plane crash, American Airlines flight attendant Ian Epstein. He was just 53 years old. His sister, Robbie Bloom, telling CNN -- quote -- "My brother was a wonderful, wonderful man. He loved life. He loved traveling. He loved his job. He loved his family. And he will be sorely missed." She went on to say he made friends everywhere he went. He used to talk about the people he met on the plane as if they were all new friends. Epstein leaves behind two children and two stepchildren.

And now, I want to bring back in Garrick McFadden. He is a former flight attendant himself and a friend of Ian Epstein. Garrick, thank you for joining us. I know Ian was your friend.

[23:40:00]

What was he like? What should people know about him?

GARRICK MCFADDEN, FRIEND OF PLANE CRASH VICTIM IAN EPSTEIN, FORMER FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Ian was just a ball of vibrant, like, colorful energy. I happened to meet him during training. He was a class behind me, and I happened to help his classmates, you know, graduate and prepare for tests, and that's when I encountered like just someone I've never encountered before.

This human being, this man just held together the greatest satisfaction for flying and appreciation for the job, like, he didn't -- he wasn't even a flight attendant yet, and he was so enthusiastic about just becoming a flight attendant. And I had the blessing and the privilege to meet him even, as you can see, flying with him as well.

And even when I flew with him, like, it was early in the morning, 6 a.m., we had to get up really early in the morning and, like, just being able to experience someone that early in the morning that has all this energy and love and vibrance. And I knew him but, like, he gave me a hug because he was like, thank you for getting me here, and I was, like, you got here on yourself, but it still showed me his humanity as a flight attendant. I think we should all, as flight attendants and ex-flight attendants, can appreciate that.

We love our job. We get up every day. A lot of us do it because we just love people, regardless of pay. But Ian definitely was the greatest example, one of the greatest examples of appreciation of loving his job, loving people, and just being on the plane and just holding the job well, like, I mean, doing it well, like, of excellence a lot of times, every time for me when I flew with him.

But he'll be sorely missed. I miss him. We've talked even between times. We've joked. But I love having someone on the flight that, like, matched my same energy as an ex-flight attendant.

COATES: And must have been so wonderful as passengers to know him and to become a quick friend of someone like him with that magnetism. I know there are about 125,000 flight attendants in the United States. But you say it's actually a closer community than people might actually imagine. What are you hearing from members of the flight attendant community this evening?

MCFADDEN: I'm just hearing what we've always talked about, how much we appreciate one another, because at the end of the day, we go through six to eight weeks of training. We don't know each other. So, you go from that to then you bond and then you pass tests and you make sure each one -- you know, one of you study. If they're failing a test, then you help them, and then you get out there in the real world and on the line, as we would call it, and you now have to practice these things and do them well, but also doing with someone that you've already built a bond with.

So, what we're feeling right now is just, for a lot of us and also all flight attendants, is there's this personal separation from someone that we embrace, especially for someone as close as Ian. So, we all have that with someone in the aviation industry. So, it's -- it's hard when it hits close to home because you know someone personally. I may not know every flight attendant, but I know what they do, go through every day because that's what we do. It's the same thing, it's the same plane, it's the same job, but you build a bond like a hyper- bonding happens between training and the career.

And you stay together. You all love one another. I mean, we don't -- we don't just serve snacks. Like we -- that's -- that's the least. But we spend time with one another. We live with -- with one another. So, it's like having Ian and the rest of the crew that I knew about no longer are here with us. It's just like -- there's a ripping apart because it's, like, I had no control of that. So, he'll be sorely missed. I mean, all of them. I mean, it's hard not to be emotional, but it's hard. Yeah.

COATES: I can only imagine how hard it is. And thousands of you got right back on flights today to greet passengers who I'm sure were nervous, and you did it in the way that you guys know how. Garrick McFadden, thank you so much for being here and sharing.

MCFADDEN: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

COATES: The figure skating community also devastated tonight. More than a dozen members, including skaters and coaches, were killed on this flight. Six, six from one skating club with ties to the legendary Nancy Kerrigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY KERRIGAN, FORMER FIGURE SKATER: This thing is -- not sure how to process it. Shoot, I'm sorry. Which is why I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Much more on her emotional tribute next.

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[23:45:00]

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COATES: Among the victims of last night's fatal plane crash, six members of The Skating Club of Boston. That includes two world champion figure skaters and two teenage skaters thought to be among the sport's next generation of stars along with their mothers. U.S. Figure Skating saying this in a statement today, "These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. We are devastated by the unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims' families closely in our hearts."

And earlier today, members of the skating community came together to offer their condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

[23:50:03]

One of those individuals was Olympic figure skater, Nancy Kerrigan. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRIGAN: I feel for the athletes, the skaters, their families, but anyone that was on that plane, not just the skaters, because it's just such a tragic event. We've been through tragedies before as Americans, as people, and we are strong. And I guess it's how we respond to it. And so, my response is to be with people I care about and I love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Now, I want to bring in CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan who's familiar to everyone, from all the Olympics that you have covered as well. The tragedy overwhelming. We know that there are world championship skaters who turned into coaches as well. What do you know about those who lost their lives?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Well, we're talking there about the Russians who won the 1994 World Championship in Paris and were in the Olympics in '94 with Nancy Kerrigan, actually, and came in fourth. And unfortunately, they were on the plane, they lost their lives, the Naumov family, Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. And their son, Maxim, finished fourth, Laura, in the men's competition on Sunday.

So, talk about a high, high, you know, for a young man to be fourth. That's on the medal podium. He kicked -- flew back here to DCA on Monday. His mom and dad, these great Russian coaches in the past, moved to the United States when the (INAUDIBLE) basically fell out of the Soviet Union, came to the U.S. to coach U.S. kids as well as their son, who is an American. They decided to stay for two more days and work with those young developmental skaters. They were on the plane then on Wednesday night, tragically.

COATES: You know, as so many parents who have their children, what a thrill it must have been for these young people to be in the company of these world champions, to be in the company of these development programs, hoping for a chance at greatness in their field that they love. There were two young people, Spencer Lane, Jinna Han. They were thought to be really the future of the sport.

BRENNAN: This is exactly of the many, many parts of this tragedy. This was the future for U.S. figure skating, these young athletes working their way up. It wasn't going to be next year's Olympics. Winter Olympics, of course, are coming in about a year in Italy. Not 2026. We're talking about 2030. Their hopes and dreams, young teenagers, just starting out, and the idea of being that future, that now there is such a hole, there's such a loss, obviously, for their families and, of course, friends. But the sports element of this, just the incredible devastation for this, for the U.S. figure skating organization.

And even for someone like Ilia Malinin, who is the three-time rating national champ. I talked to him today for a column for USA Today and, you know, he's devastated. He told me that normally, he works out four to six hours a day and rest in Virginia. He got back on Monday as well. And he said 30 minutes, and he couldn't even do it anymore. He could not be on the ice. He is that devastated about the loss of these young people who he knew from his rink and from other rinks in the D.C. area.

COATES: Well, we just heard from Nancy Kerrigan, who expressed her emotional devastation, just thinking about what this will be like to have this community heal.

BRENNAN: Well, figure skating went through it before in 1961.

COATES: Yes.

BRENNAN: So, there was a terrible plane crash. The entire U.S. team going to the world championships in Prague in 1961 was the killed, wiped out. And that was in some ways the same here, in some ways different, because those were the best, those were the national champs going to the world.

Out of the ashes, literally, of that came Peggy Fleming seven years later. But that took many, many years. And again, the sports element almost seems trivial when we're talking about the loss of life of children and young people, family members.

But figure skating went through that. And the thing that hits me the most, Laura, about that is that to this day, U.S. Figure Skating Association has a memorial fund that has funded millions of dollars of scholarships for young skaters, including now. So, they still talk about that 1961 plane crash and the incredible giving and generosity and positivity, really, that came out of that horrible moment for U.S. Figure Skating. Let's hope that we may well see something like that again out of the tragedy here last night.

COATES: That's a beautiful thought. Thank you, Cristine.

BRENNAN: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Really important. And tonight, we've learned of another victim of the deadly collision, Professor Kiah Duggins. She was on her way towards starting a new adventure, becoming a professor at Howard University School of Law right here in Washington, D.C. this fall.

[23:55:04] University says she was a civil rights lawyer, and she had dedicated her life to fighting against unconstitutional policing in Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Professor Duggins was a Wichita native. And we remember her and 66 other victims of this tragedy.

Thank you all for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.

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[23:59:56]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening. Tonight, we are coming to you from Ronald Reagan National Airport in Virginia less than 24 hours after a sickening tragedy, the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. in nearly quarter century. A short time ago, we learned that --