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New Day Sunday

Search Under Way for Jet with 162 On Board; 400-Plus Passengers On Board Burning Ferry

Aired December 28, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Well, AirAsia flight was carrying 162 people when it left Indonesia bound for Singapore. That happened around 5:30 Eastern last night.

Indonesian officials say that about 45 minutes later the captain asked to climb above 38,000 feet because of the severe weather. Well, minutes later, the disappeared from radar, and airline officials say they lost contact at 7:24 Eastern, though, Indonesian authorities say they monitored the jet for another half hour before losing contact.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: So, this was an Airbus A32200. It was due to land at 8:30 Eastern last night. And now, searchers are combing the Java Sea. It's east of Indonesia, for any trace of the flight.

The families understandably desperate for any word. And, you know, we watched families wait for word of a plane in that neighborhood coming some information before ten months ago, less than 10 months actually. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, 239 people aboard that flight.

And, of course, we covered the massive international search effort -- still no trace of that aircraft.

MALVEAUX: So, joining us by phone, our aviation correspondent Richard Quest.

Richard, we have a lot of questions for you this morning, because we know that from our reporting, that there were heavy storm in the area, multiple storms, monsoon conditions at the time that this plane went missing. So, a lot of people looking at this and said weather could certainly have been a factor in bringing this down.

Was there a possibility, however, because the pilot had requested to travel west and to ascend that there was something else besides weather at play?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): At the moment, we don't know. But what we can say is, you know, you look for that which is obvious.

Now, if there had been something else wrong with the aircraft, if there had been a mechanical fault or something else going on, I do expect that on that request for a deviation because of weather, he would have mentioned, the pilot would have mentioned the reason why, the mayday, the issue that was at stake.

No, I think we have to start with what we know and so, then, we that, of course, the weather. So, what we're seeing now is sort of people starting to talk about a diversion because of weather and then you start to ask did something happen as a result of that? Now weather itself will not bring down an aircraft. The aircraft, particularly this aircraft has an excellent safety record, weather doesn't bring down planes. However, the pilots may have responded to something happening or the way the aircraft responded, that's a different matter. And that in the fullness of time, Suzanne, is where the focus will be.

MALVEAUX: And, Richard, what are the possibilities? What are the options that the pilot had to work with when you talk about how he responded to the weather?

QUEST: Well, you know, we're skating very quickly down the road of speculation. And, you know, you want to know what happened. It's natural, that one will think of Air France 447. That's what comes to mind immediately, where again, there was a weather situation.

The weather created an incident with the aircraft with the troops and the speed machines that they navigate the aircraft. It's the way the pilot responded to the air speed indicator. You have a chain of events which actually lead to whatever happens.

Now that's a long way down the road. And we're not going -- I'm not going to go there yet. But what you look for, the core fact here at the moment is this was a plane that as they say was in the cruise. It was at the safest part of flight, Suzanne. Cruise do not happen to aircraft while they're flying 500 miles an hour at 32,000, 33,000 feet. That is not without some major extraneous event.

BLACKWELL: Richard, we know that our aviation correspondent Rene Marsh, she's spoken with the NTSB, also with Airbus. You suggested this will be a lengthy investigation. But at this moment, what likely can the investigators here in Indonesia and Airbus glean from just the technological monitoring of this plane? What do they know that quite possibly they have not yet released?

QUEST: OK. Well, we're waiting to find out what the technology was onboard the aircraft. What sort of reporting mechanism.

Now, INMARSAT, you remember INMARSAT, which, of course, is the satellite company that handled the information from Malaysia MH370, INMARSAT had said today that AirAsia, that the plane did not have enough equipment onboard.

So, this plane wasn't sending data by INMARSAT. It may have another form of information it was sending. It was certainly sending data. Modern aircraft are constantly communicating and sending data. So, we're waiting to find out what that was.

But, Victor, what we'll find out from that is where the plane was, the altitude, the information of the engines, all the sort of peaces of details and information that we need over the investigators will need to actually figure out what happened. The most important information is the wreckage if and when it's found and, of course, the black boxes, which as we remember from MH-370, if this plane had come down or failed in water, then the black boxes will now be transmitting.

BLACKWELL: All right. Richard Quest, CNN aviation correspondent, stay by the phone, Richard. We'll be speaking with you throughout the morning. Thank you.

MALVEAUX: We're going to bring in Greg Waldron, the managing editor of "Flightglobal". He's joining us by phone from Singapore.

And, Greg, we're getting new information here. "Reuters" reporting now that the search is temporarily called off because it's dark, it's nightfall there. Give us a sense of what this means for the possibility of rescue and of finding that plane fairly quickly.

GREG WALDRON, MANAGING EDITOR, FLIGHTGLOBAL (via telephone): Well, we don't exactly know what happened to the aircraft, but you will recall when the 370 crisis first erupted, the plane was lost in the morning. And immediately, that day a search started up in the Gulf of Thailand.

Now, of course, this body of water where this AirAsia plane disappeared is far to the south.

Two big differences, though. It's a very rainy, gloomy time, in this part of Asia, lot of rainstorm, big monsoon season coming through. Even in the best of conditions, it's hard to spot wreckage on the ocean at night. Also, too, you have the stormy conditions going on.

So if there were too many search aircraft in the air at night, the chances of them being able to see anything or locate anything or help any survivors would be remote. And then also there is a danger of the rescue aircraft bumping into each other and that kind of thing. So, you have to also think about the safety of the rescue assets being deployed.

BLACKWELL: So, at sunrise, what do you expect the search to look like? Do we expect them to get back in the air? Do we expect these marine resources to be employed as they were in the days and weeks and months in, fact, after 370 disappeared?

WALDRON: Well, I expect what's going to happen -- a lot depends on the weather. We're experiencing the very stormy conditions in Southeast Asia.

When MH370 disappeared in March, it was very clear conditions. It was completely different situation. While here, there is a lot of rain. A lot of, you know, flooding all over Southeast Asia. So, the weather is increment.

Now, overnight I expect a lot of search assets will be flown in to bases, you know, around the search area. They'll be able to launch a search tomorrow.

But again, the search has to be highly coordinated, highly focused. And sensors like radar sensors, like infrared, don't work so well on the sea. You really have to have guys looking out the windows of airplanes and being able to identify bits of aircraft.

Then, of course, it becomes an issue of taking pictures of those things that you see and then determining whether they're actually part of the aircraft or not.

MALVEAUX: And, Greg, I'm wondering there, too. We found this is an area where there are many, many, many small islands. Is there a potential that this plane is not necessarily crashed, not lost at sea but that the possibility of this plane on an island?

WALDRON: Well, that's getting into the realm of conspiracy theories. As if the plane landed on a runway somewhere, that's really speculative. However, there are other islands nearby.

Again, if the aircraft went down, if it crashed and it seems likely on an island somewhere, night is falling. It is extremely wet conditions in this part of the world right now. I live in Southeast Asia. It's gloomy, gray, rainy. So, any fires probably wouldn't have lasted very long. It will take time for them to locate the aircraft.

I mean, there was 747 that crashed into a mountain in Japan back in the '80s. I think it took them two or three days to find the wreckage of that aircraft. So, you know, searching for aircraft is extremely arduous and an extremely small thing in a very big world at the end of the day.

MALVEAUX: Certainly, don't mean to be conspiratorial there on that question. Just simply wondering if, you know, if it's possible the logistics-wise or if something like of that magnitude happen.

But you're in Singapore now. What is the mood there in Singapore? People must be now going to bed quite anxious and wanting to know more information about what's happened to their loved ones.

WALDRON: While I was at the airport today, they have a special holding area for people who are related to the passengers. They're protected by the police, and surrounded by the media who, of course, want to get a better insight into what's happening now.

The security people at the airport wouldn't tell us how many people were waiting at the airport. But otherwise, the mood in Singapore is kind of surreal. You look at the airport, planes are coming and going. It's almost strange that hasn't had more of an impact than it has. I mean, the airport is functioning normally. Other flights are still functioning normally, but we just had this horrible tragic aberration. And that's, of course --

MALVEAUX: It sounds like we lost Greg there.

BLACKWELL: We lost Greg there. Greg Waldron, our thanks to you, managing editor of "Flightglobal". We'll get back to you as soon as we can reconnect with you there in Singapore. Greg, thank you so much.

And we're learning more about the search. Indonesian officials, the air force there has deployed three planes including a surveillance plane to search for 8501. We're also learning that Singapore as joined this search with two C-130s, although the planes have been grounded for the night. The search included Singapore resources, Singaporean resources and Indonesian resources.

We're learning more about the crew there. We know that there were seven members of the crew, six Indonesian, one French. We'll get to our Will Ripley with details on the new information in just a moment. Breaking news continues after our break.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

MALVEAUX: We're back with our top story. A search at sea that is now under way in Southeast Asia for a passenger jet. It has been missing now for nearly 12 hours.

BLACKWELL: It is AirAsia Flight 8501, 162 people were onboard when it left Indonesia for Singapore around 5:30 Eastern yesterday evening.

Now, Indonesian officials say that about 45 minutes later, the plane disappeared from radar. Airline officials say they lost contact with the jet at about 7:24 Eastern.

MALVEAUX: The Airbus A32200 due to land at 8:30 Eastern last night. Well, now, searchers are combing the waters east of Indonesia for any trace of that flight. As families, as can you imagine, desperate to learn any information about the fate of their loved ones.

BLACKWELL: One hundred sixty-two people were onboard that missing plane, including seven crew members. The passengers were from six different nations, 155 Indonesians, that includes the crew, three from South Korea, Malaysia, one, one from Singapore, one from the United Kingdom and one person from France.

And we're just learning and this is just come in the last couple of minutes, that the French national onboard was the first officer on that plane. That means he was the co-pilot. The French foreign ministry made his family aware of the situation. And French authorities they say are now working in close collaboration with Indonesia to locate the plane.

So, with six crew members who were Indonesian, one French, we now know that the co-pilot in this case was French. That means that the pilot here -- the captain is Indonesian.

Let's bring in CNN's Will Ripley. He's in Beijing.

Will, what is being done for the families of the passengers onboard? I hear you have new information for us.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that fairly quickly after this, after this plane went missing, the families were notified and that allowed the airline to then pretty quickly put out the passenger manifest. They would only do something like that after notifying the families on everybody onboard. We know the majority of passengers onboard, we know that the majority of passengers, as you said, Indonesians.

This is time of year when a lot of people from Indonesia celebrate the new year. There is a pretty sizable Indonesian population there. There is interconnectivity. A lot of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia who might want to go and celebrate this week. So, there's a lot of air travel happening.

We know the families were notified. We also know that they have areas in both in Singapore and Surabaya, the two airports where the flight was expected to land and where the flight took off. So, families have been able to go to the special areas that are guarded, keeping them away from the press, the growing number of cameras that you know are at the airport just like we all were at the airport in Kuala Lumpur doing our job covering this.

But by keeping the families away from them, especially during this time and giving them some space where they can gather their thoughts, get information directly from the airline and then if they decide they want to come out and speak to the reporters about their loved ones who are missing or anything else on their mind, they have the right to do that.

But the fact that they're being given a space, away from all of the chaos to just sit there and compose themselves, that's critical. And another thing that's critical is continued transparency on part of the government and the part of the airlines, so that these family members are the first to know what is being learned in the search effort which now that night has fallen we can presume it should be wrapping up if it hasn't already.

But the families need to know that information. They shouldn't be learning from television reports, from Internet reports like a lot of the families did right during Flight 370 here in China and also in Kuala Lumpur as well.

BLACKWELL: And, Will, we learned a few moments ago that planes in this search have been grounded because of night fall. We assume the search will continue as soon as the sun up is again. But to reinforce your point about the communication between the airline, the government and the families, a tweet from Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia.

He writes, "Our priority is looking after all the next of kin if my staff and passengers. We will do whatever we can. We continue to pass information as it comes."

Again, we know he is in en route to Surabaya where this plane took off.

RIPLEY: We do. And, you know, he is a very media savvy CEO. We heard reports when he flies on the planes, he doesn't ask for the best seat but perhaps a seat closer to back so that passengers can have a better seat. So, he is certainly very aware of public perception, crisis management and this social media age.

And he knows that the number one priority is to communicate directly to the families. And given that 155 people on that plane are from Indonesia, that's why he felt Surabaya was the place to be as CEO. So, perhaps we'll see him giving information to those people and then probably also talking to the media there as well.

MALVEAUX: And, Will, paint a picture if you will for us. I know they've been separated from the rest in the airport. What kind of services are being offered to them now? What kind of information can they get now even though it's very, very early in this whole thing?

RIPLEY: Certainly, they will be deploying if they haven't already counselors, grief counselors, crisis management professionals. They'll be given food and water and things that they need. They will be fed. There will be sort services available for them.

And everybody has different ways of handling tragedies like this. We saw families here in Beijing. We saw families in Kuala Lumpur run the gamut of the spectrum of emotions during an extremely difficult, in the case of 370, a prolonged period. They were angry, they were sobbing. They were numb.

And so, whatever point these families are at in the process of taking in this information and in dealing with it in each of their own ways they're going to be offered the support services to try to help them get through that as best as possible.

And then, of course, procedurally, once a plane is located, if it's officially determined the plane crashed and it's no longer classified as missing, then you also have legal professionals there who start to talk about things like compensation for families. But, of course, all of that will happen farther down the road. The immediate concern right now is to make sure that that families are getting answers as they come in, so that even though the airline doesn't know what happened yet, the search has been suspended.

They can be rest assured that tomorrow morning when the sun comes up and that visual search begins where planes are flying over the Java Sea looking for any signs of debris, when they're using side scan sonar to look for debris floating in the water, that when pieces of debris are located, the families will be informed. They won't be in the dark during this really awful ordeal, that so many families in this part of the world had had to experience this year, one after another air tragedies.

MALVEAUX: All right. Will Ripley, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Victor, you know, it's one of those things where when you had MH370, some of the passengers that -- well, will the family of the passengers were so upset and distraught. They turned against the airline. There's so much emotion that they had no faith in that airline after a while, and I imagine that these families are turning to them and wanting as much comfort and as much information as quickly as possible because that 10-month was just -- it was heartbreaking for so many.

BLACKWELL: And, undoubtedly, there are lesson that's AirAsia and Indonesians are learning from the way that the disappearance of MH370 was handled in the early days and for several weeks as those families, months, in fact, the families waited for information.

We've got more information about what this search will look like. Who is joining this search, the resources, this growing coalition joined to search for this plane that disappeared just after taking off last night.

We'll have more information for you on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back, 7:26 here on the East Coast.

And we're following two breaking stories. Of course, first that missing plane, 8501, the AirAsia flight that disappeared in route from Indonesia to Singapore. And we're now getting details about this growing coalition to search for this plane.

We knew the Indonesians had three planes up including a surveillance plane. But we're now learning that the Malaysian, the Malaysian transport minister has announced that Malaysia deployed three vessels and three aircraft to join this Indonesian-led effort to find this plane. Also, we know that Singapore has deployed two C-130s to join the search.

Now, the planes have been grounded for the night because of night fall and the rough weather there. But we know that now the Indonesians, Singapore involved as well, and the Malaysian -- the Malaysians, obviously, after that search for 370, they have experienced in this search and they're now joining with three vessels and three aircraft.

MALVEAUX: We're also following another major breaking news story right now.

There are rescue efforts that are under way to try and reach passengers who were on a burning ferry. This is between Greece and Italy. This is in the Adriatic Sea. At least 150 people already have been rescued.

Now, it is unclear what started this fire. But officials say that it appears to -- that blaze started on the lower deck. This ferry was traveling to the city in Italy of Alcona, Italy. This is a joint Italian-Greek rescue operation underway, but there are some heavy winds that are in the area, that are hindering. We're going to continue to follow that breaking news story as well. We're going to be getting more information as this develops throughout the morning.

BLACKWELL: Two transportation disasters we're following this morning. We'll have more details after a quick break. Stay right here for breaking news coverage.

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