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Governor Schwarzenegger Visits Mudslide Devastation; Parachutes for Planes?

Aired January 12, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our top stories.
British authorities are questioning a man who was on a British Airways flight from London to New York. That flight was forced to turn back to London some three hours after it took off at the request of U.S. authorities. A U.S. official says the passenger's name was on an anti-terrorism watch list. Only, it was discovered after the plane took flight. The man reportedly was traveling with a French passport.

Turning federal sentencing guidelines on their head. In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rules the guidelines give judges too much discretion to add time to a criminal's sentence. It says juries, not judges, should consider factors that might weigh against the defendant.

Finally, taking the oath of office in Washington state, Democrat Christine Gregoire is being sworn in this hour as Washington's 22nd governor. The Democrat-controlled state legislator -- legislature, rather -- yesterday certified her victory in November's elections. A hand recount showed she won the election by just 129 votes. Her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi, is challenging the election in court.

Eat less, exercise more, that's the advice in new dietary guidelines issued by the federal government. They recommend at least 30 and up to 90 minutes of exercise a day and urge Americans to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Close encounter with a comet. The NASA spacecraft Deep Impact blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, today. It's on a six-month, 268-million-mile journey to blast a whole in the Comet Tempel 1. Scientists believe that collision could provide answers about the origin of our solar system.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's the kind of trip no governor wants to have to take, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to survey the devastation left behind from Monday's mudslide.

Earlier today, rescuers pulled the bodies of a mother and her three young daughters from beneath the rubble in La Conchita. The father, who had gone out to get ice cream for the family, survived. The known death toll from Monday's mudslide now stands at 10, but authorities say at least 10 more people still missing.

Now to CNN's Sean Callebs with the latest at La Conchita, where glimmers of hope still remain -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, exactly right, but the clock is ticking.

It has been now more than 48 hours since the chunk of the mountain gave way. Behind me, you can see that large scarring area where the mud came sliding down. The governor toured this area within the last hour. First, he went over the area in a helicopter, then was able to get on the ground. He first met with crews at the command center and then made his way to the debris site.

On his way there, the legions of workers who are doing what they can trying to find the perhaps any hint that people could have lived through this stopped working momentarily and watched the governor walk up. When asked what he thought, the governor said it was simply devastating.

But the governor did say he believed that if people wanted to live in these somewhat unstable coastal regions, they had that right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: They are very strong. The people that live here in this community are very strong. That's what I noticed right away. The first thing they said was, you know, we'll be back. We're not going to leave this community, no matter what anyone say. And they may say that you have got to move out of here because this is a dangerous area, but we will be back. We're going to rebuild our homes because we love this area and we want to live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And, of course, there is a certain degree of controversy, because this isn't the first time that rescue crews have been called to deal with a landslide on this mountain. Back in 1995, another area gave way. Back then, it wiped out nine homes. A lot of residents in La Conchita at the time chose to move away, but many others stayed.

There are more than 100 rescue teams and emergency crews up there doing what they can. At times, literally on their hands and knees. They've been using listening devices off and on hoping to pick up even the faintest sound. They say it remains, Miles, a search-and-rescue operation, but remember it is now more than 48 hours since that mountain slid down.

O'BRIEN: And I guess there's some grim calculus going on here. Is there any indication as to how long it becomes too long for anyone to survive?

CALLEBS: That's a very difficult call to make. All we know is Ventura County Fire Department and the other leading investigators and workers out here have said they are going to keep working as long as they believe there is a reason for that glimmer of hope.

They have dogs up there on the scene as well. And you know these are well-trained animals. And if they can pick up any kind of scent, they'll of course stop. And at that moment, the crews will immediately begin digging down and hope to find perhaps someone alive.

O'BRIEN: And, Sean, as, whenever you cover an earthquake, we run into this as well. One of the big problems is not going too quickly, perhaps causing further collapses, which might, in fact, injure someone who has survived.

CALLEBS: Oh, without question, that is the big thing.

That's the reason those dogs stop. They don't begin digging. They don't want to make an unstable area even that much more dangerous. And also, at the top of that mountain, geologists are working around the clock. They're monitoring the soil up there. And if there's any sign that perhaps another chunk of this could give way, all of those rescue teams will be moved out. We heard just a short while ago from the lead investigator here say, if you hear three loud blasts from an air horn, that means it's time to immediately get out of that area.

O'BRIEN: Dangerous work.

All right, Sean Callebs in La Conchita, thank you very much -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, those big Pacific storms caused all kinds of problems, not just the mudslides. Outside Los Angeles, a boulder rolled down on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Workers blasted it once. Then they blasted it again. And when they got the pieces small enough, they actually hauled them away.

In southern Utah, surging waters consumed a number of homes in places where flooding hardly ever occurs. The Utah National Guard had to swing into action to airlift people who found themselves stranded. And in parts of Nevada, rainfall combined with melting snow caused localized flooding there. Las Vegas got it and so did parts of Arizona.

And in Northern California, the snowplows are out. The record- setting snowfall is over for now in the higher elevations. The ski resorts are rejoicing and California farmers are thirsting for the run-off.

Well, tonight's edition of CNN's "NEWSNIGHT" will be devoted entirely to extreme weather. It's an hour of incredible images, accounts and consequences of the awesome power of nature. And it all begins at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

The White House says President Bush is standing by his decision to invade Iraq, even though the search for those weapons of mass destruction proved fruitless. Today, officials said investigators have stopped looking for those banned weapons, the president's main reason for going to war; 1,200 specialists have been scouring labs, factories and other facilities. A report by the chief weapons hunter is expected to conclude there aren't any and there haven't been any since the first Gulf War.

Washington's liberal lion roaring out today. In a speech at the National Press Club, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts exhorted his Democrats to stick to their guns, despite the recent election debacle. Kennedy accused the Bush administration of using scare tactics to pursue its various goals and he said his own party cannot afford to cower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We have an administration that falsely hypes almost every issue as a crisis. They did it on Iraq, and they are doing it now on Social Security. They exploit the politics of fear and division, while ours is a politics of hope and unity. In the face of their tactics, we cannot move our party or our nation forward under the pale colors and timid voices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Senator Kennedy talks a little bit more about those subjects and more right here on CNN. About 25 minutes time or so, he'll chat with Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS." We hope you will stay tuned for that.

WHITFIELD: And President Bush has some news for high school students. Speaking this morning to students in Virginia, Mr. Bush said it's time to expand the nationwide math and reading tests from grade schools into high schools. It's part of a package of proposals meant to widen the president's education initiative, No Child Left Behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Testing is important. Testing at high school levels will help us to become more competitive as the years go by. Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century. Testing will allow teachers to improve their classes. Testing will enable schools to track. Testings will make sure that diploma is not merely a sign of endurance, but the mark of a young person ready to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No Child Left Behind has been in the news lately for other reasons. It is a program the Education Department paid to have promoted by columnist and commentator Armstrong Williams to the tune of $240,000.

O'BRIEN: Some new guidelines for pilots after a rash of incidents in which lasers have been directed at passenger planes. We'll have that ahead on LIVE FROM.

Also, a crash landing in Florida caught on tape, one person able to survive. Could a parachute attached to that aircraft have saved someone's life? We'll talk to a pilot who had that very experience when his airplane's parachute deployed. We'll also talk with the man pioneering all this, whether this idea will take off, so to speak. Plus, this is one of the many harrowing scenes played out in Southern California this week. We'll hear from the rescuers who saved a mother and her baby twice from the swift waters of a rain-swollen river.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In security news today, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta pointed the finger at pranksters, not terrorists, for the recent rash of laser cockpit incidents; 31 episodes have been reported since January 1. As of next Wednesday, all pilots are required to report laser sightings immediately to air traffic controllers, who will advise all pilots in the area and call in law enforcement officials to track down offenders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: So let me be very, very clear. Shining these lasers at an airplane is not a harmless prank. It is stupid and it is dangerous. These people are putting others at risk. And law enforcement authorities are going to seek these folks out. And if they are caught, they are going to be prosecuted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

You're about to see something pretty remarkable, a deadly private plane crash caught from above on video. The Cessna 172, trying to make an emergency landing on a golf course, crashed into, right there, that utility pole on a road outside of Orlando, Florida. The pilot died of his injuries, but a passenger is reported in fair condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw a flash of light, I thought it was somebody that got struck by lightning or a car wreck, because it was just -- all of a sudden, it was just bam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Witnesses say the power pole may have kept the pilot from overshooting the fairway and crashing into a parking lot.

O'BRIEN: If the owner of that Cessna had been inclined and willing to part with about $15,000 he could have installed a parachute for the entire aircraft. The story might have had a little happier ending.

Parachutes for planes, an idea whose time may have come. The idea was pioneered by a Minnesota company called Cirrus Design, which builds single-engine four-seaters with a parachute for the whole airplane included standard. We're joined now by the founder and CEO of the company, Alan Klapmeier, in Duluth, Minnesota, and, in Dallas, Lionel Morrison. Two years ago, he made history by not becoming history, pulling the lever and launching the chute on his crippled Cirrus. It was, in fact, a happy ending.

Lionel, let's begin with your story. You took off out of an airport near Fort Worth, Texas. You lost an aileron. That's an important control surface. You realized you were in a lot of trouble.

LIONEL MORRISON, PILOT: That's right. And I had -- when the aileron came off after some maintenance had been done in the airplane, the -- I was over a very congested area, unable to -- or it would have been very unwise to deploy the chute at that point.

So, I managed to get the airplane under control enough to take it out to a less populated area, got the airplane configured in the way that it needs to be before you deploy the chute. Got over a little forested area, deployed the chute, and came to ground as designed. And I'm here telling you about it, so it all worked out.

O'BRIEN: What was the sight of that chute like at that moment? That must have been quite a sight.

MORRISON: Well, at first, it's really not a sight. It's a sound. And when the rocket goes off -- it's a rocket-propelled system -- it's a wonderful sound, because you know at least the first phase of the process has worked.

And, for me, it was especially gratifying, since no one had done it before. You know, the thought went through my head, gee, I hope this works. And so when the rocket went off, it was a great feeling.

O'BRIEN: Are you convinced that, if you hadn't had that safety equipment on that day, that you would have been seriously injured or perhaps killed?

MORRISON: Oh, there's no question about it. Landing an airplane without -- with only one aileron is something that no one ever practices. It's impossible to simulate that situation.

So, bringing the airplane safely to ground would have been, oh, gosh, probably less than 50 percent chance of that happening.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn it over to Alan now.

And, Alan, we should probably show tape of the first time this was tested. This was a test flight back in 1998 involving one of your test aircraft. That's actually not the picture there right now, but we'll show you in just a minute how what happens when the chute is actually deployed.

ALAN KLAPMEIER, CEO, CIRRUS DESIGN CORPORATION: OK. Yes, I can't see the picture.

O'BRIEN: But you've seen this picture a 1,000 times before. There it is.

KLAPMEIER: I sure have.

O'BRIEN: The chute -- rocket sends the parachute out and down comes the plane cradled by the four straps there.

Alan, I suppose one question that's on viewers minds is, well, is this scalable? Could you do this for a 757 in theory?

KLAPMEIER: Well, in theory, you could, but it isn't something that would be practical. The purpose of the airplane is for light aircraft. We have a different level of skill with the pilot, different level of safety of the airplane, and certainly different kind of energy. It's a much lighter-weight airplane. So it becomes a very practical safety device for a small airplane, but not necessarily one that you could economically use on a larger airplane.

O'BRIEN: And aside from...

KLAPMEIER: We really need to remember that 757s, airlines in general, are an incredibly safe way to travel.

O'BRIEN: Many more layers of redundancy, obviously more engines. And this is a single-engine aircraft and so forth.

KLAPMEIER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: This has happened -- in addition to Lionel's case, there have been three other instances. Eight people in all have ridden that parachute down and survived to tell the tale. That's got to be kind of gratifying for you, who had this idea many years ago. How did you get the idea?

KLAPMEIER: Well, the idea on our part came about in at least in significant part because I had a midair collision in 1984, and the pilot of the other airplane died. That's something that's very rare, midair collisions. And, in fact, the types of accidents where this would be used is very rare.

But, of course, when it happens, you've only got one choice, and that's the parachute. So, starting in 1994, as we looked at designing a new generation of aircraft, we looked at the safety side of it. How can we make airplanes safer? And from experience, we could say, boy, a parachute was something we sure would wish we'd have. Fortunately, working with a company by the name of BRS, we were able to make it happen.

O'BRIEN: Aviation has been slow to embrace this. Why?

KLAPMEIER: Well, I think there's a number of reasons why it's been slow to embrace it. From an engineering side, it does add weight to the airplane. So, you have got a performance vs. safety tradeoff.

And, of course, as pilots, we're all sure that nothing is ever going to happen to us. We're a very confident group, people that have learned to fly. One of the good things about learning to fly is increasing your confidence. It's also been slow to embrace it just because, in general, light aircraft have had a slow development schedule. It's only been in the last five or 10 years that the pace of aircraft development has picked up again.

So, I do think you will begin seeing it in other aircraft besides Cirrus' in the future.

O'BRIEN: All right, Lionel, final thought here. I know you now fly another Cirrus. And, as you get in every time, do you fly with a little different -- a little sense of trepidation about it or do you feel good about it even more so knowing that chute worked for you?

MORRISON: No. Actually, I fly with a lot more confidence now than before, because, before, it was always, well, it's been tested and it works in theory and it's worked in the testing situations, but it hadn't been tested in real life. And now, of course, I've done it and others have done it successfully. So, no, it makes you more confident, not less.

All right. Lionel Morrison, Alan Klapmeier...

KLAPMEIER: Yes, and Miles, if I can add...

O'BRIEN: Quickly.

KLAPMEIER: I can also say that, having had other experiences in the past where you -- where I would have used one, it is a fantastic feeling knowing it's there.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you both.

And a little bit of full disclosure here. I'm a part owner of one of these airplanes. I should let our viewers know that. And so certainly my would wife, Sandy (ph), agrees with the notion.

Alan Klapmeier, Lionel Morrison, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MORRISON: Thank you.

KLAPMEIER: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Well, Miles, talk about saving graces and unbelievable pictures, coming up next, a mother and her eight-week-old baby pulled from the rushing waters of a swollen California river, not once but twice. The rescuers recount their efforts to save them when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, amid all the terrible news and heartbreaking stories for so many days and from so many places, we love to be able to report happy endings.

O'BRIEN: Especially because things very nearly did not end happily for little William Henderson. CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on a rescued rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's about as scary as a rescue gets. A mother, clutching her 2-month-old son, both are swept down a river, raging with water, tree, boulders, and mud.

RICH ATWOOD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It was as shocking as anything I could ever imagine. I did not think we were going to go swimming that day. I really did not.

MARQUEZ: Rich Atwood, a Los Angeles urban search and rescue firefighter, was in the raft with the mother and son. He says he was responsible for their safety.

When that raft flipped what did he feel?

ATWOOD: For that short period of time, the terror in my heart, you know, my heart just being torn apart, thinking, you know, I have two small kids at home.

You know, how would you feel? How would you feel? Just brutal.

We had over half the boat flooded. And in a matter of seconds, less than that, we're in the water, swimming. You go under water. I pop up. My first thing is, where's the mother? Where's the child?

MARQUEZ: The firefighter was immediately separated from the mother and son. Atwood had to now concentrate on saving himself, while Collins made the split second decision to run along the river, tracking the mother and son, until he had an opportunity to act.

CAPT. LARRY COLLINS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I was seeing this as do or die, get them now, especially get the baby now, before another wave comes -- wave or flood surge comes in and washes her off that sand bar.

MARQUEZ: Captain Larry Collins was in charge of the entire operation. He finally got to the mother and the boy after they washed up on a sand bar.

COLLINS: This baby was crying pretty vigorously: weakly, but vigorously. He was very cold and shivering. He was, you know, clearly hypothermic. He was kind of a gray pallor.

MARQUEZ: The baby can be heard crying as he's carried to a waiting ambulance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... were in the water.

MARQUEZ: The baby's cries are music to firefighter's ears. The team that specializes in rescues almost saw one go very badly.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, San Dimas, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It doesn't matter how many times you look at that video. It's just so hard to piece together all these events that took place.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I still am a little unclear on all the sequence of events. But it is -- as a parent, just imagine -- you will soon...

WHITFIELD: Be a parent.

O'BRIEN: Imagine what it would be like to have a child in that situation.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, my gosh.

O'BRIEN: That would be a tough one.

WHITFIELD: Eight weeks old.

O'BRIEN: All right.

WHITFIELD: Glad it all turned out OK.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. We like those. We like those.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That wraps up this Wednesday edition of LIVE FROM.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our top stories.

British authorities are questioning a man who was on a British Airways flight from London to New York. That flight was forced to turn back to London some three hours after it took off at the request of U.S. authorities. A U.S. official says the passenger's name was on an anti-terrorism watch list. Only, it was discovered after the plane took flight. The man reportedly was traveling with a French passport.

Turning federal sentencing guidelines on their head. In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rules the guidelines give judges too much discretion to add time to a criminal's sentence. It says juries, not judges, should consider factors that might weigh against the defendant.

Finally, taking the oath of office in Washington state, Democrat Christine Gregoire is being sworn in this hour as Washington's 22nd governor. The Democrat-controlled state legislator -- legislature, rather -- yesterday certified her victory in November's elections. A hand recount showed she won the election by just 129 votes. Her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi, is challenging the election in court.

Eat less, exercise more, that's the advice in new dietary guidelines issued by the federal government. They recommend at least 30 and up to 90 minutes of exercise a day and urge Americans to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Close encounter with a comet. The NASA spacecraft Deep Impact blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, today. It's on a six-month, 268-million-mile journey to blast a whole in the Comet Tempel 1. Scientists believe that collision could provide answers about the origin of our solar system.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's the kind of trip no governor wants to have to take, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to survey the devastation left behind from Monday's mudslide.

Earlier today, rescuers pulled the bodies of a mother and her three young daughters from beneath the rubble in La Conchita. The father, who had gone out to get ice cream for the family, survived. The known death toll from Monday's mudslide now stands at 10, but authorities say at least 10 more people still missing.

Now to CNN's Sean Callebs with the latest at La Conchita, where glimmers of hope still remain -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, exactly right, but the clock is ticking.

It has been now more than 48 hours since the chunk of the mountain gave way. Behind me, you can see that large scarring area where the mud came sliding down. The governor toured this area within the last hour. First, he went over the area in a helicopter, then was able to get on the ground. He first met with crews at the command center and then made his way to the debris site. On his way there, the legions of workers who are doing what they can trying to find the perhaps any hint that people could have lived through this stopped working momentarily and watched the governor walk up. When asked what he thought, the governor said it was simply devastating.

But the governor did say he believed that if people wanted to live in these somewhat unstable coastal regions, they had that right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: They are very strong. The people that live here in this community are very strong. That's what I noticed right away. The first thing they said was, you know, we'll be back. We're not going to leave this community, no matter what anyone say. And they may say that you have got to move out of here because this is a dangerous area, but we will be back. We're going to rebuild our homes because we love this area and we want to live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And, of course, there is a certain degree of controversy, because this isn't the first time that rescue crews have been called to deal with a landslide on this mountain. Back in 1995, another area gave way. Back then, it wiped out nine homes. A lot of residents in La Conchita at the time chose to move away, but many others stayed.

There are more than 100 rescue teams and emergency crews up there doing what they can. At times, literally on their hands and knees. They've been using listening devices off and on hoping to pick up even the faintest sound. They say it remains, Miles, a search-and-rescue operation, but remember it is now more than 48 hours since that mountain slid down.

O'BRIEN: And I guess there's some grim calculus going on here. Is there any indication as to how long it becomes too long for anyone to survive?

CALLEBS: That's a very difficult call to make. All we know is Ventura County Fire Department and the other leading investigators and workers out here have said they are going to keep working as long as they believe there is a reason for that glimmer of hope.

They have dogs up there on the scene as well. And you know these are well-trained animals. And if they can pick up any kind of scent, they'll of course stop. And at that moment, the crews will immediately begin digging down and hope to find perhaps someone alive.

O'BRIEN: And, Sean, as, whenever you cover an earthquake, we run into this as well. One of the big problems is not going too quickly, perhaps causing further collapses, which might, in fact, injure someone who has survived.

CALLEBS: Oh, without question, that is the big thing. That's the reason those dogs stop. They don't begin digging. They don't want to make an unstable area even that much more dangerous. And also, at the top of that mountain, geologists are working around the clock. They're monitoring the soil up there. And if there's any sign that perhaps another chunk of this could give way, all of those rescue teams will be moved out. We heard just a short while ago from the lead investigator here say, if you hear three loud blasts from an air horn, that means it's time to immediately get out of that area.

O'BRIEN: Dangerous work.

All right, Sean Callebs in La Conchita, thank you very much -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, those big Pacific storms caused all kinds of problems, not just the mudslides. Outside Los Angeles, a boulder rolled down on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Workers blasted it once. Then they blasted it again. And when they got the pieces small enough, they actually hauled them away.

In southern Utah, surging waters consumed a number of homes in places where flooding hardly ever occurs. The Utah National Guard had to swing into action to airlift people who found themselves stranded. And in parts of Nevada, rainfall combined with melting snow caused localized flooding there. Las Vegas got it and so did parts of Arizona.

And in Northern California, the snowplows are out. The record- setting snowfall is over for now in the higher elevations. The ski resorts are rejoicing and California farmers are thirsting for the run-off.

Well, tonight's edition of CNN's "NEWSNIGHT" will be devoted entirely to extreme weather. It's an hour of incredible images, accounts and consequences of the awesome power of nature. And it all begins at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

The White House says President Bush is standing by his decision to invade Iraq, even though the search for those weapons of mass destruction proved fruitless. Today, officials said investigators have stopped looking for those banned weapons, the president's main reason for going to war; 1,200 specialists have been scouring labs, factories and other facilities. A report by the chief weapons hunter is expected to conclude there aren't any and there haven't been any since the first Gulf War.

Washington's liberal lion roaring out today. In a speech at the National Press Club, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts exhorted his Democrats to stick to their guns, despite the recent election debacle. Kennedy accused the Bush administration of using scare tactics to pursue its various goals and he said his own party cannot afford to cower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We have an administration that falsely hypes almost every issue as a crisis. They did it on Iraq, and they are doing it now on Social Security. They exploit the politics of fear and division, while ours is a politics of hope and unity. In the face of their tactics, we cannot move our party or our nation forward under the pale colors and timid voices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Senator Kennedy talks a little bit more about those subjects and more right here on CNN. About 25 minutes time or so, he'll chat with Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS." We hope you will stay tuned for that.

WHITFIELD: And President Bush has some news for high school students. Speaking this morning to students in Virginia, Mr. Bush said it's time to expand the nationwide math and reading tests from grade schools into high schools. It's part of a package of proposals meant to widen the president's education initiative, No Child Left Behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Testing is important. Testing at high school levels will help us to become more competitive as the years go by. Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century. Testing will allow teachers to improve their classes. Testing will enable schools to track. Testings will make sure that diploma is not merely a sign of endurance, but the mark of a young person ready to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No Child Left Behind has been in the news lately for other reasons. It is a program the Education Department paid to have promoted by columnist and commentator Armstrong Williams to the tune of $240,000.

O'BRIEN: Some new guidelines for pilots after a rash of incidents in which lasers have been directed at passenger planes. We'll have that ahead on LIVE FROM.

Also, a crash landing in Florida caught on tape, one person able to survive. Could a parachute attached to that aircraft have saved someone's life? We'll talk to a pilot who had that very experience when his airplane's parachute deployed. We'll also talk with the man pioneering all this, whether this idea will take off, so to speak.

Plus, this is one of the many harrowing scenes played out in Southern California this week. We'll hear from the rescuers who saved a mother and her baby twice from the swift waters of a rain-swollen river.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: In security news today, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta pointed the finger at pranksters, not terrorists, for the recent rash of laser cockpit incidents; 31 episodes have been reported since January 1. As of next Wednesday, all pilots are required to report laser sightings immediately to air traffic controllers, who will advise all pilots in the area and call in law enforcement officials to track down offenders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: So let me be very, very clear. Shining these lasers at an airplane is not a harmless prank. It is stupid and it is dangerous. These people are putting others at risk. And law enforcement authorities are going to seek these folks out. And if they are caught, they are going to be prosecuted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

You're about to see something pretty remarkable, a deadly private plane crash caught from above on video. The Cessna 172, trying to make an emergency landing on a golf course, crashed into, right there, that utility pole on a road outside of Orlando, Florida. The pilot died of his injuries, but a passenger is reported in fair condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw a flash of light, I thought it was somebody that got struck by lightning or a car wreck, because it was just -- all of a sudden, it was just bam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Witnesses say the power pole may have kept the pilot from overshooting the fairway and crashing into a parking lot.

O'BRIEN: If the owner of that Cessna had been inclined and willing to part with about $15,000 he could have installed a parachute for the entire aircraft. The story might have had a little happier ending.

Parachutes for planes, an idea whose time may have come. The idea was pioneered by a Minnesota company called Cirrus Design, which builds single-engine four-seaters with a parachute for the whole airplane included standard.

We're joined now by the founder and CEO of the company, Alan Klapmeier, in Duluth, Minnesota, and, in Dallas, Lionel Morrison. Two years ago, he made history by not becoming history, pulling the lever and launching the chute on his crippled Cirrus. It was, in fact, a happy ending.

Lionel, let's begin with your story. You took off out of an airport near Fort Worth, Texas. You lost an aileron. That's an important control surface. You realized you were in a lot of trouble.

LIONEL MORRISON, PILOT: That's right. And I had -- when the aileron came off after some maintenance had been done in the airplane, the -- I was over a very congested area, unable to -- or it would have been very unwise to deploy the chute at that point.

So, I managed to get the airplane under control enough to take it out to a less populated area, got the airplane configured in the way that it needs to be before you deploy the chute. Got over a little forested area, deployed the chute, and came to ground as designed. And I'm here telling you about it, so it all worked out.

O'BRIEN: What was the sight of that chute like at that moment? That must have been quite a sight.

MORRISON: Well, at first, it's really not a sight. It's a sound. And when the rocket goes off -- it's a rocket-propelled system -- it's a wonderful sound, because you know at least the first phase of the process has worked.

And, for me, it was especially gratifying, since no one had done it before. You know, the thought went through my head, gee, I hope this works. And so when the rocket went off, it was a great feeling.

O'BRIEN: Are you convinced that, if you hadn't had that safety equipment on that day, that you would have been seriously injured or perhaps killed?

MORRISON: Oh, there's no question about it. Landing an airplane without -- with only one aileron is something that no one ever practices. It's impossible to simulate that situation.

So, bringing the airplane safely to ground would have been, oh, gosh, probably less than 50 percent chance of that happening.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn it over to Alan now.

And, Alan, we should probably show tape of the first time this was tested. This was a test flight back in 1998 involving one of your test aircraft. That's actually not the picture there right now, but we'll show you in just a minute how what happens when the chute is actually deployed.

ALAN KLAPMEIER, CEO, CIRRUS DESIGN CORPORATION: OK. Yes, I can't see the picture.

O'BRIEN: But you've seen this picture a 1,000 times before. There it is.

KLAPMEIER: I sure have.

O'BRIEN: The chute -- rocket sends the parachute out and down comes the plane cradled by the four straps there.

Alan, I suppose one question that's on viewers minds is, well, is this scalable? Could you do this for a 757 in theory? KLAPMEIER: Well, in theory, you could, but it isn't something that would be practical. The purpose of the airplane is for light aircraft. We have a different level of skill with the pilot, different level of safety of the airplane, and certainly different kind of energy. It's a much lighter-weight airplane. So it becomes a very practical safety device for a small airplane, but not necessarily one that you could economically use on a larger airplane.

O'BRIEN: And aside from...

KLAPMEIER: We really need to remember that 757s, airlines in general, are an incredibly safe way to travel.

O'BRIEN: Many more layers of redundancy, obviously more engines. And this is a single-engine aircraft and so forth.

KLAPMEIER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: This has happened -- in addition to Lionel's case, there have been three other instances. Eight people in all have ridden that parachute down and survived to tell the tale. That's got to be kind of gratifying for you, who had this idea many years ago. How did you get the idea?

KLAPMEIER: Well, the idea on our part came about in at least in significant part because I had a midair collision in 1984, and the pilot of the other airplane died. That's something that's very rare, midair collisions. And, in fact, the types of accidents where this would be used is very rare.

But, of course, when it happens, you've only got one choice, and that's the parachute. So, starting in 1994, as we looked at designing a new generation of aircraft, we looked at the safety side of it. How can we make airplanes safer? And from experience, we could say, boy, a parachute was something we sure would wish we'd have. Fortunately, working with a company by the name of BRS, we were able to make it happen.

O'BRIEN: Aviation has been slow to embrace this. Why?

KLAPMEIER: Well, I think there's a number of reasons why it's been slow to embrace it. From an engineering side, it does add weight to the airplane. So, you have got a performance vs. safety tradeoff.

And, of course, as pilots, we're all sure that nothing is ever going to happen to us. We're a very confident group, people that have learned to fly. One of the good things about learning to fly is increasing your confidence. It's also been slow to embrace it just because, in general, light aircraft have had a slow development schedule. It's only been in the last five or 10 years that the pace of aircraft development has picked up again.

So, I do think you will begin seeing it in other aircraft besides Cirrus' in the future.

O'BRIEN: All right, Lionel, final thought here. I know you now fly another Cirrus. And, as you get in every time, do you fly with a little different -- a little sense of trepidation about it or do you feel good about it even more so knowing that chute worked for you?

MORRISON: No. Actually, I fly with a lot more confidence now than before, because, before, it was always, well, it's been tested and it works in theory and it's worked in the testing situations, but it hadn't been tested in real life. And now, of course, I've done it and others have done it successfully. So, no, it makes you more confident, not less.

All right. Lionel Morrison, Alan Klapmeier...

KLAPMEIER: Yes, and Miles, if I can add...

O'BRIEN: Quickly.

KLAPMEIER: I can also say that, having had other experiences in the past where you -- where I would have used one, it is a fantastic feeling knowing it's there.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you both.

And a little bit of full disclosure here. I'm a part owner of one of these airplanes. I should let our viewers know that. And so certainly my would wife, Sandy (ph), agrees with the notion.

Alan Klapmeier, Lionel Morrison, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MORRISON: Thank you.

KLAPMEIER: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Well, Miles, talk about saving graces and unbelievable pictures, coming up next, a mother and her eight-week-old baby pulled from the rushing waters of a swollen California river, not once but twice. The rescuers recount their efforts to save them when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, amid all the terrible news and heartbreaking stories for so many days and from so many places, we love to be able to report happy endings.

O'BRIEN: Especially because things very nearly did not end happily for little William Henderson.

CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on a rescued rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's about as scary as a rescue gets. A mother, clutching her 2-month-old son, both are swept down a river, raging with water, tree, boulders, and mud. RICH ATWOOD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It was as shocking as anything I could ever imagine. I did not think we were going to go swimming that day. I really did not.

MARQUEZ: Rich Atwood, a Los Angeles urban search and rescue firefighter, was in the raft with the mother and son. He says he was responsible for their safety.

When that raft flipped what did he feel?

ATWOOD: For that short period of time, the terror in my heart, you know, my heart just being torn apart, thinking, you know, I have two small kids at home.

You know, how would you feel? How would you feel? Just brutal.

We had over half the boat flooded. And in a matter of seconds, less than that, we're in the water, swimming. You go under water. I pop up. My first thing is, where's the mother? Where's the child?

MARQUEZ: The firefighter was immediately separated from the mother and son. Atwood had to now concentrate on saving himself, while Collins made the split second decision to run along the river, tracking the mother and son, until he had an opportunity to act.

CAPT. LARRY COLLINS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I was seeing this as do or die, get them now, especially get the baby now, before another wave comes -- wave or flood surge comes in and washes her off that sand bar.

MARQUEZ: Captain Larry Collins was in charge of the entire operation. He finally got to the mother and the boy after they washed up on a sand bar.

COLLINS: This baby was crying pretty vigorously: weakly, but vigorously. He was very cold and shivering. He was, you know, clearly hypothermic. He was kind of a gray pallor.

MARQUEZ: The baby can be heard crying as he's carried to a waiting ambulance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... were in the water.

MARQUEZ: The baby's cries are music to firefighter's ears. The team that specializes in rescues almost saw one go very badly.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, San Dimas, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It doesn't matter how many times you look at that video. It's just so hard to piece together all these events that took place.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I still am a little unclear on all the sequence of events. But it is -- as a parent, just imagine -- you will soon... WHITFIELD: Be a parent.

O'BRIEN: Imagine what it would be like to have a child in that situation.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, my gosh.

O'BRIEN: That would be a tough one.

WHITFIELD: Eight weeks old.

O'BRIEN: All right.

WHITFIELD: Glad it all turned out OK.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. We like those. We like those.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That wraps up this Wednesday edition of LIVE FROM.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired January 12, 2005 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our top stories.
British authorities are questioning a man who was on a British Airways flight from London to New York. That flight was forced to turn back to London some three hours after it took off at the request of U.S. authorities. A U.S. official says the passenger's name was on an anti-terrorism watch list. Only, it was discovered after the plane took flight. The man reportedly was traveling with a French passport.

Turning federal sentencing guidelines on their head. In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rules the guidelines give judges too much discretion to add time to a criminal's sentence. It says juries, not judges, should consider factors that might weigh against the defendant.

Finally, taking the oath of office in Washington state, Democrat Christine Gregoire is being sworn in this hour as Washington's 22nd governor. The Democrat-controlled state legislator -- legislature, rather -- yesterday certified her victory in November's elections. A hand recount showed she won the election by just 129 votes. Her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi, is challenging the election in court.

Eat less, exercise more, that's the advice in new dietary guidelines issued by the federal government. They recommend at least 30 and up to 90 minutes of exercise a day and urge Americans to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Close encounter with a comet. The NASA spacecraft Deep Impact blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, today. It's on a six-month, 268-million-mile journey to blast a whole in the Comet Tempel 1. Scientists believe that collision could provide answers about the origin of our solar system.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's the kind of trip no governor wants to have to take, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to survey the devastation left behind from Monday's mudslide.

Earlier today, rescuers pulled the bodies of a mother and her three young daughters from beneath the rubble in La Conchita. The father, who had gone out to get ice cream for the family, survived. The known death toll from Monday's mudslide now stands at 10, but authorities say at least 10 more people still missing.

Now to CNN's Sean Callebs with the latest at La Conchita, where glimmers of hope still remain -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, exactly right, but the clock is ticking.

It has been now more than 48 hours since the chunk of the mountain gave way. Behind me, you can see that large scarring area where the mud came sliding down. The governor toured this area within the last hour. First, he went over the area in a helicopter, then was able to get on the ground. He first met with crews at the command center and then made his way to the debris site.

On his way there, the legions of workers who are doing what they can trying to find the perhaps any hint that people could have lived through this stopped working momentarily and watched the governor walk up. When asked what he thought, the governor said it was simply devastating.

But the governor did say he believed that if people wanted to live in these somewhat unstable coastal regions, they had that right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: They are very strong. The people that live here in this community are very strong. That's what I noticed right away. The first thing they said was, you know, we'll be back. We're not going to leave this community, no matter what anyone say. And they may say that you have got to move out of here because this is a dangerous area, but we will be back. We're going to rebuild our homes because we love this area and we want to live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And, of course, there is a certain degree of controversy, because this isn't the first time that rescue crews have been called to deal with a landslide on this mountain. Back in 1995, another area gave way. Back then, it wiped out nine homes. A lot of residents in La Conchita at the time chose to move away, but many others stayed.

There are more than 100 rescue teams and emergency crews up there doing what they can. At times, literally on their hands and knees. They've been using listening devices off and on hoping to pick up even the faintest sound. They say it remains, Miles, a search-and-rescue operation, but remember it is now more than 48 hours since that mountain slid down.

O'BRIEN: And I guess there's some grim calculus going on here. Is there any indication as to how long it becomes too long for anyone to survive?

CALLEBS: That's a very difficult call to make. All we know is Ventura County Fire Department and the other leading investigators and workers out here have said they are going to keep working as long as they believe there is a reason for that glimmer of hope.

They have dogs up there on the scene as well. And you know these are well-trained animals. And if they can pick up any kind of scent, they'll of course stop. And at that moment, the crews will immediately begin digging down and hope to find perhaps someone alive.

O'BRIEN: And, Sean, as, whenever you cover an earthquake, we run into this as well. One of the big problems is not going too quickly, perhaps causing further collapses, which might, in fact, injure someone who has survived.

CALLEBS: Oh, without question, that is the big thing.

That's the reason those dogs stop. They don't begin digging. They don't want to make an unstable area even that much more dangerous. And also, at the top of that mountain, geologists are working around the clock. They're monitoring the soil up there. And if there's any sign that perhaps another chunk of this could give way, all of those rescue teams will be moved out. We heard just a short while ago from the lead investigator here say, if you hear three loud blasts from an air horn, that means it's time to immediately get out of that area.

O'BRIEN: Dangerous work.

All right, Sean Callebs in La Conchita, thank you very much -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, those big Pacific storms caused all kinds of problems, not just the mudslides. Outside Los Angeles, a boulder rolled down on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Workers blasted it once. Then they blasted it again. And when they got the pieces small enough, they actually hauled them away.

In southern Utah, surging waters consumed a number of homes in places where flooding hardly ever occurs. The Utah National Guard had to swing into action to airlift people who found themselves stranded. And in parts of Nevada, rainfall combined with melting snow caused localized flooding there. Las Vegas got it and so did parts of Arizona.

And in Northern California, the snowplows are out. The record- setting snowfall is over for now in the higher elevations. The ski resorts are rejoicing and California farmers are thirsting for the run-off.

Well, tonight's edition of CNN's "NEWSNIGHT" will be devoted entirely to extreme weather. It's an hour of incredible images, accounts and consequences of the awesome power of nature. And it all begins at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

The White House says President Bush is standing by his decision to invade Iraq, even though the search for those weapons of mass destruction proved fruitless. Today, officials said investigators have stopped looking for those banned weapons, the president's main reason for going to war; 1,200 specialists have been scouring labs, factories and other facilities. A report by the chief weapons hunter is expected to conclude there aren't any and there haven't been any since the first Gulf War.

Washington's liberal lion roaring out today. In a speech at the National Press Club, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts exhorted his Democrats to stick to their guns, despite the recent election debacle. Kennedy accused the Bush administration of using scare tactics to pursue its various goals and he said his own party cannot afford to cower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We have an administration that falsely hypes almost every issue as a crisis. They did it on Iraq, and they are doing it now on Social Security. They exploit the politics of fear and division, while ours is a politics of hope and unity. In the face of their tactics, we cannot move our party or our nation forward under the pale colors and timid voices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Senator Kennedy talks a little bit more about those subjects and more right here on CNN. About 25 minutes time or so, he'll chat with Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS." We hope you will stay tuned for that.

WHITFIELD: And President Bush has some news for high school students. Speaking this morning to students in Virginia, Mr. Bush said it's time to expand the nationwide math and reading tests from grade schools into high schools. It's part of a package of proposals meant to widen the president's education initiative, No Child Left Behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Testing is important. Testing at high school levels will help us to become more competitive as the years go by. Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century. Testing will allow teachers to improve their classes. Testing will enable schools to track. Testings will make sure that diploma is not merely a sign of endurance, but the mark of a young person ready to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No Child Left Behind has been in the news lately for other reasons. It is a program the Education Department paid to have promoted by columnist and commentator Armstrong Williams to the tune of $240,000.

O'BRIEN: Some new guidelines for pilots after a rash of incidents in which lasers have been directed at passenger planes. We'll have that ahead on LIVE FROM.

Also, a crash landing in Florida caught on tape, one person able to survive. Could a parachute attached to that aircraft have saved someone's life? We'll talk to a pilot who had that very experience when his airplane's parachute deployed. We'll also talk with the man pioneering all this, whether this idea will take off, so to speak. Plus, this is one of the many harrowing scenes played out in Southern California this week. We'll hear from the rescuers who saved a mother and her baby twice from the swift waters of a rain-swollen river.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In security news today, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta pointed the finger at pranksters, not terrorists, for the recent rash of laser cockpit incidents; 31 episodes have been reported since January 1. As of next Wednesday, all pilots are required to report laser sightings immediately to air traffic controllers, who will advise all pilots in the area and call in law enforcement officials to track down offenders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: So let me be very, very clear. Shining these lasers at an airplane is not a harmless prank. It is stupid and it is dangerous. These people are putting others at risk. And law enforcement authorities are going to seek these folks out. And if they are caught, they are going to be prosecuted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

You're about to see something pretty remarkable, a deadly private plane crash caught from above on video. The Cessna 172, trying to make an emergency landing on a golf course, crashed into, right there, that utility pole on a road outside of Orlando, Florida. The pilot died of his injuries, but a passenger is reported in fair condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw a flash of light, I thought it was somebody that got struck by lightning or a car wreck, because it was just -- all of a sudden, it was just bam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Witnesses say the power pole may have kept the pilot from overshooting the fairway and crashing into a parking lot.

O'BRIEN: If the owner of that Cessna had been inclined and willing to part with about $15,000 he could have installed a parachute for the entire aircraft. The story might have had a little happier ending.

Parachutes for planes, an idea whose time may have come. The idea was pioneered by a Minnesota company called Cirrus Design, which builds single-engine four-seaters with a parachute for the whole airplane included standard. We're joined now by the founder and CEO of the company, Alan Klapmeier, in Duluth, Minnesota, and, in Dallas, Lionel Morrison. Two years ago, he made history by not becoming history, pulling the lever and launching the chute on his crippled Cirrus. It was, in fact, a happy ending.

Lionel, let's begin with your story. You took off out of an airport near Fort Worth, Texas. You lost an aileron. That's an important control surface. You realized you were in a lot of trouble.

LIONEL MORRISON, PILOT: That's right. And I had -- when the aileron came off after some maintenance had been done in the airplane, the -- I was over a very congested area, unable to -- or it would have been very unwise to deploy the chute at that point.

So, I managed to get the airplane under control enough to take it out to a less populated area, got the airplane configured in the way that it needs to be before you deploy the chute. Got over a little forested area, deployed the chute, and came to ground as designed. And I'm here telling you about it, so it all worked out.

O'BRIEN: What was the sight of that chute like at that moment? That must have been quite a sight.

MORRISON: Well, at first, it's really not a sight. It's a sound. And when the rocket goes off -- it's a rocket-propelled system -- it's a wonderful sound, because you know at least the first phase of the process has worked.

And, for me, it was especially gratifying, since no one had done it before. You know, the thought went through my head, gee, I hope this works. And so when the rocket went off, it was a great feeling.

O'BRIEN: Are you convinced that, if you hadn't had that safety equipment on that day, that you would have been seriously injured or perhaps killed?

MORRISON: Oh, there's no question about it. Landing an airplane without -- with only one aileron is something that no one ever practices. It's impossible to simulate that situation.

So, bringing the airplane safely to ground would have been, oh, gosh, probably less than 50 percent chance of that happening.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn it over to Alan now.

And, Alan, we should probably show tape of the first time this was tested. This was a test flight back in 1998 involving one of your test aircraft. That's actually not the picture there right now, but we'll show you in just a minute how what happens when the chute is actually deployed.

ALAN KLAPMEIER, CEO, CIRRUS DESIGN CORPORATION: OK. Yes, I can't see the picture.

O'BRIEN: But you've seen this picture a 1,000 times before. There it is.

KLAPMEIER: I sure have.

O'BRIEN: The chute -- rocket sends the parachute out and down comes the plane cradled by the four straps there.

Alan, I suppose one question that's on viewers minds is, well, is this scalable? Could you do this for a 757 in theory?

KLAPMEIER: Well, in theory, you could, but it isn't something that would be practical. The purpose of the airplane is for light aircraft. We have a different level of skill with the pilot, different level of safety of the airplane, and certainly different kind of energy. It's a much lighter-weight airplane. So it becomes a very practical safety device for a small airplane, but not necessarily one that you could economically use on a larger airplane.

O'BRIEN: And aside from...

KLAPMEIER: We really need to remember that 757s, airlines in general, are an incredibly safe way to travel.

O'BRIEN: Many more layers of redundancy, obviously more engines. And this is a single-engine aircraft and so forth.

KLAPMEIER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: This has happened -- in addition to Lionel's case, there have been three other instances. Eight people in all have ridden that parachute down and survived to tell the tale. That's got to be kind of gratifying for you, who had this idea many years ago. How did you get the idea?

KLAPMEIER: Well, the idea on our part came about in at least in significant part because I had a midair collision in 1984, and the pilot of the other airplane died. That's something that's very rare, midair collisions. And, in fact, the types of accidents where this would be used is very rare.

But, of course, when it happens, you've only got one choice, and that's the parachute. So, starting in 1994, as we looked at designing a new generation of aircraft, we looked at the safety side of it. How can we make airplanes safer? And from experience, we could say, boy, a parachute was something we sure would wish we'd have. Fortunately, working with a company by the name of BRS, we were able to make it happen.

O'BRIEN: Aviation has been slow to embrace this. Why?

KLAPMEIER: Well, I think there's a number of reasons why it's been slow to embrace it. From an engineering side, it does add weight to the airplane. So, you have got a performance vs. safety tradeoff.

And, of course, as pilots, we're all sure that nothing is ever going to happen to us. We're a very confident group, people that have learned to fly. One of the good things about learning to fly is increasing your confidence. It's also been slow to embrace it just because, in general, light aircraft have had a slow development schedule. It's only been in the last five or 10 years that the pace of aircraft development has picked up again.

So, I do think you will begin seeing it in other aircraft besides Cirrus' in the future.

O'BRIEN: All right, Lionel, final thought here. I know you now fly another Cirrus. And, as you get in every time, do you fly with a little different -- a little sense of trepidation about it or do you feel good about it even more so knowing that chute worked for you?

MORRISON: No. Actually, I fly with a lot more confidence now than before, because, before, it was always, well, it's been tested and it works in theory and it's worked in the testing situations, but it hadn't been tested in real life. And now, of course, I've done it and others have done it successfully. So, no, it makes you more confident, not less.

All right. Lionel Morrison, Alan Klapmeier...

KLAPMEIER: Yes, and Miles, if I can add...

O'BRIEN: Quickly.

KLAPMEIER: I can also say that, having had other experiences in the past where you -- where I would have used one, it is a fantastic feeling knowing it's there.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you both.

And a little bit of full disclosure here. I'm a part owner of one of these airplanes. I should let our viewers know that. And so certainly my would wife, Sandy (ph), agrees with the notion.

Alan Klapmeier, Lionel Morrison, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MORRISON: Thank you.

KLAPMEIER: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Well, Miles, talk about saving graces and unbelievable pictures, coming up next, a mother and her eight-week-old baby pulled from the rushing waters of a swollen California river, not once but twice. The rescuers recount their efforts to save them when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, amid all the terrible news and heartbreaking stories for so many days and from so many places, we love to be able to report happy endings.

O'BRIEN: Especially because things very nearly did not end happily for little William Henderson. CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on a rescued rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's about as scary as a rescue gets. A mother, clutching her 2-month-old son, both are swept down a river, raging with water, tree, boulders, and mud.

RICH ATWOOD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It was as shocking as anything I could ever imagine. I did not think we were going to go swimming that day. I really did not.

MARQUEZ: Rich Atwood, a Los Angeles urban search and rescue firefighter, was in the raft with the mother and son. He says he was responsible for their safety.

When that raft flipped what did he feel?

ATWOOD: For that short period of time, the terror in my heart, you know, my heart just being torn apart, thinking, you know, I have two small kids at home.

You know, how would you feel? How would you feel? Just brutal.

We had over half the boat flooded. And in a matter of seconds, less than that, we're in the water, swimming. You go under water. I pop up. My first thing is, where's the mother? Where's the child?

MARQUEZ: The firefighter was immediately separated from the mother and son. Atwood had to now concentrate on saving himself, while Collins made the split second decision to run along the river, tracking the mother and son, until he had an opportunity to act.

CAPT. LARRY COLLINS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I was seeing this as do or die, get them now, especially get the baby now, before another wave comes -- wave or flood surge comes in and washes her off that sand bar.

MARQUEZ: Captain Larry Collins was in charge of the entire operation. He finally got to the mother and the boy after they washed up on a sand bar.

COLLINS: This baby was crying pretty vigorously: weakly, but vigorously. He was very cold and shivering. He was, you know, clearly hypothermic. He was kind of a gray pallor.

MARQUEZ: The baby can be heard crying as he's carried to a waiting ambulance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... were in the water.

MARQUEZ: The baby's cries are music to firefighter's ears. The team that specializes in rescues almost saw one go very badly.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, San Dimas, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It doesn't matter how many times you look at that video. It's just so hard to piece together all these events that took place.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I still am a little unclear on all the sequence of events. But it is -- as a parent, just imagine -- you will soon...

WHITFIELD: Be a parent.

O'BRIEN: Imagine what it would be like to have a child in that situation.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, my gosh.

O'BRIEN: That would be a tough one.

WHITFIELD: Eight weeks old.

O'BRIEN: All right.

WHITFIELD: Glad it all turned out OK.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. We like those. We like those.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That wraps up this Wednesday edition of LIVE FROM.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look now at our top stories.

British authorities are questioning a man who was on a British Airways flight from London to New York. That flight was forced to turn back to London some three hours after it took off at the request of U.S. authorities. A U.S. official says the passenger's name was on an anti-terrorism watch list. Only, it was discovered after the plane took flight. The man reportedly was traveling with a French passport.

Turning federal sentencing guidelines on their head. In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rules the guidelines give judges too much discretion to add time to a criminal's sentence. It says juries, not judges, should consider factors that might weigh against the defendant.

Finally, taking the oath of office in Washington state, Democrat Christine Gregoire is being sworn in this hour as Washington's 22nd governor. The Democrat-controlled state legislator -- legislature, rather -- yesterday certified her victory in November's elections. A hand recount showed she won the election by just 129 votes. Her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi, is challenging the election in court.

Eat less, exercise more, that's the advice in new dietary guidelines issued by the federal government. They recommend at least 30 and up to 90 minutes of exercise a day and urge Americans to eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Close encounter with a comet. The NASA spacecraft Deep Impact blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, today. It's on a six-month, 268-million-mile journey to blast a whole in the Comet Tempel 1. Scientists believe that collision could provide answers about the origin of our solar system.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's the kind of trip no governor wants to have to take, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to survey the devastation left behind from Monday's mudslide.

Earlier today, rescuers pulled the bodies of a mother and her three young daughters from beneath the rubble in La Conchita. The father, who had gone out to get ice cream for the family, survived. The known death toll from Monday's mudslide now stands at 10, but authorities say at least 10 more people still missing.

Now to CNN's Sean Callebs with the latest at La Conchita, where glimmers of hope still remain -- Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, exactly right, but the clock is ticking.

It has been now more than 48 hours since the chunk of the mountain gave way. Behind me, you can see that large scarring area where the mud came sliding down. The governor toured this area within the last hour. First, he went over the area in a helicopter, then was able to get on the ground. He first met with crews at the command center and then made his way to the debris site. On his way there, the legions of workers who are doing what they can trying to find the perhaps any hint that people could have lived through this stopped working momentarily and watched the governor walk up. When asked what he thought, the governor said it was simply devastating.

But the governor did say he believed that if people wanted to live in these somewhat unstable coastal regions, they had that right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: They are very strong. The people that live here in this community are very strong. That's what I noticed right away. The first thing they said was, you know, we'll be back. We're not going to leave this community, no matter what anyone say. And they may say that you have got to move out of here because this is a dangerous area, but we will be back. We're going to rebuild our homes because we love this area and we want to live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And, of course, there is a certain degree of controversy, because this isn't the first time that rescue crews have been called to deal with a landslide on this mountain. Back in 1995, another area gave way. Back then, it wiped out nine homes. A lot of residents in La Conchita at the time chose to move away, but many others stayed.

There are more than 100 rescue teams and emergency crews up there doing what they can. At times, literally on their hands and knees. They've been using listening devices off and on hoping to pick up even the faintest sound. They say it remains, Miles, a search-and-rescue operation, but remember it is now more than 48 hours since that mountain slid down.

O'BRIEN: And I guess there's some grim calculus going on here. Is there any indication as to how long it becomes too long for anyone to survive?

CALLEBS: That's a very difficult call to make. All we know is Ventura County Fire Department and the other leading investigators and workers out here have said they are going to keep working as long as they believe there is a reason for that glimmer of hope.

They have dogs up there on the scene as well. And you know these are well-trained animals. And if they can pick up any kind of scent, they'll of course stop. And at that moment, the crews will immediately begin digging down and hope to find perhaps someone alive.

O'BRIEN: And, Sean, as, whenever you cover an earthquake, we run into this as well. One of the big problems is not going too quickly, perhaps causing further collapses, which might, in fact, injure someone who has survived.

CALLEBS: Oh, without question, that is the big thing. That's the reason those dogs stop. They don't begin digging. They don't want to make an unstable area even that much more dangerous. And also, at the top of that mountain, geologists are working around the clock. They're monitoring the soil up there. And if there's any sign that perhaps another chunk of this could give way, all of those rescue teams will be moved out. We heard just a short while ago from the lead investigator here say, if you hear three loud blasts from an air horn, that means it's time to immediately get out of that area.

O'BRIEN: Dangerous work.

All right, Sean Callebs in La Conchita, thank you very much -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, those big Pacific storms caused all kinds of problems, not just the mudslides. Outside Los Angeles, a boulder rolled down on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Workers blasted it once. Then they blasted it again. And when they got the pieces small enough, they actually hauled them away.

In southern Utah, surging waters consumed a number of homes in places where flooding hardly ever occurs. The Utah National Guard had to swing into action to airlift people who found themselves stranded. And in parts of Nevada, rainfall combined with melting snow caused localized flooding there. Las Vegas got it and so did parts of Arizona.

And in Northern California, the snowplows are out. The record- setting snowfall is over for now in the higher elevations. The ski resorts are rejoicing and California farmers are thirsting for the run-off.

Well, tonight's edition of CNN's "NEWSNIGHT" will be devoted entirely to extreme weather. It's an hour of incredible images, accounts and consequences of the awesome power of nature. And it all begins at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

The White House says President Bush is standing by his decision to invade Iraq, even though the search for those weapons of mass destruction proved fruitless. Today, officials said investigators have stopped looking for those banned weapons, the president's main reason for going to war; 1,200 specialists have been scouring labs, factories and other facilities. A report by the chief weapons hunter is expected to conclude there aren't any and there haven't been any since the first Gulf War.

Washington's liberal lion roaring out today. In a speech at the National Press Club, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts exhorted his Democrats to stick to their guns, despite the recent election debacle. Kennedy accused the Bush administration of using scare tactics to pursue its various goals and he said his own party cannot afford to cower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We have an administration that falsely hypes almost every issue as a crisis. They did it on Iraq, and they are doing it now on Social Security. They exploit the politics of fear and division, while ours is a politics of hope and unity. In the face of their tactics, we cannot move our party or our nation forward under the pale colors and timid voices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Senator Kennedy talks a little bit more about those subjects and more right here on CNN. About 25 minutes time or so, he'll chat with Judy Woodruff on "INSIDE POLITICS." We hope you will stay tuned for that.

WHITFIELD: And President Bush has some news for high school students. Speaking this morning to students in Virginia, Mr. Bush said it's time to expand the nationwide math and reading tests from grade schools into high schools. It's part of a package of proposals meant to widen the president's education initiative, No Child Left Behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Testing is important. Testing at high school levels will help us to become more competitive as the years go by. Testing in high schools will make sure that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century. Testing will allow teachers to improve their classes. Testing will enable schools to track. Testings will make sure that diploma is not merely a sign of endurance, but the mark of a young person ready to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No Child Left Behind has been in the news lately for other reasons. It is a program the Education Department paid to have promoted by columnist and commentator Armstrong Williams to the tune of $240,000.

O'BRIEN: Some new guidelines for pilots after a rash of incidents in which lasers have been directed at passenger planes. We'll have that ahead on LIVE FROM.

Also, a crash landing in Florida caught on tape, one person able to survive. Could a parachute attached to that aircraft have saved someone's life? We'll talk to a pilot who had that very experience when his airplane's parachute deployed. We'll also talk with the man pioneering all this, whether this idea will take off, so to speak.

Plus, this is one of the many harrowing scenes played out in Southern California this week. We'll hear from the rescuers who saved a mother and her baby twice from the swift waters of a rain-swollen river.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: In security news today, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta pointed the finger at pranksters, not terrorists, for the recent rash of laser cockpit incidents; 31 episodes have been reported since January 1. As of next Wednesday, all pilots are required to report laser sightings immediately to air traffic controllers, who will advise all pilots in the area and call in law enforcement officials to track down offenders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: So let me be very, very clear. Shining these lasers at an airplane is not a harmless prank. It is stupid and it is dangerous. These people are putting others at risk. And law enforcement authorities are going to seek these folks out. And if they are caught, they are going to be prosecuted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

You're about to see something pretty remarkable, a deadly private plane crash caught from above on video. The Cessna 172, trying to make an emergency landing on a golf course, crashed into, right there, that utility pole on a road outside of Orlando, Florida. The pilot died of his injuries, but a passenger is reported in fair condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw a flash of light, I thought it was somebody that got struck by lightning or a car wreck, because it was just -- all of a sudden, it was just bam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Witnesses say the power pole may have kept the pilot from overshooting the fairway and crashing into a parking lot.

O'BRIEN: If the owner of that Cessna had been inclined and willing to part with about $15,000 he could have installed a parachute for the entire aircraft. The story might have had a little happier ending.

Parachutes for planes, an idea whose time may have come. The idea was pioneered by a Minnesota company called Cirrus Design, which builds single-engine four-seaters with a parachute for the whole airplane included standard.

We're joined now by the founder and CEO of the company, Alan Klapmeier, in Duluth, Minnesota, and, in Dallas, Lionel Morrison. Two years ago, he made history by not becoming history, pulling the lever and launching the chute on his crippled Cirrus. It was, in fact, a happy ending.

Lionel, let's begin with your story. You took off out of an airport near Fort Worth, Texas. You lost an aileron. That's an important control surface. You realized you were in a lot of trouble.

LIONEL MORRISON, PILOT: That's right. And I had -- when the aileron came off after some maintenance had been done in the airplane, the -- I was over a very congested area, unable to -- or it would have been very unwise to deploy the chute at that point.

So, I managed to get the airplane under control enough to take it out to a less populated area, got the airplane configured in the way that it needs to be before you deploy the chute. Got over a little forested area, deployed the chute, and came to ground as designed. And I'm here telling you about it, so it all worked out.

O'BRIEN: What was the sight of that chute like at that moment? That must have been quite a sight.

MORRISON: Well, at first, it's really not a sight. It's a sound. And when the rocket goes off -- it's a rocket-propelled system -- it's a wonderful sound, because you know at least the first phase of the process has worked.

And, for me, it was especially gratifying, since no one had done it before. You know, the thought went through my head, gee, I hope this works. And so when the rocket went off, it was a great feeling.

O'BRIEN: Are you convinced that, if you hadn't had that safety equipment on that day, that you would have been seriously injured or perhaps killed?

MORRISON: Oh, there's no question about it. Landing an airplane without -- with only one aileron is something that no one ever practices. It's impossible to simulate that situation.

So, bringing the airplane safely to ground would have been, oh, gosh, probably less than 50 percent chance of that happening.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn it over to Alan now.

And, Alan, we should probably show tape of the first time this was tested. This was a test flight back in 1998 involving one of your test aircraft. That's actually not the picture there right now, but we'll show you in just a minute how what happens when the chute is actually deployed.

ALAN KLAPMEIER, CEO, CIRRUS DESIGN CORPORATION: OK. Yes, I can't see the picture.

O'BRIEN: But you've seen this picture a 1,000 times before. There it is.

KLAPMEIER: I sure have.

O'BRIEN: The chute -- rocket sends the parachute out and down comes the plane cradled by the four straps there.

Alan, I suppose one question that's on viewers minds is, well, is this scalable? Could you do this for a 757 in theory? KLAPMEIER: Well, in theory, you could, but it isn't something that would be practical. The purpose of the airplane is for light aircraft. We have a different level of skill with the pilot, different level of safety of the airplane, and certainly different kind of energy. It's a much lighter-weight airplane. So it becomes a very practical safety device for a small airplane, but not necessarily one that you could economically use on a larger airplane.

O'BRIEN: And aside from...

KLAPMEIER: We really need to remember that 757s, airlines in general, are an incredibly safe way to travel.

O'BRIEN: Many more layers of redundancy, obviously more engines. And this is a single-engine aircraft and so forth.

KLAPMEIER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: This has happened -- in addition to Lionel's case, there have been three other instances. Eight people in all have ridden that parachute down and survived to tell the tale. That's got to be kind of gratifying for you, who had this idea many years ago. How did you get the idea?

KLAPMEIER: Well, the idea on our part came about in at least in significant part because I had a midair collision in 1984, and the pilot of the other airplane died. That's something that's very rare, midair collisions. And, in fact, the types of accidents where this would be used is very rare.

But, of course, when it happens, you've only got one choice, and that's the parachute. So, starting in 1994, as we looked at designing a new generation of aircraft, we looked at the safety side of it. How can we make airplanes safer? And from experience, we could say, boy, a parachute was something we sure would wish we'd have. Fortunately, working with a company by the name of BRS, we were able to make it happen.

O'BRIEN: Aviation has been slow to embrace this. Why?

KLAPMEIER: Well, I think there's a number of reasons why it's been slow to embrace it. From an engineering side, it does add weight to the airplane. So, you have got a performance vs. safety tradeoff.

And, of course, as pilots, we're all sure that nothing is ever going to happen to us. We're a very confident group, people that have learned to fly. One of the good things about learning to fly is increasing your confidence. It's also been slow to embrace it just because, in general, light aircraft have had a slow development schedule. It's only been in the last five or 10 years that the pace of aircraft development has picked up again.

So, I do think you will begin seeing it in other aircraft besides Cirrus' in the future.

O'BRIEN: All right, Lionel, final thought here. I know you now fly another Cirrus. And, as you get in every time, do you fly with a little different -- a little sense of trepidation about it or do you feel good about it even more so knowing that chute worked for you?

MORRISON: No. Actually, I fly with a lot more confidence now than before, because, before, it was always, well, it's been tested and it works in theory and it's worked in the testing situations, but it hadn't been tested in real life. And now, of course, I've done it and others have done it successfully. So, no, it makes you more confident, not less.

All right. Lionel Morrison, Alan Klapmeier...

KLAPMEIER: Yes, and Miles, if I can add...

O'BRIEN: Quickly.

KLAPMEIER: I can also say that, having had other experiences in the past where you -- where I would have used one, it is a fantastic feeling knowing it's there.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you both.

And a little bit of full disclosure here. I'm a part owner of one of these airplanes. I should let our viewers know that. And so certainly my would wife, Sandy (ph), agrees with the notion.

Alan Klapmeier, Lionel Morrison, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MORRISON: Thank you.

KLAPMEIER: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Well, Miles, talk about saving graces and unbelievable pictures, coming up next, a mother and her eight-week-old baby pulled from the rushing waters of a swollen California river, not once but twice. The rescuers recount their efforts to save them when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, amid all the terrible news and heartbreaking stories for so many days and from so many places, we love to be able to report happy endings.

O'BRIEN: Especially because things very nearly did not end happily for little William Henderson.

CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on a rescued rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's about as scary as a rescue gets. A mother, clutching her 2-month-old son, both are swept down a river, raging with water, tree, boulders, and mud. RICH ATWOOD, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It was as shocking as anything I could ever imagine. I did not think we were going to go swimming that day. I really did not.

MARQUEZ: Rich Atwood, a Los Angeles urban search and rescue firefighter, was in the raft with the mother and son. He says he was responsible for their safety.

When that raft flipped what did he feel?

ATWOOD: For that short period of time, the terror in my heart, you know, my heart just being torn apart, thinking, you know, I have two small kids at home.

You know, how would you feel? How would you feel? Just brutal.

We had over half the boat flooded. And in a matter of seconds, less than that, we're in the water, swimming. You go under water. I pop up. My first thing is, where's the mother? Where's the child?

MARQUEZ: The firefighter was immediately separated from the mother and son. Atwood had to now concentrate on saving himself, while Collins made the split second decision to run along the river, tracking the mother and son, until he had an opportunity to act.

CAPT. LARRY COLLINS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I was seeing this as do or die, get them now, especially get the baby now, before another wave comes -- wave or flood surge comes in and washes her off that sand bar.

MARQUEZ: Captain Larry Collins was in charge of the entire operation. He finally got to the mother and the boy after they washed up on a sand bar.

COLLINS: This baby was crying pretty vigorously: weakly, but vigorously. He was very cold and shivering. He was, you know, clearly hypothermic. He was kind of a gray pallor.

MARQUEZ: The baby can be heard crying as he's carried to a waiting ambulance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... were in the water.

MARQUEZ: The baby's cries are music to firefighter's ears. The team that specializes in rescues almost saw one go very badly.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, San Dimas, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It doesn't matter how many times you look at that video. It's just so hard to piece together all these events that took place.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I still am a little unclear on all the sequence of events. But it is -- as a parent, just imagine -- you will soon... WHITFIELD: Be a parent.

O'BRIEN: Imagine what it would be like to have a child in that situation.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, my gosh.

O'BRIEN: That would be a tough one.

WHITFIELD: Eight weeks old.

O'BRIEN: All right.

WHITFIELD: Glad it all turned out OK.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. We like those. We like those.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That wraps up this Wednesday edition of LIVE FROM.

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