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CNN Live Today
Port Authority News Conference on New Jersey Plane Crash
Aired February 02, 2005 - 11:30 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get the latest now from New Jersey.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
RICHARD CODEY, ACTING GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: ... to save lives here in this town and this county.
The accident occurred at roughly about 7:23 this morning. At this point Route 46, as you know, is closed in both directions. We do not know when that will be reopened. At this point, we know there were eight passengers in the plane, and three crew members. There was one serious injury to those people, and that was one of the pilots, who have a broken leg, and most of the others are able to walk away from the crash.
However, there were two vehicles on Route 46 that were struck. One passenger from each vehicle at this point are in the hospital. They do have extremely serious head trauma injuries.
At this point, all fires have been put out. New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management and the Burton County Office of Emergency Management are on hand. The New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Aviation has also been on hand to assist.
As you know, there have now been detours put in place for Green Street (ph), for eastbound drivers, and Haller (ph) Street for westbound drives. Traffic on Route 46 this morning did not, believe it or not, did not experience major traffic problems as the detours did prove effective. The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction of the National Transportation Safety Board, and they will be arriving roughly about noon today.
The accident was a failed takeoff. And I want to make it clear, the plane never took off. On Teterboro runway No. 6, which is roughly 6,000 feet long, the aircraft, as I said was on the ground and rolled off the runway and across Route 46 and into the warehouse building.
The flight, as we know , was destined for Midway Airport in Chicago. So I just want to repeat that there was 11 on the plane. There was two injured, and two vehicles -- one each, serious injuries. And there was someone at the warehouse who was injured and is being treated, and they are all being treated right now.
Mr. Chairman, from the Port Authority to say a few words.
ANTHONY CORSICA, PORT AUTHORITY CHAIRMAN: Thank you. I would also like to echo's the government's sentiment of thanking all those who responded so quickly this morning and obviously a very difficult event, and people responded quickly and brought emergency services from various agencies to coordinate them.
As the governor mentioned, the primary investigation is being conducted by the NTSB. We've been told that a team has left Nashville, is en route to this facility, expected to be here sometime between noon and 1:00. They'll have additional information, obviously, as they begin to continue the investigation.
As we go through this process, a number of agencies have been brought into coordinate, primarily in addition to the NTSB, the FAA, and I would like to introduce our executive director Ken Ringler, who is going to bring you up to speed on the various agencies that will be involved from this point forward in the investigation.
KENNETH RINGLER, PORT AUTHORITY EXEC. DIR: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, governor, for being here this morning.
Following the incident this morning, the Port Authority ceased operations at Teterboro Airport. The fire is currently under control, and the rescue operations are complete. But the scene is being preserved at the moment for the investigative team to arrive from the NTSB. As the chairman and the governor indicated there's a go-team. Wheels up I think were 11:00 from Washington, and they will be here. A board member from the NTSB will also be here in a future press briefing. That board member, I understand, will be available to you.
As the chairman noted, the Port Authority will assist as needed in the effort to get quick answers as to what transpired this morning. Teterboro Airport has a close relationship with the communities. And again, I want to add my thanks to the emergency services who responded today. It was a wonderful team effort and to watch it for the first time in this position was very moving to me to see how everybody coordinated their efforts and a wonderful response.
As you might guess, it's very early for us to speculate. And until the NTSB does do their investigation, many questions will be unanswered today. I do have a team of the Port Authority staff with me today: Bill Dakota, who is the Port Authority director of aviations, Susan Bear (ph), the manager of New Jersey airports, Lanny Rider, (ph), the manager of Teterboro Airport, and chief Chris Tosalo (ph) of the Port Authority Police Department.
With that, we entertain any questions that you might have -- Sir?
QUESTION: Can you please clarify of the 11 people onboard the plane, how many were injured? In this whole incident how many were injured? and how many...
RINGLER: My understanding at this point in time is approximately 15 total people that went to hospitals. There were two people in vehicles that we believe were seriously injured. On the aircraft, the most serious injury as I understand it at this time was a broken leg on the part of the pilot. I also understand that two firefighters went to the hospital for minor treatment. QUESTION: On the 11 on the plane, how many receive injuries that were bad enough to go to the hospital.
RINGLER: I think everyone went to a hospital is my understanding, but whether or not they needed medical care, I do not have an answer to it.
QUESTION: Mr. Ringler, there was -- this morning, I saw several people I assume they were Port Authority personnel, who were actually walking the runway. Do you know, a, if they found any sort of debris or any possible evidence to be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board? And, secondly, has there been any preliminary indication given to any of your aviation personnel as to why this plane did not lift off the runway?
RINGLER: No, at this time we have no information regarding any of that, and it would be purely speculative, and we want to wait until the NTSB gets here.
QUESTION: So no debris found.
RINGLER: I'm not aware of any, and I wouldn't probably tell you if I was.
QUESTION: Any indication like black ice?
RINGLER: Again, we're not aware of anything at this time.
QUESTION: The company that...
CORSICA: DHH Aviation, and they're located out of Dallas.
RINGLER: DDH aviation is the owner of the aircraft, and it was leased to Aircraft Kelso (ph).
DDH Aviation of Lubfield (ph), in Dallas.
QUESTION: Who are the people on board? What business purpose were they...
CORSICA: The flight was leaving Teterboro, bound for Midway airport in Chicago. We have no information on the identity of the passengers or the crew.
QUESTION: The Port Authority special operations, they saved their lives if that plane didn't explode. Can you explain the crash impact site there?
CORSICA: We don't have enough information for me to speculate on the conditions at the moment of the crash.
There were, obviously, black boxes on the plane. There's a great deal of information that people are going to be assembling in the coming hours, and it would be inappropriate, at this point, to speculate. We have so little sketchy information.
QUESTION: Was any other plane taking off?
RINGLER: Not that we're aware of, no.
QUESTION: Sir, did the plane go through a deicing process this morning, considering the cold temperatures?
RINGLER: I don't have that information, but I can get it for you. I don't...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have that.
QUESTION: It either was or it wasn't.
RINGLER: I just don't know.
QUESTION: The plane was actually...
BILL DAKOTA, DIR. OF AVIATION, PORT AUTHORITY: There are five fixed-base operators at the airport who handle all the general aviation aircraft. They would be responsible for deicing operations. This plane departed, we understand, from Atlantic Aviation. If it was deiced, they would have done it, so we don't have directly the information as to whether it was or not.
QUESTION: And you're name is?
DAKOTA: Bill, Dakota, director of aviation for the Port Authority.
QUESTION: Governor, a question for you. There's been a lot of controversy about Teterboro Airport. Several legislators have criticized the airport and the number of operations, the potential size of planes that could have flown in here...
CODEY: Yes, there was a controversy back about a year and a half ago, where the Bush administration wanted to bring in larger planes into this airport. All the state senators here opposed it, the Congressman Rothman as well, the county executives and all the (INAUDIBLE) vigorously opposed it, and I know the Port Authority said. Listen, if you do that, we don't want your grant, we're not going to allow it. They were successful in that fight. Obviously it was the right fight.
QUESTION: There has been criticism of the number of operations, especially as the whole corporate jet economy has taken off in the last five or 10 years. Do you feel have you any concern about the number of operations that come out of this airport?
CODEY: I would let the port authority respond to that?
CORSICA: I would say that clearly operating an airport, even a general aviation facility such as this one in an area that is as populated as this one adheres a great deal of attention. We adhere to some of the very highest safety standards available, in fact, the highest. The facility was inspected and approved by the FAA. It was recently under inspection process in July, an inspection process that a facility of this kind isn't even required to go through, but we voluntarily went through.
Having said that, the truth is that safety at air facilities such as this is a continuing issue. It's something that we're very attentive to at the Port Authority. And the governor has been very adamant about requiring us to operate this facility at the very highest standards. That's not to say that incidents won't occur. They will occur, unfortunately, as they did this morning.
There's no question that the safety of this facility receives the very highest priority and both the governor and local elected officials have been very adamant about requiring that every incident is investigated thoroughly and improvements when possible are made. And We have tried to be as diligent as possible in doing all of that.
KAGAN: And the investigation goes on. That is the latest information on the plane crash we've been following since just about 7:30 this morning. A C-11 600 challenger plane carrying 11 people, eight passengers, three crew members. Trying to take off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Never made it off the ground. Instead, if you follow that map, skidded across Highway 46 and into a warehouse.
Now, miraculously everyone survived. You had one serious injury, the pilot with a broken leg. Unfortunately, there were two different vehicles that the plane ran into as it crossed Highway 46. There were two passengers severely hurt from each of those, and there's also one person who was in that warehouse who was hurt when the plane came crashing through the wall. Everyone else was able to walk away.
The NTSB on its way to investigate the plane crash taking place earlier today at Teterboro Airport. We'll have more on that as the day goes on.
Also, the nominee for homeland defense secretary, Michael Chertoff, before Congress today. We will hear from him and hear from Jean Meserve on the latest on the confirmation process. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Big story we're going to be following for you here at CNN throughout the course of the day. Two key nominees of President Bush's second term undergoing scrutiny this hour, the full Senate. Debating the nomination of Alberto Gonzales, Mr. Bush's choice for attorney general.
Several Democrats are expected to vote against Gonzales, but not enough to block his confirmation. There simply aren't enough. In fact, Republicans senators say there won't be a vote today because Democrats don't want to give the president the success to boast about in tonight's State of the Union speech. Again, that's what Republicans say.
Now, a hearing did get underway last hour on the nomination of Michael Chertoff to be the new homeland security secretary. The key issue is his role of rounding up detainees following the September 11th terrorist attack. And here, too, there are memos.
Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is joining us now from Washington with more on the hearing for Mr. Chertoff. Jeanne, over to you.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rick. That hearing going on right now. Michael Chertoff undergoing questioning by Norm Coleman of Minnesota. Coleman and others asking questions about a "New York Times" story which said Chertoff gave the Central Intelligence Agency a green light to use certain coercive interrogation techniques on detainees. Michael Chertoff told the committee this morning that one of the great challenges is to balance security in this country with liberty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECY. NOMINEE: I also believe the secretary of Homeland Security will have to be mindful of the need to reconcile the imperatives of security with the preservation of liberty and privacy. As an attorney representing the indigent defendants, as a legislative counsel examining racial profiling and as a United States circuit court judge, I have committed to fostering liberty and privacy. If confirmed, I will draw on this background to promote measures that enhance our security while affirming our constitutional values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Chertoff is facing questions about the detention of more than 700 individuals on immigration violations in the wake of 9/11, detentions which he oversaw as head of the criminal division at the Justice Department, detentions which were sharply criticized by the Department of Justice inspector general because the individuals were mistreated and denied quick access to an attorney.
Here's Chertoff's response to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERTOFF: As far as the reports by the inspector general concerning people not getting access to lawyers, that was, frankly, not something I was aware of at the time. That is clearly not something that should have happened. And to the extent that there were instances of guards acting in improper fashion, that's also clearly inappropriate and my understanding is that that, I think, probably is under investigation as we speak.
MESERVE: Chertoff faces a lot more questioning today, not just about his record, but about port security, first responders and a number of other issues. But I will point out that during opening statements several members of the committee said their minds were already made up. They will be voting for Michael Chertoff.
Rick, back to you.
SANCHEZ: And our Jeanne Meserve's going to be following that throughout the course of the day. We thank you, Jeanne, for that update.
Well, here's the story that we talked about yesterday. And now we get to talk about a little bit more today.
KAGAN: People keep asking how did he do that? And could he do it again?
SANCHEZ: Can we possibly answer both questions?
KAGAN: I think we can if people stick around.
SANCHEZ: We'll do it. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Watch this play, before we say anything. Watch this. Is this is play? This is a miss. And now -- one second left in the game and he wins the game. They're going to the playoffs, ladies and gentlemen, can you believe it? They're going to the -- is this incredible or what? All right, you take over.
KAGAN: OK, well, the moral of this story, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good or both. Doesn't get much better than this. Full court Hail Mary with less than a second on the clock. Like threading the needle.
SANCHEZ: Unbelievable. Thanks to Jordan Snipes' perfect throw, Guilford College claimed its first win against Randolph Macon in a decade now.
KAGAN: And now, for the record, the final score was Guilford 91, Randolph Macon 89. So you want to meet the guy.
SANCHEZ: I do.
Well, let's bring him in.
How are you doing, young man?
JORDAN SNIPES, GUILFORD COLLEGE: Fine.
KAGAN: This is Jordan Snipes.
SANCHEZ: He's been getting an awful lot of attention.
KAGAN: I bet.
Congratulations on that.
SNIPES: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Was it planned?
SNIPES: No, it just happened.
SANCHEZ: Did the coach tell you, here's what we're going to do -- he's going to miss the free throw, you're going to take it, and you're going to try to heave it across court and try to make a bucket?
SNIPES: No, actually the plan was we didn't know they were going to miss, so we thought they were going to make it, and I was going to take the ball out of bounds and throw it to our center, Dennis Strong, throw just it near the him and have him go to try to tip it in. But we heard the coach say that they were going to miss the shot. So everybody's mind just went blank, and I just grabbed the ball and threw it.
KAGAN: Take us through that lob, that hail mary across the court what it felt like, not when it just went in, but it went in pure net.
SNIPES: Yes, it was incredible. When he shot it, I just grabbed it and threw it. It went in. And we looked at the officials, and the one at half court gave the fist pump, making the basket good. I threw my hands up, and got tackled, and drug down and jumped on. It was incredible.
KAGAN: There you go. OK, Jordan, everybody has their moment. But apparently the local affiliate, television affiliate, they're not that impressed. They set you up yesterday and said, OK, that was really good. But can you do it again? Let's watch the tape from that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got the low ceiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, you got to give us a background on this. He just showed up with a ball, turned on the camera, and had you do it. Bang, first time you did it.
SNIPES: I think it was the 10th or 11th ball that we threw, yes.
SANCHEZ: So you did it ten or 11 times?
SNIPES: Yes, sir.
SANCHEZ: Ten or 11 times, you know what, I think Daryn and I were trying this, we would probably still be doing it if we started yesterday afternoon. So I think that's pretty good.
KAGAN: It is. And in the interest of basketball being a team sport, give us an update how the team is doing this season besides this remarkable win?
SNIPES: We're doing OK. We had a slump a couple games ago, but coach told us before the game we need to see some change in play. Hopefully that will be it, and we'll turn things around and get the ball rolling for the conference tournament.
SANCHEZ: By the way, one more thing, you're doing a little better with the ladies now? You're on CNN, all of this notoriety, suddenly you got more looks and stuff. Go ahead you can tell us. I won't tell anybody, I swear?
SNIPES: No, not really. My girlfriend probably get a little upset about that.
KAGAN: There you go, that's the right answer.
And he's a nice young man on top of it.
Hey, Jordan, what's the mascot for Guilford?
SNIPES: The Quakers.
KAGAN: Go Quakers. All right.
Thanks for stopping by. Congratulations on not one, but two remarkable shots, and good luck with the rest of the season.
SNIPES: Thank you.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired February 2, 2005 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get the latest now from New Jersey.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
RICHARD CODEY, ACTING GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: ... to save lives here in this town and this county.
The accident occurred at roughly about 7:23 this morning. At this point Route 46, as you know, is closed in both directions. We do not know when that will be reopened. At this point, we know there were eight passengers in the plane, and three crew members. There was one serious injury to those people, and that was one of the pilots, who have a broken leg, and most of the others are able to walk away from the crash.
However, there were two vehicles on Route 46 that were struck. One passenger from each vehicle at this point are in the hospital. They do have extremely serious head trauma injuries.
At this point, all fires have been put out. New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management and the Burton County Office of Emergency Management are on hand. The New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Aviation has also been on hand to assist.
As you know, there have now been detours put in place for Green Street (ph), for eastbound drivers, and Haller (ph) Street for westbound drives. Traffic on Route 46 this morning did not, believe it or not, did not experience major traffic problems as the detours did prove effective. The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction of the National Transportation Safety Board, and they will be arriving roughly about noon today.
The accident was a failed takeoff. And I want to make it clear, the plane never took off. On Teterboro runway No. 6, which is roughly 6,000 feet long, the aircraft, as I said was on the ground and rolled off the runway and across Route 46 and into the warehouse building.
The flight, as we know , was destined for Midway Airport in Chicago. So I just want to repeat that there was 11 on the plane. There was two injured, and two vehicles -- one each, serious injuries. And there was someone at the warehouse who was injured and is being treated, and they are all being treated right now.
Mr. Chairman, from the Port Authority to say a few words.
ANTHONY CORSICA, PORT AUTHORITY CHAIRMAN: Thank you. I would also like to echo's the government's sentiment of thanking all those who responded so quickly this morning and obviously a very difficult event, and people responded quickly and brought emergency services from various agencies to coordinate them.
As the governor mentioned, the primary investigation is being conducted by the NTSB. We've been told that a team has left Nashville, is en route to this facility, expected to be here sometime between noon and 1:00. They'll have additional information, obviously, as they begin to continue the investigation.
As we go through this process, a number of agencies have been brought into coordinate, primarily in addition to the NTSB, the FAA, and I would like to introduce our executive director Ken Ringler, who is going to bring you up to speed on the various agencies that will be involved from this point forward in the investigation.
KENNETH RINGLER, PORT AUTHORITY EXEC. DIR: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, governor, for being here this morning.
Following the incident this morning, the Port Authority ceased operations at Teterboro Airport. The fire is currently under control, and the rescue operations are complete. But the scene is being preserved at the moment for the investigative team to arrive from the NTSB. As the chairman and the governor indicated there's a go-team. Wheels up I think were 11:00 from Washington, and they will be here. A board member from the NTSB will also be here in a future press briefing. That board member, I understand, will be available to you.
As the chairman noted, the Port Authority will assist as needed in the effort to get quick answers as to what transpired this morning. Teterboro Airport has a close relationship with the communities. And again, I want to add my thanks to the emergency services who responded today. It was a wonderful team effort and to watch it for the first time in this position was very moving to me to see how everybody coordinated their efforts and a wonderful response.
As you might guess, it's very early for us to speculate. And until the NTSB does do their investigation, many questions will be unanswered today. I do have a team of the Port Authority staff with me today: Bill Dakota, who is the Port Authority director of aviations, Susan Bear (ph), the manager of New Jersey airports, Lanny Rider, (ph), the manager of Teterboro Airport, and chief Chris Tosalo (ph) of the Port Authority Police Department.
With that, we entertain any questions that you might have -- Sir?
QUESTION: Can you please clarify of the 11 people onboard the plane, how many were injured? In this whole incident how many were injured? and how many...
RINGLER: My understanding at this point in time is approximately 15 total people that went to hospitals. There were two people in vehicles that we believe were seriously injured. On the aircraft, the most serious injury as I understand it at this time was a broken leg on the part of the pilot. I also understand that two firefighters went to the hospital for minor treatment. QUESTION: On the 11 on the plane, how many receive injuries that were bad enough to go to the hospital.
RINGLER: I think everyone went to a hospital is my understanding, but whether or not they needed medical care, I do not have an answer to it.
QUESTION: Mr. Ringler, there was -- this morning, I saw several people I assume they were Port Authority personnel, who were actually walking the runway. Do you know, a, if they found any sort of debris or any possible evidence to be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board? And, secondly, has there been any preliminary indication given to any of your aviation personnel as to why this plane did not lift off the runway?
RINGLER: No, at this time we have no information regarding any of that, and it would be purely speculative, and we want to wait until the NTSB gets here.
QUESTION: So no debris found.
RINGLER: I'm not aware of any, and I wouldn't probably tell you if I was.
QUESTION: Any indication like black ice?
RINGLER: Again, we're not aware of anything at this time.
QUESTION: The company that...
CORSICA: DHH Aviation, and they're located out of Dallas.
RINGLER: DDH aviation is the owner of the aircraft, and it was leased to Aircraft Kelso (ph).
DDH Aviation of Lubfield (ph), in Dallas.
QUESTION: Who are the people on board? What business purpose were they...
CORSICA: The flight was leaving Teterboro, bound for Midway airport in Chicago. We have no information on the identity of the passengers or the crew.
QUESTION: The Port Authority special operations, they saved their lives if that plane didn't explode. Can you explain the crash impact site there?
CORSICA: We don't have enough information for me to speculate on the conditions at the moment of the crash.
There were, obviously, black boxes on the plane. There's a great deal of information that people are going to be assembling in the coming hours, and it would be inappropriate, at this point, to speculate. We have so little sketchy information.
QUESTION: Was any other plane taking off?
RINGLER: Not that we're aware of, no.
QUESTION: Sir, did the plane go through a deicing process this morning, considering the cold temperatures?
RINGLER: I don't have that information, but I can get it for you. I don't...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have that.
QUESTION: It either was or it wasn't.
RINGLER: I just don't know.
QUESTION: The plane was actually...
BILL DAKOTA, DIR. OF AVIATION, PORT AUTHORITY: There are five fixed-base operators at the airport who handle all the general aviation aircraft. They would be responsible for deicing operations. This plane departed, we understand, from Atlantic Aviation. If it was deiced, they would have done it, so we don't have directly the information as to whether it was or not.
QUESTION: And you're name is?
DAKOTA: Bill, Dakota, director of aviation for the Port Authority.
QUESTION: Governor, a question for you. There's been a lot of controversy about Teterboro Airport. Several legislators have criticized the airport and the number of operations, the potential size of planes that could have flown in here...
CODEY: Yes, there was a controversy back about a year and a half ago, where the Bush administration wanted to bring in larger planes into this airport. All the state senators here opposed it, the Congressman Rothman as well, the county executives and all the (INAUDIBLE) vigorously opposed it, and I know the Port Authority said. Listen, if you do that, we don't want your grant, we're not going to allow it. They were successful in that fight. Obviously it was the right fight.
QUESTION: There has been criticism of the number of operations, especially as the whole corporate jet economy has taken off in the last five or 10 years. Do you feel have you any concern about the number of operations that come out of this airport?
CODEY: I would let the port authority respond to that?
CORSICA: I would say that clearly operating an airport, even a general aviation facility such as this one in an area that is as populated as this one adheres a great deal of attention. We adhere to some of the very highest safety standards available, in fact, the highest. The facility was inspected and approved by the FAA. It was recently under inspection process in July, an inspection process that a facility of this kind isn't even required to go through, but we voluntarily went through.
Having said that, the truth is that safety at air facilities such as this is a continuing issue. It's something that we're very attentive to at the Port Authority. And the governor has been very adamant about requiring us to operate this facility at the very highest standards. That's not to say that incidents won't occur. They will occur, unfortunately, as they did this morning.
There's no question that the safety of this facility receives the very highest priority and both the governor and local elected officials have been very adamant about requiring that every incident is investigated thoroughly and improvements when possible are made. And We have tried to be as diligent as possible in doing all of that.
KAGAN: And the investigation goes on. That is the latest information on the plane crash we've been following since just about 7:30 this morning. A C-11 600 challenger plane carrying 11 people, eight passengers, three crew members. Trying to take off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Never made it off the ground. Instead, if you follow that map, skidded across Highway 46 and into a warehouse.
Now, miraculously everyone survived. You had one serious injury, the pilot with a broken leg. Unfortunately, there were two different vehicles that the plane ran into as it crossed Highway 46. There were two passengers severely hurt from each of those, and there's also one person who was in that warehouse who was hurt when the plane came crashing through the wall. Everyone else was able to walk away.
The NTSB on its way to investigate the plane crash taking place earlier today at Teterboro Airport. We'll have more on that as the day goes on.
Also, the nominee for homeland defense secretary, Michael Chertoff, before Congress today. We will hear from him and hear from Jean Meserve on the latest on the confirmation process. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Big story we're going to be following for you here at CNN throughout the course of the day. Two key nominees of President Bush's second term undergoing scrutiny this hour, the full Senate. Debating the nomination of Alberto Gonzales, Mr. Bush's choice for attorney general.
Several Democrats are expected to vote against Gonzales, but not enough to block his confirmation. There simply aren't enough. In fact, Republicans senators say there won't be a vote today because Democrats don't want to give the president the success to boast about in tonight's State of the Union speech. Again, that's what Republicans say.
Now, a hearing did get underway last hour on the nomination of Michael Chertoff to be the new homeland security secretary. The key issue is his role of rounding up detainees following the September 11th terrorist attack. And here, too, there are memos.
Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is joining us now from Washington with more on the hearing for Mr. Chertoff. Jeanne, over to you.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rick. That hearing going on right now. Michael Chertoff undergoing questioning by Norm Coleman of Minnesota. Coleman and others asking questions about a "New York Times" story which said Chertoff gave the Central Intelligence Agency a green light to use certain coercive interrogation techniques on detainees. Michael Chertoff told the committee this morning that one of the great challenges is to balance security in this country with liberty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECY. NOMINEE: I also believe the secretary of Homeland Security will have to be mindful of the need to reconcile the imperatives of security with the preservation of liberty and privacy. As an attorney representing the indigent defendants, as a legislative counsel examining racial profiling and as a United States circuit court judge, I have committed to fostering liberty and privacy. If confirmed, I will draw on this background to promote measures that enhance our security while affirming our constitutional values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Chertoff is facing questions about the detention of more than 700 individuals on immigration violations in the wake of 9/11, detentions which he oversaw as head of the criminal division at the Justice Department, detentions which were sharply criticized by the Department of Justice inspector general because the individuals were mistreated and denied quick access to an attorney.
Here's Chertoff's response to that.
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CHERTOFF: As far as the reports by the inspector general concerning people not getting access to lawyers, that was, frankly, not something I was aware of at the time. That is clearly not something that should have happened. And to the extent that there were instances of guards acting in improper fashion, that's also clearly inappropriate and my understanding is that that, I think, probably is under investigation as we speak.
MESERVE: Chertoff faces a lot more questioning today, not just about his record, but about port security, first responders and a number of other issues. But I will point out that during opening statements several members of the committee said their minds were already made up. They will be voting for Michael Chertoff.
Rick, back to you.
SANCHEZ: And our Jeanne Meserve's going to be following that throughout the course of the day. We thank you, Jeanne, for that update.
Well, here's the story that we talked about yesterday. And now we get to talk about a little bit more today.
KAGAN: People keep asking how did he do that? And could he do it again?
SANCHEZ: Can we possibly answer both questions?
KAGAN: I think we can if people stick around.
SANCHEZ: We'll do it. We'll be back.
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SANCHEZ: Watch this play, before we say anything. Watch this. Is this is play? This is a miss. And now -- one second left in the game and he wins the game. They're going to the playoffs, ladies and gentlemen, can you believe it? They're going to the -- is this incredible or what? All right, you take over.
KAGAN: OK, well, the moral of this story, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good or both. Doesn't get much better than this. Full court Hail Mary with less than a second on the clock. Like threading the needle.
SANCHEZ: Unbelievable. Thanks to Jordan Snipes' perfect throw, Guilford College claimed its first win against Randolph Macon in a decade now.
KAGAN: And now, for the record, the final score was Guilford 91, Randolph Macon 89. So you want to meet the guy.
SANCHEZ: I do.
Well, let's bring him in.
How are you doing, young man?
JORDAN SNIPES, GUILFORD COLLEGE: Fine.
KAGAN: This is Jordan Snipes.
SANCHEZ: He's been getting an awful lot of attention.
KAGAN: I bet.
Congratulations on that.
SNIPES: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Was it planned?
SNIPES: No, it just happened.
SANCHEZ: Did the coach tell you, here's what we're going to do -- he's going to miss the free throw, you're going to take it, and you're going to try to heave it across court and try to make a bucket?
SNIPES: No, actually the plan was we didn't know they were going to miss, so we thought they were going to make it, and I was going to take the ball out of bounds and throw it to our center, Dennis Strong, throw just it near the him and have him go to try to tip it in. But we heard the coach say that they were going to miss the shot. So everybody's mind just went blank, and I just grabbed the ball and threw it.
KAGAN: Take us through that lob, that hail mary across the court what it felt like, not when it just went in, but it went in pure net.
SNIPES: Yes, it was incredible. When he shot it, I just grabbed it and threw it. It went in. And we looked at the officials, and the one at half court gave the fist pump, making the basket good. I threw my hands up, and got tackled, and drug down and jumped on. It was incredible.
KAGAN: There you go. OK, Jordan, everybody has their moment. But apparently the local affiliate, television affiliate, they're not that impressed. They set you up yesterday and said, OK, that was really good. But can you do it again? Let's watch the tape from that moment.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got the low ceiling.
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SANCHEZ: Now, you got to give us a background on this. He just showed up with a ball, turned on the camera, and had you do it. Bang, first time you did it.
SNIPES: I think it was the 10th or 11th ball that we threw, yes.
SANCHEZ: So you did it ten or 11 times?
SNIPES: Yes, sir.
SANCHEZ: Ten or 11 times, you know what, I think Daryn and I were trying this, we would probably still be doing it if we started yesterday afternoon. So I think that's pretty good.
KAGAN: It is. And in the interest of basketball being a team sport, give us an update how the team is doing this season besides this remarkable win?
SNIPES: We're doing OK. We had a slump a couple games ago, but coach told us before the game we need to see some change in play. Hopefully that will be it, and we'll turn things around and get the ball rolling for the conference tournament.
SANCHEZ: By the way, one more thing, you're doing a little better with the ladies now? You're on CNN, all of this notoriety, suddenly you got more looks and stuff. Go ahead you can tell us. I won't tell anybody, I swear?
SNIPES: No, not really. My girlfriend probably get a little upset about that.
KAGAN: There you go, that's the right answer.
And he's a nice young man on top of it.
Hey, Jordan, what's the mascot for Guilford?
SNIPES: The Quakers.
KAGAN: Go Quakers. All right.
Thanks for stopping by. Congratulations on not one, but two remarkable shots, and good luck with the rest of the season.
SNIPES: Thank you.
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