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One World with Zain Asher
City Police Commissioner Tells Associated Press There Appeared to be no Survivors; Air India Passenger Plane Crashes at Ahmedabad Airport; Air India Jet with 242 on Board Crashes Near Ahmedabad Airport; Doctor's Group: At Least Four Students at Hostel Missing; Indian Civil Aviation Authority: Aircraft Send May Day Call to Controllers Shortly after Takeoff; 200 Plus Feared Dead in India Plane Crash. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 12, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Hello, everyone. Live from New York. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching "One World". It
is the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade, and we are following the breaking news out of India right now, where a passenger plane bound for
London crashed just after takeoff near Ahmadabad Airport.
We want to warn you that the video you're about to see is quite disturbing. It shows the Boeing 787 Dreamliner struggling to stay airborne, then
descending, then disappearing behind buildings and ultimately bursting into a fireball. 242 passengers and crew members were on board.
Indian aviation officials say pilots made a May Day call shortly after takeoff. The city's police commissioner tells "The Associated Press" there
appear to be no survivors. Authorities say the plane hit a doctor's hostel as it went down, about 50 to 60 students there were taken to the hospital.
This according to the Indian Medical Association. Bystanders and families of victims are reacting with shock and sorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My sister was going to London. She was going to London, the plane crashed before she could reach London.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son went to the hostel to have his lunch. The plane crashed at the hostel. Nothing happened to my son. I have talked to him.
People died. I want to go inside to see my son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My office is 200 meters away from the crash site. I heard a loud noise, and came outside. I then saw a thick cloud of smoke.
People started running in chaos. Now that I have arrived here, I can see the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Will Ripley has more on the devastating crash and a warning that you may find some of the images within his report, disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Horrifying scenes in India, huge plumes of smoke rising over the Western
City of Ahmedabad.
RILEY: Air India flight 171 bound for London, Gatwick disappeared from radar within seconds of departure. Eyewitnesses say the jet plunged and
erupted into flames with 242 people on board. Flight tracking data shows the Boeing 787 lost signal at 625 feet less than a minute after takeoff.
JEFFREY THOMAS, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: This is a Boeing 787 this will be the first accident involving a 787 and it just celebrated a billion passengers
carried safely over 11 years. Basically, had a flawless record up till today, no passenger has been lost on Boeing 787.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Its safety record until today, virtually spotless. The crash site near a heavily populated area now swarming with emergency teams.
India's Civil Aviation Minister says all agencies are on high alert, coordinating rescue and recovery. Gatwick Airport, where flight 171 was
supposed to land, confirmed the incident. Instead of welcoming loved one's families there are now contacting air India's Emergency Support Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to CNN's Will Ripley for that report. We want to go now live to London with CNN's Salma Abdelaziz. And Salma, you have been
covering this breaking news since we first got word of this tragic plane crash. What more are we learning as more of these images continue to come
in?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the first thing that families are going to be focused on in terms of the latest developments is that
press conference from the CEO of Air India, where he said that some injured passengers were taken to hospital.
Now that contradicts what we had heard earlier from a local police commissioner, who said that there appeared to be no survivors, so for the
family members of those 242 passengers and crew on board, the sense of confusion, shock and anxiety must be absolutely through the roof Bianna.
Especially when you're looking at the images of the aftermath of this crash, which just happened in an instant. Let me just go through that
timeline again. Around 01:40 local time in the afternoon, the plane is supposed to take off, and less than a minute later, it loses signal with
flight tracking radar.
We now understand from social media video that we've been able to gather and verify that the plane, instead of taking off, essentially nosedive
towards the ground. A huge explosion is seen in this social media video where the plane crashes and then on the ground you can see the aftermath of
that scorched earth, burned building, portions of the plane, if not the whole plane crashing into this building where medical students were having
their lunch.
[11:05:00]
Dozens of them potentially hurt, some of them potentially killed. So, a disaster an epicentre that reaches beyond the plane itself and the 242
passengers on board to victims now on the ground. You heard that this could potentially be the worst airline disaster we've seen in years, in nearly a
decade.
And it has, of course, prompted a multinational response that begins, of course, with India's Prime Minister, who has deployed his men, deployed his
top in command to that scene to provide support to the families, to provide support to the emergency crews on the ground to provide support to the
hospitals.
Because the local hospital, according to our affiliate, received 200 bodies on top of how many ever-injured people, as well they're receiving. So,
entirely overwhelmed by this massive accident, there's also support that's been laid out by Air India, including a helpline and the Airline CEO read
out that help line number and urged family members to ring that number for up-to-date information.
But again, he also emphasized that he has to wait for that information to be verified, to be accurate, to be right, before he can give that to the
families. So, for the families, again, of those 242 people, they are ringing the phones. They are working the lines. They are trying to find out
what has happened to their loved ones. Their fate is still unclear.
When we're hearing this contradicting information, and then on the ground, of course, this rescue and recovery operation, a very intensive one, is
ongoing, not only to find any survivors, if there are any, but to grab any scrap of evidence of those passengers on board, and then, of course,
crucially, to gather the evidence needed for an investigation, including a black box.
You've seen the images of much of the plane intact, or portions of the plane intact. One can assume that that portion, gathering that black box,
will not necessarily be difficult, but again, the focus right now an investigation takes a long time. An investigation is secondary to answering
those questions for families who want to know, did my loved one make it out alive?
GOLODRYGA: Just devastating for these families as they wait for more answers and among the passengers we know, 169 are Indian nationals. 53 are
British, 1 Canadian, 7 Portuguese. So, this by definition, is really an international tragedy unfolding right now. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you.
And we're joined now by CNN's Safety Analyst David Soucie, who is also a Former FAA Safety Inspector. David, you've been on our air as well
throughout the morning, when you look at that horrific image of that first moment, and that's really what transpired here.
This plane had taken off, and just a moment later, we now know a minute later, that the pilot had issued a May Day call. The plane had reached an
altitude of 625 feet when its signal loss was lost, and it was traveling toward the ground at a speed of about 475 feet per minute, when it stopped
transmitting its location data.
When you take that into account, also just from watching the video that we've seen of that plane taking off and ultimately crashing just a moment
later. What stands out to you?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, it stands out to me. First of all, we have to look at the capability of the aircraft. The 787 is one of the
most sophisticated aircraft. The information that comes in and the cross checking about the configuration of the airplane before it takes off. All
of that information is available to the pilot.
They get all kinds of warnings. So, to see this aircraft in what appears to be a non-standard configuration, with the flaps up and the landing gear
down at that altitude, it seems like just the opposite of what should be happening. At that altitude the landing gear should be up and the flap
should be down to increase lift during that initial climb out.
So, something happened between making that decision as they roll down the runway, they reach what we call V1 which is the decision speed you're
further, far enough down the runway where you can't just hit the brakes and stop, you have to make that decision. So that decision was made.
And there were no warnings apparently at that point, or they would not have made that decision, but then they take off and something changes in that
configuration. So that's the first thing I'd be looking at, especially when we -- when the black boxes are recovered, as to what happened between that
decision to take off and the point at which it impacted that building in horrific fashion.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, I've heard you say before, as well as Mary Schiavo, our other aviation expert, that it appeared that there was a slow stall of the
plane. The plane was not able to gain enough speed immediately upon takeoff. Just talk about how dangerous that situation is. You mentioned the
flaps. And the fact that the nose of the plane, which is typically in a takeoff position supposed to be facing towards the sky was not this
morning.
[11:10:00]
SOUCIE: Yeah, it tells you a lot about, again, this configuration of the fact that somehow that aircraft could not get enough get into a
configuration where it would sustain the climb. So, we usually look at things that relate to power or configuration of the wing.
So, this area of safety, where we talk about this air speed or altitude, if you have enough air speed, you can still land safely. If you -- if you have
enough altitude, then you have enough time to glide safely so that when those two things don't coincide, which it appears happened here is there
wasn't enough thrust to keep the aircraft up, and there was too close to the ground to make any kind of recovery effort.
That's the danger zone. That's where you try to fly through that as quickly as you can to get out. This aircraft did not escape that safety zone, and
was not able to maintain lift. You mentioned that it was descending at 427 feet, I think, per minute, which is not an incredibly high rate of descent.
It's -- as you can see in the video, it slowly comes back down after the slow stall, then it drops off very quickly. But it's still in a slow stall
it doesn't -- it's not like the nose drops and it goes directly in. It just kind of pan cakes in at a lower speed. So, I'm sorry to be so graphic about
all this at this time, but we still have a lot to learn about what happened here.
GOLODRYGA: And in terms of learning what happened, if there is any good news out of this tragedy, it does appear that, hopefully the black box will
be found quickly, as the plane had crashed into a rather dense area there, and that parts of the plane are actually still intact. What more can
investigators learn from this black box alone?
SOUCIE: Well, the black box in this particular model of aircraft is incredibly important because of the fact that when this aircraft was
designed, and I was involved in the initial certification requirements of this aircraft, but there is actually stress sensors in the wing that tell
the black box and recorded as to how much pressure the wing is under.
Every single bit of not only the movements of the aircraft or the mechanics of it, but the stress factors on the fuselage, on the landing gear, on the
wings, all of that is recorded as well. So, it's going to be -- the investigation is going to be very detailed, and any piece of information
that the investigators will need will be available.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to investigate an accident with this type of aircraft. Well, fortunately, but in this case, there's going to be a lot
more information than there was when I was doing investigations few years back.
GOLODRYGA: And we know that the Boeing 787, the streamliner, this specific model, has a stellar record. This is the first known fatality crash for the
plane. Just talk about how that's going to impact the company, Boeing itself? And we know that the NTSB is enroute for this investigation, but
the significance of this model now being at the center of its first fatality.
SOUCIE: Yeah, it's going to tell a lot. Boeing is very concerned about it, I'm sure, but being under this microscope that they've been on ever since
the Max 8 accidents, and the quality assurance and the issues going on with that now, although there haven't many fatalities with the 787, prior to
this one, there has been some controversy.
There was a battery issue, which doesn't appear to be part of this investigation at all, initially, and that was resolved. And secondly, a
whistle blower mentioned something about how the fuselage body parts are matched together, and that there was some quality issues with that. I did
an investigation with that, and Boeing explained to me how that works.
And I don't feel like there's any safety issues, particularly none related to this accident. But this aircraft has, as you mentioned, a stellar
record. This particular aircraft was 10 years old, maybe 11 years old, and again, has been very reliable throughout its life.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, 10 or 11 years old just for our viewers to know that that is not considered very old, right for an aircraft. There are a number of
aircraft that are double that age that are taking off and flying safely right now. So that raises yet another question as to what could have
possibly gone wrong here. David Soucie, thank you so much.
And our coverage of the Air India crash will continue. We'll look at the plane itself and what may have happened during the crucial moments after
takeoff?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
GOLODRYGA: We want to update you on breaking news we've been following all morning a warning that you may find the video you're about to see
disturbing. A plane carrying 242 people has crashed in western India. The Air India flight went down shortly after taking off from the City of
Ahmadabad.
The plane was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. We're waiting on official casualty numbers, but the local police commissioner says there appear to be
no survivors. You can see plumes of smoke billowing from the scene of the crash, and according to the Civil Aviation Authority, the pilot reportedly
sent a May Day call shortly after takeoff.
On the ground a senior police official says the plane hit a doctor's hostel when it crashed, a civil aviation ministry official calls it a very
unfortunate event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MURLIDHAR MOHOL, JUNIOR INDIAN CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER: We are reaching the spot, and the rescue work is being carried out by the government, and our
ministry is coordinating it, and the prime minister is also monitoring the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The Air India flight that went down was a Boeing 787, Dreamliner that model faced some scrutiny last year over a whistle blower's claims.
Tom Foreman joins us with the details. So, Tom, we should note a stellar record in terms of not seeing any plane crashes or fatalities involving
this particular model.
In its early days, there were concerns about battery issues, and on top of that, we have this whistle blower that's adding to questions about this
model. Talk to us more about what you're learning.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This whistle blower was a contractor working for Boeing, and the allegation was that there were holes drilled in
the forward pressure bulkhead of the plane. That's what separates the pressurized portion of the plane for the crew and the passengers and the
rest of the plane.
And he said they were drilled in the wrong place, and that over time, they could cause instabilities in the plane, problems in the plane, that could
lead to catastrophic failure. Boeing looked at this and concluded that these alarms were far too advanced that it was not going to cause a
catastrophic failure. And that was the end of that matter seemingly.
The FAA has also been looking at this, seems on the forward pressure bulkhead, saying some of them seem wider than they ought to be, and raising
some alarms about that, saying there should be more inspections of this. All of this, though, is interesting Bianna, because this is not -- those
are not the sort of things that one would think would come into play at this point.
This plane was on the ground, basically, barely off the ground, so you're not dealing with the other pressure and temperature issues that you have at
altitude. It was probably doing about 200 miles an hour upon take off, and it barely got off the ground.
[11:20:00]
That's really the issue here. Now, could something else go wrong with the plane? Absolutely and they have to look at all the other possibilities of
something going wrong with the plane, or with the crew having simply made a catastrophic mistake.
GOLODRYGA: And what is Boeing saying at this moment Tom?
FOREMAN: Well, Boeing is saying what airline companies usually do at times like this, or building companies that they're going to cooperate fully in
finding out all the information about what happened with this plane. They may have been getting metrics fed to them depending on how the plane was
outfitted, even as this plane took off.
As they do on many planes, to keep track of what's going on with these air frames, because they obviously, they don't want something to go wrong with
any of their planes anywhere in the world. And Boeing has had a lot of pressures on it in recent years over things that have gone wrong.
But as David Soucie noted a minute ago, so far, and you noted as well, so far, this plane has had a very, very good record, which, in a way,
increases the mystery. Because you're wondering, was it something wrong with the plane? Was it something wrong with the crew?
I will point this out. Bianna, this aircraft -- this airport, has had a higher level of bird strike issues than some. We know from the Miracle on
the Hudson that bird strikes can take out engines very, very quickly, especially at a critical time. That could be a big deal.
We also know that a LATAM Airlines flight last year had a very dramatic descent all of a sudden in flight. It was not catastrophic, but it was a
big deal. And that was traced back to a switch on the pilot seat to adjust the seat that was inadvertently touched, and it thrust the pilot into the
controls, which caused a sudden loss of flight.
They -- it wasn't catastrophic then. But the question is, anything happening at this critical juncture when you're going from being on the
ground to in the air, that transitional moment is huge, and any kind of mistake that maybe you could recover from if you were, you know, a few 1000
feet in the air, especially if you're at 20 or 10 or 30,000 feet, maybe you don't have time here.
Think about that time line very, very, very quick, from the time they were off the ground to the time they were back on it.
GOLODRYGA: One minute, and it's a reminder that it's the takeoff and landing that we're always told are the most dangerous part of a flight,
even though we have also noted how safe travel is and has become over the last few decades.
FOREMAN: Yeah, it remains much safer than driving to the airport.
GOLODRYGA: No doubt, no doubt. Well, we'll continue to follow this story, of course. Tom Foreman, thank you always good to see you.
FOREMAN: You're welcome, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Ahead on "One World", we'll be talking to a Former Managing Director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board about the major
investigation still to come into that tragic plane crash.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Here are some headlines we're watching today. Downtown, Los Angeles has
just ended its second night under an overnight curfew aimed at calming the immigration protests that have raged for more than six days.
A court hearing is set for later on, California's push to limit how the Trump Administration can use the marines and National Guard in the state.
The U.S. is moving some non-essential diplomatic and military employees out of the Middle East as tensions with Iran grow. This as the UN Nuclear Watch
Dogs Board of Governors says Iran is in breach of its Non-Proliferation obligations.
That's sure to raise the temperature when a sixth round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to happen in Oman on Sunday. The
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, seen in this recent video, says at least five of its aid workers are dead. The group, which is backed by Israel and the
U.S., says a bus carrying more than two dozen of its staff came under attack from Hamas. The aid workers were enroute to a distribution site in
Khan Yunis. Hamas has not responded to this allegation.
Well, any moment now, the United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and
permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza. It also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by
Israel. The U.S. vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week.
Well, we turn now for more on our breaking news -- Western India, there is devastating news now coming from the police commissioner there, and we want
to warn you the following video is disturbing. The police commissioner telling "The Associated Press" that it looks like there are no survivors
among the 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport.
Our affiliate in India, CNN News 18, is reporting that 200 more than 200 bodies have already been received at a nearby hospital. The Boeing 787,
Dreamliner was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. The British Foreign Secretary is sending condolences to the victims of the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LAMMY, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: My thoughts, and I am sure those of the entire house are with those who have been affected by the tragic plane
crash in India this morning. We know that British nationals were on board. And Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that the FCDO is working urgently with local
authorities to support British nationals and their families, and has stood up a crisis team in both Delhi and in London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now from Gatwick Airport near London. And Nada, we know that more than 50 British nationals were on board that
flight as passengers. What more are you learning? What are you hearing from those who have gathered at the airport behind you?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look at this stage. Officials and authorities here at Gatwick Airport are taking extra care to ensure that
this is a moment of privacy, of course, for family members and loved ones who may be gathering at the airport.
We know, of course, that Gatwick has established what is being described as a reception center for family members and loved ones where they will
receive updates and receive support from officials here. And there's also been, of course, that hotline set up in the early hours of this morning for
family members to receive those crucial updates in the fate and condition of their loved ones who may have been on board that fight.
But again, this is being treated as a moment of privacy for those family members, while there has been a significant outpouring of interest and
press interest here in London, of course, this is a very difficult moment, a moment of anguish for so many of those loved ones of the 53 British
nationals who were on board.
[11:30:00]
And, of course, many others who are on board traveling to London. Our flight was expected to land here at around 06:25pm Eastern Time, among the
242 passengers and crew member on board.
169 of those were Indian nationals, as I mentioned, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian National. We know, of course, that the
United Kingdom has said that it will be sending an air accident investigation team to India to provide support as this investigation to the
fatal crash continues.
A team from the U.S. is also expected to travel on West India to also provide support to this is going to be truly a multi-national investigation
effort. Of course, there are still many questions that have not been answered with regards to what in fact, led to this fatal crash.
And of course, important to remember that while there were 242 passengers and crew members on board the flight, the crash actually occurred in a
residential area as well, also directly impacting a hostel for medical students and medical staff for a nearby Medical Center.
And as we understand it, according to local police officials and also authorities from the Indian Medical Association, dozens of students between
50 and 60, they say, have now been taken to hospital for urgent care around between 4 and 5, they say, are still missing, and at least 2 are in
intensive care at the moment.
So, the impact of this crash is being felt widely, and there are still many questions mounting. We are still waiting for those updates and for more
answers to come in.
GOLODRYGA: No one's waiting more than those family members of those passengers desperate to hear anything about the fate of their loved ones.
Nada Bashir outside of Gatwick Airport. Thank you. Let's bring in Zakka Jacob. He is the Managing Editor of CNN News18 in New Delhi.
Zakka, thank you so much for taking the time. My first question to you, as this tragedy has been unfolding, and as we've been hearing from officials,
is that there does appear to be perhaps a discrepancy in terms of what officials are saying as it relates to the casualty, death toll figure.
The police commissioner saying earlier that there sadly appear to be no survivors. The CEO of the airliner may be saying something different. What
can you tell us?
ZAKKA JACOB, MANAGING EDITOR OF CNN NEWS18: So, we can report to you that there is one survivor. It's a miracle. His name is Ramesh Vishwa Kumar.
He's a British national. He was seated in seat 11A which is the first row of the economy class. He was seated in a seat that was closes to the
emergency exit.
What he did, and he has recounted this to reporters, was he jumped off the aircraft right after impact. Right after it crashed, he jumped off through
the exit window, through the exit door, really, and then was seen limping. There's video footage now available of him in the immediate aftermath of
the crash, seen limping towards an ambulance, and then an ambulance has taken him to hospital.
We can now report to you that Ramesh Vishwa Kumar a British national who was back here in India, is a person of Indian origin. He was back here in
India for a holiday, had spent a few days here in India, was going back home to London. He is the sole survivor, and it is a miracle story that he
managed to survive.
And what's also interesting is that from whatever we've seen in the passenger manifest, he was not supposed to sit in seat 11A, he was supposed
to sit in a seat 11J, something happened between the time of check in and the time of the crash that he changed his seat.
He got the window seat 11A, which was closes to the emergency exit. He jumped out and he survived. He is the only known survivor in this crash.
All the others are suspected to be dead, is the word that we're getting from local authorities. As far as the hospital is concerned, the main civil
hospital in Ahmedabad, where a large number of these bodies have been rushed to.
They had told us some time back the 210 bodies had been taken for post mortem, so at least 210 confirmations of death have happened. There's also
a fear Bianna, of the people who were on the ground, you were referring to the medical college hostel where a large number of undergraduate medical
students had gathered.
It was lunchtime. It was 01:39 when this crash happened. There were a large number of these students who had gathered there for lunch, at least 30
people who were grievously wounded, who were on ground inside this building when the plane crashed into this building. At least 30 of them had been
taken to hospital, some of them in a very, very grievous state of injury.
We don't know the state of all of these people who were on the ground, if all of them managed to survive, or if there have been fatalities there as
well.
[11:35:00]
But I'm afraid the fear is not just for the people who are on board, but also the people who are on the ground. In terms of what the local
authorities and the government of India has been doing. The Prime Minister tweeted his condolences sometime back. He's also likely to visit Gujarat
tomorrow, is what we've heard from a senior cabinet minister.
He also instructed his number two in the government, the Home Minister, Mr. Amit Shah, to reach Ahmedabad, he was there at the crash site moments ago.
He's left from there to the hospital. He will be with the victims and the families of the victims as they await word.
We're also given to understand that the Indian railways, is running a special train service from Delhi to Ahmedabad for those family members who
would like to get to Ahmedabad to get to the hospital and get a sense of what has happened to their loved ones. Quite interestingly, we also have
this one-minute footage.
It appears to be CCTV footage shot from somewhere inside the airport complex itself, where you can see the flight take off, and within a minute,
you can see it coming crashing down, almost like somebody threw a giant rock from the skies. So, what we understand from preliminary information is
that the flight climbed up to about 600 feet.
The Ahmedabad airport itself is about 200 feet above sea level, so it barely climbed about 400 feet. And right after that, it started making the
descent. Experts suggest, at least from these images, from these videos that we're playing out, it seems that both engines failed, and that's
something that has happened, you know, one in a million occasion.
The last time this happened was in the famous New York episode where Captain Sully landed his jet on the Hudson River.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and this is all just preliminary information we are getting. As we have noted, the NTSB is enroute in sending its own officials
to lead this investigation now. We should also note that incredible story that you just relayed about what appears to be one known surviving
passenger who has happened to be seated in 11J Ramesh.
CNN has not yet confirmed that reporting, but let me quickly ask you before we go, has he been speaking with officials? I mean, there seems to be quite
a bit of information about this passenger who reportedly miraculously just jumped out of his seat and managed to escape this crash.
Who has he been speaking to local media or authorities? Where is his information coming from, Zakka?
JACOB: He has been speaking to local media. There's also a video footage, Bianna, of him limping away just moments after the crash. He's been
speaking to local reporters, as well as to the authorities there. He's currently receiving treatment in a hospital in Ahmedabad.
And what he said was that within 30 seconds of take-off, he heard a loud bang. He was sitting at the seat 11A which is the closes to the emergency
exit, and he just jumped off the flight. He also went on to say that he could just see a huge plume of smoke, black smoke and fire.
He said there was a lot of mangled remains around him, a lot of dead bodies around him. He got scared, and he started running. And then somebody on the
ground captured that on a mobile phone of him limping towards an ambulance. And then he says the ambulance took him to the hospital.
He's been identified as Ramesh Vishwa Kumar, a person of Indian origin, but a British national. He was seated at seat 11A.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
JACOB: And it's quite providential, really, that he was not supposed to sit at that seat. He had another seat assigned to him, something happened
whereby he exchanged that seat, and he is, at least until now, the only known survivor of this crash.
GOLODRYGA: Unbelievable, something we see only in movies, as we've noted CNN has yet to confirm that bit of reporting, but it is incredible to know
that perhaps there is one, at least one known survivor who managed to just walk away from this devastating crash. As Zakka Jacob from CNN News18 in
India. Thank you so much for joining us. And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
GOLODRYGA: We are continuing to follow breaking news and a warning you may find the following video disturbing. We are monitoring the scene in Western
India where an Air India Boeing passenger plane crashed less than a minute after taking off. The moment of impact, caught here on video.
The jet had just left the Ahmedabad airport heading to London, Gatwick, with 242 passengers and crew members on board. The plane crashed into a
nearby neighborhood, where many are also fear dead. We will continue to monitor this tragic story throughout the hour. Let's bring in CNN Aviation
Analyst, Peter Goelz.
He's a Former NTSB Managing Director and Senior Vice President with O'Neill Associates. Peter, thank you so much for taking the time. So, as we've
noted, the NTSB said that they will be leading a team of investigators now on the ground there in about close to the crash site. What are some of the
first things they will be looking into as they lead this investigation?
PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, this investigation will be conducted under the International Civil Aviation Organization,
investigative structure, ICAO. 193 members India, the United States and the UK are all members, and they set out a structure that every accident
follows. So, the U.S. will advise the Indian DGCA as an accredited representative, the place where the plane was manufactured.
The British investigative unit, the AAIB, will advise, because likely the engines were made in the UK, and there were a significant number of UK
passengers on board. The first thing that they will do is try to secure the data recorders. There are two on board, a data recorder that records
literally thousands of points of as the aircraft is flying.
And the cockpit voice recorder, which will record all the sounds and discussions taking place during the final moments prior to the crash. Those
two devices are absolutely critical to getting a quick read on what happened in this tragedy.
GOLODRYGA: And we know that just within the minute, literally of takeoff before this crash, the pilot issued a May Day call. What does that tell
you? Will, will be able to find out what he said in that call?
GOELZ: Well, we will be able to get the information from the voice recorder. And if he did issue a May Day, it had to be just as the plane was
flying, you know, at about 160 knots, that pass what they call V1 which is where the plane is committed to flying. It no longer is going to be able to
stop on the runway.
So, they were in the air. They never got above 700 feet. And the question is, why were the engines shut down? For some reason, Tom Homan mentioned
the miracle on the Hudson where the one in a million chances both engines were struck by birds. The video that we've seen really doesn't show any
issues with the engines.
[11:45:00]
This will be a complex investigation, but we'll get to the bottom of it. The Americans, the Brits, led by the Indians, will find what happened.
GOLODRYGA: Right. Because in the video that we do see, and we want to remind our viewers, as graphic as it is, it is very important, especially
for investigators, to look at as they piece together what went so tragically wrong here. As you noted, it doesn't appear that the engines had
any smoke that they were releasing.
GOELZ: Right.
GOLODRYGA: It didn't appear to show any of that. What was unusual is that the landing gear was down and the flaps looked like they were up. Also, we
noted that the nose of the plane wasn't in the traditional position as one would expect when a plane is in takeoff. What questions does that raise?
GOELZ: Well, it looks like the plane was almost flaring, which they do upon landing, but you're right. I mean, the first thing that once you're in the
air, once you're flying, you retract the landing gear because it is such a drag on the aerodynamics of flight. Why the landing gear was not with
pulled up is a question.
And the investigators will also look for any kind of video tape that might have been taken from the airport, which shows the plane prior to take off,
as it was in process of going down the runway. It's very important to get a look and see whether it was configured correctly, whether it was going the
right speed, whether there were any warning signs whatsoever externally, but that will come out in the next 24 to 48 hours.
This is a, you know, there's a great deal of pandemonium at the site right now, but investigators will be zeroing in on getting those two data
recorders into a laboratory as quickly as possible.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, hopefully that can happen as soon as possible, as you just noted. Peter Goelz, thank you for joining us. Thanks for sharing your
expertise.
GOELZ: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And we turn now to immigration protests gripping the parts of Los Angeles, a 2.5 square kilometer area of Downtown was under curfew for a
second straight night. About 700 Marines mobilized near L.A. and are expected to deploy in the next couple of days.
You can see them here doing their training exercises. Now, later today, a federal judge will hear arguments in California's bid to block those
deployments. The Marines presence will add to the thousands of National Guard troops that are already in action. Sources telling CNN that President
Trump had been looking for days to use for ways to use the military to bolster his immigration crackdown for months.
The Los Angeles Mayor has been pushing back on the characterization of the protests as widespread riots. She says the Trump Administration has misled
the public about its immigration crackdown. Now those protests in Los Angeles are the subject of a major court hearing today, as we noted.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is trying to block Donald Trump's deployment of Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles. The state
says the Trump Administration had no right to take control of some 4000 California National Guard troops and sends 700 Marines to Los Angeles.
To help us understand, the legal implications of all of this. We're joined by Jeff Swartz. He's a Former Miami-Dade County Court Judge and a Professor
at the Thomas Cooley Law School. Jeff, welcome to the program. A brief win for President Trump earlier this week when the governor filed this lawsuit
and asked for the presence of the National Guard and the troops to immediately be recalled.
The judge said their presence was going to be allowed, but did say that this hearing would be taking place today. Explain to us, what we can expect
to see, not us being in the courtroom, but the events that will be unfolding during this hearing.
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: Yeah. Well, good morning, Bianna. All I can tell you is that the real issue is going to be
is, how far are these federal troops going to be able to assist. Right now, there is the Army Lieutenant General who is sitting there saying, well,
we're going to be there and we have the authority to detain people until the police show up if they interfere with the INS people that we are there
to protect.
To the same extent, the question now comes in is, did the president actually have the right to nationalize the National Guardsmen. It does not
appear in a real reading of the statute in question that he did have that authority, because it doesn't fit any of the three criteria for it. So,
it's going to be a question of whether the Marines are going to be allowed to stay.
[11:50:00]
And if they are allowed to stay, how far can they go because they are bound by the posse comitatus regulations and rulings that say that regular armed
services, federal services, cannot go on the street and fight with or use their force against American citizens, except for in these three instances,
such as insurrection, such as invasion, or where the president is not capable otherwise to perform the duties that is enforcing the laws of the
United States.
GOLODRYGA: And we know that the president has yet to invoke the Insurrection Act.
SWARTZ: Correct.
GOLODRYGA: Though he has called some of these protester's insurrectionists themselves. But couldn't one argue that these three criteria could be
viewed rather subjectively, and if this does go against or go in favor of California's Governor, one would expect that the administration would
appeal, that it could go all the way up to the Supreme Court.
And we know from precedents that the Supreme Court is questions really taking away any of the authority that the president has as executive.
SWARTZ: Generally speaking, the court has been that way, but we've been living with posse comitatus for 250 years. And we have only had really
instances where, for example, in 1965 Lyndon Johnson -- they took over the National Guard in Alabama, which was being used against for Wallace to keep
someone from going to a school.
So, we activated him so that Wallace did not have that background and a backup, and therefore could then use them to allow this student to enter
the University of Alabama. That fits as far as the real issue is, yes, there will be an appeal if Mr. Trump loses, only because he wants to do
this other places.
This is important. This is to him. He feels that he needs to be able to use the army to run the country, and that's exactly why we have that we
separate the army and the armed services from civil enforcement. Clearly, in this instance, the L.A. Police and their assistant police officers from
the L.A. County have clearly got control over the situation.
They don't need right now the National Guard, and they certainly don't need 1000 active-duty Marines to come in there and start enforcing the law.
That's not their job.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Jeff Swartz will be watching. Thank you so much. We'll be right back.
SWARTZ: Have a good day.
GOLODRYGA: You too.
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[11:55:00]
GOLODRYGA: All right, we continue to follow breaking news of the tragic plane crash in India. And just to reiterate, these images may be disturbing
to some viewers, an Air India flight bound for London's Gatwick Airport crashed just moments after taking off from Ahmedabad, India, this morning.
242 passengers and crew were on board. The plane crashed and exploded in a residential area, and you can see the giant plume of smoke rising above the
scene of this video. The jet hit a medical school where students were having lunch at the time. Parts of the plane have been left sticking out of
that building.
The city's police commissioner has told associated press that he believes there are no survivors from on board the plane. We will continue to monitor
this tragic story throughout the next hour of "One World" as well. And do stay with CNN. I'll have more "One World" after the break.
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