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CNN Live Today

Colombian Plane Crashes in Remote Part of Venezuela; Spanish Troops Killed in Chopper Crash; Police Raid Offices of Helios Airways; Aviation Accidents

Aired August 16, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best arms in showbiz.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you know, if you're around working out all day, not so bad.

All right, we're out of time you guys. Let's throw it down to Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center.

Good morning, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You guys have a great day in New York City. We'll go ahead and get started here with a look at what's happening now in the news.

A search for survivors is underway in Venezuela after the crash of a Colombian passenger plane. The West Caribbean Airlines flight with more than 150 people onboard went down this morning in a mountainous region. The plane was on route from Panama to Martinique. Authorities say the pilots reported engine problems before contact with the aircraft was lost.

For the first time, Spanish troops have been killed in Afghanistan. Seventeen Spanish troops died earlier today when their helicopter crashed in Western Afghanistan fear Herat. Spanish authorities say the crash appears to have been an accident but they're not ruling out hostile fire. Spain has about 800 troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO peacekeeping force. A live report from the Pentagon straight ahead.

Jewish settlers who refuse to leave Gaza have just a few hours to go before they'll be forced out. Clashes broke out today between Israeli police and protesters who tried to block moving vans entering one of the settlements. Israel started the disengagement plan yesterday.

There's a new study out on education indicating that many high school students with limited English skills may not get a fair shake when it comes to graduation tests. The study shows that students who don't speak or write English well, many of them immigrants, pass exit exams on their first try far fewer times than other students. And it says the test may not be an accurate measure of what those students actually know.

Good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. We are following a pair of developing stories this morning. Two more deadly aviation accidents on the heels of that airliner crash in Greece over the weekend. Roughly two hours ago we received news of a passenger plane going down in Venezuela. That followed a report out of Afghanistan of a Spanish military helicopter crash.

First, the plane crash. It was a Colombian airliner with more than 150 people onboard. It went down early today in a remote area of Venezuela. Our Karl Penhaul joins us on the phone. He is in Bogota, Colombia, with the latest.

Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I've just been talking to a spokesman for West Caribbean Airlines. That's a Colombian airline company based in (INAUDIBLE). The spokesman there tells me that the aircraft that has crashed was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82. It was covering a route between Panama and the Caribbean island of Martinique. It was, in fact, a charter flight, not a routine scheduled flight. The spokeswoman also told me that there were 152 passengers onboard, including one baby in arm, and eight crew members. All eight crew members are Colombian, according to the spokeswoman, but the airline is still working to establish the identities and the nationality of the passengers onboard, although the spokeswoman did say that most of those were tourists.

Now, as far as the circumstances of the crash, talking to aviation authorities in Venezuela, they say that the pilot of the aircraft radioed a control tower in Caracas at about 3:00 a.m. local time this morning. At that time, he was about 20 miles inside of Venezuelan air space, just across the boarder from Colombia. He was cruising at an altitude of about 33,000 feet when he made the call to report that he had lost total power in one engine and that he also developed problems in a second engine. He initially requested to make an emergency landing somewhere in Western Venezuela. But after that, all radio contact was lost.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Karl Penhaul reporting on the phone from Colombia. Thank you.

On now to Afghanistan and a big loss for the NATO command. A helicopter going down today near the city of Herat, killing 17 Spanish troops. Our Madrid Bureau Chief, Al Goodman, has details.

Al.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, for the first time the Spanish defense minister is not ruling out that this crash was the result of an attack or hostile fire coming at that helicopter. He said it could have been an accident or it could have been an attack. The 17 Spanish troops dying. The first Spanish troops to die in Afghanistan, among about 800 Spanish troops who are there. Now the reason, according to the defense minister, they now think it might have been an attack. They can't rule that out is because they saw pictures of the downed chopper and they did not see it against a mountain side. Instead, they saw it on a flat, prairie-like terrain area. There was a second copter with Spanish troops that looked ahead and saw black smoke. That second chopper thought there might have been an attack and it took a forced, hard landing, injuring some other troops aboard that chopper, five of them, but none seriously.

So that is the sequence of events. The Spanish defense minister is going to Afghanistan. The Spanish prime minister has interrupted his vacation to come back to Madrid. A day of mourning in the words of the defense minister.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Al, what is the level of support there in Spain for the troops being involved in Afghanistan?

GOODMAN: Well, as you know, that there was a strong anti-Iraq War stance here in Spain. Spain initially had troops in Iraq and they finally were pulled out. The nation was overwhelmingly against the troops in Iraq. The mood here again for Afghanistan seems to be more mixed because the troops are under the NATO command with a U.N. mandate backing them up. And that's what the Spanish defense minister emphasize today in his nationally televised news conference. These troops are there as part of a multi-national force sanctioned by NATO and the United Nations to try to protect the security of the elections next month in Afghanistan.

So that does put the mood a bit easier in Spain. However, this is something that has not happened before, 17 Spanish troops dying there. However, two years ago, Daryn, 62 Spanish peacekeeping troops that had been in Afghanistan who were coming home died when their plane crashed in Turkey.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Al Goodman, live from Madrid, Spain. Thank you.

On to Greece now where police have raided the offices of Helios Airways as part of the probe into Sunday's plane crash in Greece. Investigators were looking for maintenance records for the doomed plane. Also seeking answers, relatives of the 121 people who were killed. Our Chris Burns has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): A day after the crash of Helios Airlines Flight 522, the victims' relatives demand an explanation. This man lost his daughter-in-law and three grandsons.

Those responsible have created a flying death trap, he says. Didn't they see the problem? I want them to be severely punished. The Boeing 737 was on its way from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Prague, Czech Republic via Athens. Shortly after takeoff, officials say the pilot radioed he had an air conditioning problem and remained at 16,000 feet. He later said the issue was resolved and he is headed to cruising altitude, 32,000 feet. That's when something went wrong. As the plane entered Greek airspace, its radio fell silent. It circled three times to the right in a distress pattern.

Two Greek F-16s scrambled to chase the airliner. Flying up close, they saw the pilot missing from the cockpit and a copilot slumped over. Oxygen masks were dangling from the ceiling as they did throughout the plane. No indication yet whether they worked.

PETER GOELZ, FMR. NTSB MANAGING DIR.: Their masks have independent oxygen systems and they are trained to get the plane down to below 10,000 feet in which people can breathe on their own and it's very perplexing about why the crew was not able to respond.

BURNS: Authorities said it suggested a rapid loss of cabin pressure. What could result from an equipment malfunction or something that broke open the fuselage. At least one other person was seen in the cockpit. A flight attendant, trying to take the controls. Her body was later found next to the copilot's.

The F-16 pilots watched helplessly as the plane cruised on and crashed in a fireball in a mountainside north of Athens. In the search through the wreckage, much remains a mystery. For one, the pilot's body is among those yet to be found. Why would the flight attendant have been conscious when the pilots were incapacitated? Could she have had access to their oxygen tanks in the cockpit, as officials suggest.

What could offer answers are autopsies of the victims here in Athens. So far the coroner says it appears that at the time of the crash they were alive, though possibly unconscious.

More clues could come from the black box data and voice recorders found in the wreckage. But authorities say the voice box was badly damaged and may be useless. As in any such crash, the terrorism or sabotage scenario arise. So fair authorities are playing them down, though not rooming them out. Grieving relatives are demanding answers and want whoever is responsible to pay dearly. Their loved ones on that mystery flight already have with their lives.

Chris Burns, CNN, Athens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Aviation expert Peter Goelz is with us now to talk more about today's crash in Venezuela. Also this weekend's past deadly crash in Greece. He is former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Peter, good morning. Good to see you.

PETER GOELZ, FMR. NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: Good morning, Daryn. KAGAN: Let's start with the Greece crash since that's the one we just saw the piece on from Chris Burns.

GOELZ: Right.

KAGAN: What's adding up to you here? What kind of clues are you looking at?

GOELZ: Well, you know, we are all waiting to see what the data off the flight data recorder says and what if they're able to recover any sound from the cockpit voice recorder. These would be critical.

KAGAN: Yes, how disappointing that that voice recorder appears to be so severely damaged?

GOELZ: Well, it depends on what type of recorder it is. If it's an old tape type, then it could be very difficult to get if it's badly damaged, you could lose some data. If it's a more modern type, a digital type, they'll be able to get some sound off it. But the critical point is, we've really got to move worldwide to have more extended digital flight recorders, both voice and data so that you get two hours, at least, recording in the cockpit. This one is likely to be only a 30-minute time span and that may not be enough to help unravel what happened.

KAGAN: Speaking of international crashes, what happened today in Venezuela, not a lot of information, just the pilot radioing in saying he was having engine trouble. About 10 minutes later, some local people hear a huge explosion and the plane crashes.

GOELZ: Very it's, again, the opening stages of an investigation are always perplexing. You know, even though these are international investigations, the U.S. agencies are heavily involved, both the FAA, NTSB have sent teams to both of these sites recently. The FAA and NTSB are leaving today for Venezuela. They'll find they'll help local officials. We'll find out what happened.

In this case, in Venezuela, it's a small, low-cost carrier. The plane that went down is commonly used in the U.S. as well, an MD-81. It's important that we find out what happened. They'll probably start looking at the engines, the fuel consumption, whether there was fuel contamination, at flight procedures. But, again, the black boxes will be critical.

KAGAN: Yes. And finally, Peter, you know people watch CNN in airports all around the country, all around the world.

GOELZ: I know.

KAGAN: They're seeing plane crash, plane crash and they're not feeling to good about getting on a plane this morning. The real story is, though, the incredible safety record. How many plains take off and land safely and well every single day.

GOELZ: Absolutely. Air travel is, without question, the safest travel. The reason that we cover this so intently is it's such an unusual event. But air travel, if you're flipping a coin between driving and flying, take the plane. You're virtually guaranteed to get there safely.

KAGAN: Very good. Peter Goelz, thank you for your insight and expertise this morning. Appreciate that.

GOELZ: Thank you.

KAGAN: Dozens are injured in a Japanese earthquake. Even for a nation used to quakes, this one got some people's attention. The damage check is up ahead.

Plus, what is it like to face Iraq's insurgency day after day? We'll take you on the front lines in a special report.

And still to come, how can we remember those lost on 9/11? By reaching out a helping hand. We're going to tell you how at the bottom of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We turn now to Gaza where a deadline looms for Jewish settlers. The settlers have now seven hours to get out or face forcible eviction by Israeli troops. CNN's Guy Raz joins us. He's in the largest Jewish settlement in Gaza where security forces moved in earlier today.

Guy.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, with less than seven hours to go before the formal period of evacuation commences, the atmosphere here in the Gaza settlement, palpably tense. Earlier in the day, clashes broke out between demonstrators and Israeli police, a sign perhaps of what we can expect to see in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAZ, (voice over): At first light, the gate came crashing down. Police moved in to Neveh Dekalim's settlement to take control.

COMMANDER ELI LEVY, NEVEH DEKALIM POLICE: They're going to do the mission. We can't fail. We must do the mission.

RAZ: The atmosphere in this settlement, though, increasingly tense. Some praying for redemption from an evacuation they call a catastrophe. Others lighting fires to block the roads.

The moving vehicles are now starting to come through. Any attempts to obstruct them are being easily dealt with by police. By the end of this day, the army estimates some 60 percent of the residents of this settlement will be gone.

The evacuation doesn't begin until Wednesday, but demonstrators are already making the task a challenge. A few arrests on Tuesday, many more expected in the coming days. Senior army officer are now inside this settlement conferring with police, making final preparations. Brigadier General Gershon Ha-Cohen says the process won't take very long.

BRIG. GEN. GERSHON HA-COHEN, ISRAELI MILITARY: From this midnight, we will begin. We still didn't decide which settlement first. We'll make our (INAUDIBLE) situation according to the result of these two days.

RAZ: The first to be removed, likely these young demonstrators. Few of them residents of these settlements. Many are waging psychological war on police.

Here in this country, your country, this woman shouts at police. Are you proud? Will you be produced in the future?

Elsewhere in this settlement, things are strangely normal. Kids swimming. People wandering the streets, like any other day. Resident Yael Fogel just watches life pass by from her porch.

YAEL FOGEL, NEVEH DEKALIM RESIDENT: We are not packing. We are not leaving. We believe in staying here.

RAZ: But the Israeli government has other plans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAZ: Daryn, elsewhere in Gaza, at least three settlements have been completely evacuated and on the West Bank, at least two settlements there have been completely shut down. Meanwhile, the deadline is approaching. Seven hours from now, midnight, when all of the settlers must be out of their homes, but we do not expect the Israeli military to begin the process of evacuation until sometime tomorrow morning.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And where are most of these settlers going?

RAZ: Daryn, the overwhelming majority of settlers will relocate just a few dozen just a few miles, rather, north of here inside the recognized boundaries of Israel. The government has already built several hundred temporary homes for many of the departing settlers. Their caravan-style homes in a village called Nitson (ph), just about two miles north of the Gaza Strip. Others will go to other parts of the country. But ultimately, many of the people in these settlements say they would like to remain in communities with the rest of the people that they've lived with for many years here in Gaza.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Guy Raz reporting live from Gaza. Thank you.

Israel's withdrawal from Gaza has a hefty price tag, by the way. The Israeli government hopes the U.S. will pick up at least part of that bill. Here are the facts. Israel's asking the U.S. for $2.2 billion in aid for the Gaza withdrawal. That's on top of the $2.8 billion the U.S. already gives Israel each year. Israeli officials say much of the requested money would go to help develop the Galilee and Nagal (ph) regions of Israel where Jewish settlers have been encouraged to relocate. But most of them will have to live in that temporary housing at first that Guy was talking about. State Departments Spokesman Sean McCormack says the president is considering Israel's request.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: It's an issue the president has expressed support for directly to Prime Minister Sharon.

I think at this point, what we're doing is we're sending some teams. We're going to be sending some teams to Israel to assess what might be possible, but there are no commitments at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: If the United States agrees to the request, it would be the largest aid package for Israel since 1992 when the U.S. gave $3 billion to help pay for damage done by Iraqi scud missiles during the Gulf War. And it bears mentioning that the Palestinian authority is also getting its share of international aid for Gaza. World leaders agreed to a $3 billion aid package at last month's G-8 Summit.

The deadline for an Iraq constitution gets postponed. What's the holdup and why are Iraqi lawmakers having such a hard time nailing down the details? A live report from Baghdad is just ahead.

And up next, we'll show you why there's nothing simple or safe about hitting the road in Iraq. Go on a search for roadside bombs with us as CNN LIVE TODAY returns after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In Iraq, they are known at IEDs, improvised explosive devices, and they're the number one killer of American troops. CNN's Alex Quade was imbedded with a platoon of U.S. Marines near Fallujah. She takes us along for a unique look and the feel and tension of those Marines as they face the search for those roadside bombs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It begins with breakfast at Abu Ghraib Prison and ends with a this is just another day for the Marines of Dragon Platoon, a weapons company from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

GUNNERY SERGEANT JEFF VON DAGENHEART (ph): Son of a [BLEEP]. Welcome to freakin' Iraq.

QUADE: Their mission started before dawn. Gunnery Sergeant Jeff Von Dagenheart and his men hunt IEDs, improvised explosive devices.

DAGENHEART: So everybody keep their head down.

QUADE: They've hit 22 in two weeks, but only minor injuries so far.

DAGENHEART: There's no freakin' smiling today, all right? Everybody got me! Freakin bunch of weirdos!

QUADE: On patrol, daylight breaks. Gunny Dagenheart is already suspicious.

DAGENHEART: What's in there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Salaam (ph).

QUADE: This is how his Marines battle the insurgency, searching for hidden explosives. One car, one person at a time. Next on their beat . . .

DAGENHEART: Roger one two (ph) request permission to enter friendly lines.

QUADE: Abu Ghraib Prison. We go inside the wires, behind blocked barriers and under watch towers I talk with Dagenheart while his Marines go to chow.

What is it that you're checking for? What is the danger?

DAGENHEART: The vehicle borne improvised explosive devices.

QUADE: And what is that?

DAGENHEART: It's usually just like they pack the wheel wells full of C-4, TNT, maybe a couple of 155 shells or 125 tank round shells.

QUADE: So the actual vehicle become a bomb?

DAGENHEART: Is a bomb. We've ran across three here in the last week.

Roger. We just left Abu Ghraib. This is where all the bad stuff originates around here.

QUADE: The Marines call this area a car bomb factory and say insurgents blend in with the locals.

DAGENHEART: Perishnicof (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

DAGENHEART: How many?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One.

DAGENHEART: Show me.

QUADE: They search house to house.

DAGENHEART: Check upstairs.

You know, don't trust anybody. Even if they're nice and offer you tea, you go up on the roof and you find 50 weapons.

QUADE: Because this nice lady has offered some tea already.

DAGENHEART: Yes. You go into some of these houses and see pictures of Osama bin Laden and you're like, oh, OK. Or Zarqawi. You start checking a little bit more.

QUADE: He hopes his platoon's presence keeps bomb builders off guard.

DAGENHEART: Open the hood. Trunk. Open them up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, salaam.

QUADE: Without a translator, it's volume and just . . .

DAGENHEART: Hey, what's your hurry? What's your hurry? Freakin' slow down! Slow slow down.

QUADE: It may seem funny, but it's deadly serious. This crater is from an IED, improvised explosive device.

DAGENHEART: That hit us yesterday. Good training, huh?

QUADE: Which is why the Marines also train Iraqi recruits.

DAGENHEART: Lots of bombs lately. Bomb! Bomb! Twenty-two in two weeks. Twenty-two. Language barriers. It's all good, right?

QUADE: They race to where something has been sighted.

DAGENHEART: Well, fasten your seat belts, gents! Oh, (BLEEP). Johnson (ph), keep your eyes down. Hey, Hawk (ph), look to the left. White bag or possible shell. Look hard left. I'll look right. Shell, shell, shell. Find me a shell.

QUADE: Between here and those cars may be an IED.

DAGENHEART: Find me a green bag. Keep your head down. (BLEEP). No hole dug, no nothing. But the trig man is going to be to our right over here and I see a car. Let's go ahead and eyeball that and have your gunner scan to the right see if you see a trigger man.

QUADE: They see something between the traffic.

DAGENHEART: There's a dude standing right where that supposed IED is. Can you tell if he's got anything on him? What's he holding there, Smith? Can you see it? I don't know, what's in his gut? He's in his pocket right now. Watch him. Watch him.

QUADE: Dagenheart zeros in on him. DAGENHEART: See how he's holding his freakin' shirt!

QUADE: His finger on the trigger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (INAUDIBLE)

DAGENHEART: Yes, he is.

QUADE: Turns out to be just a shepherd.

DAGENHEART: A guy playing shepherd over here with some sheep and he's standing right where the IED where the supposed IED is.

QUADE: This typical day is only halfway through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can see more of this fascinating story with Alex Quade, the search for IEDs in Iraq. It's coming up at 3 p.m. on CNN SITUATION ROOM with Wolf Blitzer. Thank you to Alex.

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