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Quest Means Business
Hollande, Merkel and Rajoy Visit Germanwings Crash Site; German Town Mourning Loss of 16 Students; Heinz Announces Merger with Kraft. Difficult Terrain and Weather at Crash Site Hinders Recovery; BBC Drops "Top Gear's" Clarkson; Remembering the Victims of 9525. Aired 5-5:30p ET
Aired March 25, 2015 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST (voice-over): A serious fall on the Dow Jones. It was down most of the (INAUDIBLE) pretty much all of the
session. The market was off more than 1.5 percent, 300 points just about, when the gavel was hit, ooh, that's some serious gaveling on Wednesday.
It's the 25th of March.
Tonight: inside the crash of Flight 9525, audio from the black box recorder has now been recovered.
Also a massive food merger: Heinz is buying Kraft with a little help from Warren Buffett.
And Jeremy Clarkson's career has hit a roadblock as he's fired by the BBC.
I'm Richard Quest, back in New York where, of course, I mean business.
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QUEST: Good evening tonight. French investigators have revealed in new details about the final moments of Germanwings Flight 9525 as the
recovery teams are battling difficult conditions at the crash site. The top French investigator says the debris pattern suggests the plane hit the
ground before breaking apart.
At this hour, search teams have recovered one of two so-called black boxes, the cockpit voice recorders and they say they've managed to listen
to some of the audio from the CVR.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REMI JOUTY, DIRECTOR, FRENCH BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS: We hope to have the first rough ideas in a matter of days and having a full
understanding of it in conjunction with all the other information coming in particular from other recorder parameters, will take weeks and even months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: For Lufthansa, which owns Germanwings, the chief executive has said that the company remains shocked by the event and for a lifelong man
who's been in aviation his entire career he's never seen anything like it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARSTEN SPOHR, CEO, LUFTHANSA: Believe me, after 20 years in this industry and being a Lufthansa pilot myself, we still cannot understand
what happened here yesterday. Lufthansa has never in itself history lost an aircraft in close flight. And we cannot understand how an airplane which
was in perfect technical condition with two experienced and trained Lufthansa pilots was involved in such a terrible accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And that's the scenario of the events of today. The cockpit voice recorder has been the best lead so far and as you can see it was very
badly damaged in what happens.
We need to talk some analysis on the cockpit voice recorder and what we heard from the various press conferences.
David Soucie is a -- good to see you -- CNN safety analyst.
So let's start with the cockpit voice recorder. They say they've managed to retrieved some of the information from it.
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Which looks impossible to do, because this thing looks so torn up. But this part right here -- let's do
that. This part right here is only for transmitting and changing the analog data into digital data. So it's a converter and a compressor.
Once that's done, it puts it into this box, which is made out of stainless steel and is very, very protective.
QUEST: Right. So they've managed to get some of the information from this. But how many channels? What does it do? What does it help them if
they can't get the flight data recorder?
SOUCIE: There's about five channels in here. And there's five cards in here. Those five cards would transfer into here. So there's five decks
in here as well. And those five channels can give you so much information, there are different microphones throughout the cockpit.
QUEST: But one thing we also heard today, of course, if we look at the debris field or at least part of the debris field, they say that
they've found the shell of the flight data recorder, but not the reporters, the recorder itself.
Now explain to me how difficult it's going to be when, by their own admission, we're talking about tiny pieces.
SOUCIE: Exactly, very, very small pieces. This is very similar to an accident site I did in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a very similar valley, had to be
dropped in by helicopter. And as you go through this and you walk -- I don't know if -- I think there is a person on this particular one -- but to
get a scale, we're looking at about that size for a person. And so when we're talking about that size of a person, you can see how small these
little pieces are inside here --
(CROSSTALK)
SOUCIE: -- very hazardous --
QUEST: -- millions of little pieces, how -- do they have to look at each one, mark each one, remove each one?
SOUCIE: For the most part, they do. But what we're -- what they're going to be looking at is identifiable pieces. So if it's just a piece of
aluminum, they're not going to spend their time on that. They're going to look at something that identifies --
QUEST: One of the crucial things we did learn during the course of the day was it took 10 minutes to get from 38,000 feet.
Was it a constant rate of decline that we knowing about?
SOUCIE: Originally we thought it was, Richard. We thought that this was just exactly constant, which would indicate that there was the
autopilot that had connected and said I'm going to get down to the here. But if you look at this, there's these slight movements in here and that
indicates that there may have been hand-flown at this point.
So that's --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: As you can see here, the speed remains pretty constant.
SOUCIE: Pretty constant, but if you notice at this point right here, that's when it starts fading off, which tells me a couple of things.
You're losing power because this is energy. So if the flight, if the airplane's going down, it creates energy. So you would think that it would
speed up, it would try to speed up. But that's not what's happening here.
Those throttles were pulled back or the power was lost --
QUEST: OK. So we've had the cockpit voice recorder. We've got the debris field. We've got the flight -- the altitude and we have the map.
Are we any closer and feel free to say no, are we any closer to knowing what happened there?
SOUCIE: Well, as without the preloaded question of no, I'd say yes, we kind of are because with this cockpit voice recorder, they've been able
to get information from. And from the beginning to the end as well. So they're -- they can do a lot of things with that. As I mentioned, the five
switches, they can locate by volume of each of those switches and each of those microphones which switch was flipped. So there's a lot of good
information in there.
QUEST: And you'll be helping us understand what it's all about. Many thanks indeed. David Soucie.
Now the president of France said he was taken by emotion when he saw the families of some of the 150 victims of 9525 begin to arrive at the
crash site. President Francois Hollande was alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Together they
visited the recovery staging area. And at the press conference that followed, the tone was solace and solidarity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): The families of the victims who will come should be not only welcomed but given
support.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): This is a very moving day that the thoughts of the French people, all the people here
in this region are giving support.
MARIANO RAJOY, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER: We want to be in solidarity, working together, and we want to investigate this together as it is our
duty as Europeans and above all as human beings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Mariano Rajoy. The latest from the recovery effort at the crash site. Our CNN international correspondent is Nic Robertson. He
joins me now from the staging area.
The balancing act, Nic, that they have to do when the research begins again between the recovery of the remains and they've got to find the
flight data recorder, which has become disengaged from its housing.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have. And it does seem that the sort of preponderance of people actually
physically put on the ground because that's a difficult process, these are very rugged mountains and it's a very narrow valley and the helicopters
can't land. The people who seem to be landing on the ground most seem to be more involved with the recovery, marking the positions of all the people
who have been -- who died in the crash as opposed to putting people on the ground who are sifting physically through the debris, looking for that data
recorder.
Why do I say that? Because this is what we heard from the head of the (INAUDIBLE) investigation that they're doing more over flights from the
investigation.
But as we've been witnessing here all day, it's been intense air activity in the process of the recovery. This is what we've seen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Ropes, harnesses, recovery teams in mountaineering equipment, this most straightforward crash recovery, high in
the French Alps, only helicopters can get to the crash site. And even then, not able to land, only drop investigators by rope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, it's impossible, only by winch.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): This lady lives here, heard the crash, knows the mountains well.
SANDRINE BOISSE, PRA LOUP: It's behind here. You see? All the mountain and it's a very small valley, very close.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Helicopters in the air all day, priority recovery: the bodies.
XAVIER ROY, CHIEF SEARCH COORDINATOR, HELICOPTER CIVIL DIVISION: (INAUDIBLE) the position of ordinary (ph) things and to -- for medical to
determine (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Each helicopter one step closer to recovering the bodies of the victims from the mountainside. This now a race against
time concerns are that the weather is closing in. The rain, even snow (INAUDIBLE) coming and (INAUDIBLE) investigators as well.
Slow as none can be moved until remains are documented. Air accident and criminal investigators taken into the mountains, too.
Now just the cause of the crash in question but responsibility for the deaths.
The French President Francois Hollande led the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to inspect the
results so far. No bodies recovered yet, but Merkel, whose nation lost at least 72 citizens aboard Flight 9525 and Rajoy, who lost 49 nationals,
slow, somber and respectful as they met the recovery teams.
It is unprecedented that these three leaders should come here together to review the recovery and come here so quickly. It speaks volumes to the
international grief that's being felt in coming days. It will be families of victims who will be arriving here, searching for solace.
It may take time. These craggy mountains in no hurry to offer up their secrets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: And those secrets include not only that data recorder that's broken loose of its mountains and would be smaller and harder to
find there on the hillside, but also obviously give up in secrets about where everyone is and of course that is a primary concern as the families
head towards here.
QUEST: Nic Robertson, who is in the Alps and will be coverage it in the days ahead, Nic, we thank you for that.
One particular town has been devastated by the Germanwings crash. Among them are 16 schoolchildren who were on their way home from an
exchange program. We will visit that town.
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QUEST: QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: in the wake of the Germanwings crash that killed 144 passengers and six crew, the airlines flight schedule is
slowly returning to normal. Some Germanwings flights were forced to be canceled after staff and crew scheduled around 40 flights said they were
too traumatized to fly.
Speaking earlier, the chief executive of Germanwings said the entire airline is in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS WINKELMANN, CEO, GERMANWINGS (through translator): We have of course, yesterday had crews, crew members, who said they would not be able
to fly for emotional reasons. We are a small family; everybody knows each other within Germanwings. And this is why the shock is a main (ph) for all
the members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: With any air crash, the stories and tales of those who've been lost are simply distressing.
Senior international correspondent Fled Pleitgen joins Haltern in Germany. It's a town that's in mourning. It's lost 16 schoolchildren and
two teachers on 9525.
Almost unbearable grief, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. It is almost unbearable and certainly one that was very much on display here, Richard,
throughout this entire day as the makeshift memorial that you see glowing behind me, those many flowers and candles grew bigger and bigger as more
and more people came here. It really was a steady stream of folks who came by here, many of them in tears, many of them giving each other hugs.
The other thing that's happened today, Richard, is that the school itself has announced the names of those who were killed in this tragic
incident. Of course, you have those 16 schoolchildren from that Spanish exchange class as well as two teachers who were killed as well.
So it certainly was a day of tragedy, a day of mourning here. Let's have a look at how it unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Overwhelmed by pain and sorrow, many of those coming to the makeshift memorial at the Joseph-Konig School are in tears,
mourning the loss of 16 students and two teachers.
And Philippa (ph) and her mother, Orica (ph), were close to the victims.
PHILIPPA, FRIEND OF CRASH VICTIMS: I knew all of them. They were all my great and to some I was very close. And yes, there was one good friend
of me also and we already planned things for the future, what we're going to do when they returned from that trip.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Haltern is a tight-knit community. The crash has jolted this otherwise sleepy town and left many of its young people
fighting the agony.
PHILIPPA: I think it's very important to be together with them so everyone could support each other and say that everything is going to be
fine somehow, although nobody thinks so.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): People here say they were devastated when they heard that Flight 9525 had crashed and saw the images of the impact site in
Southern France.
Emergency psychological counselors are here all the time, providing help to those who need it. As this town continues to mourn and grieve and
more and more people come here to the sea of flowers and candles, people here are also demanding answers. They want to know how it can be that so
many of their friends and loved one were taken from them so violently as they were returning from their school trip.
But for now, officials are asking for patience that the investigation continues.
Haltern City Hall has been turned into a crisis center, the mayor running the operation, clearly moved by the events.
BODO KLIMPEL, MAYOR OF HALTERN, GERMANY: I'm here and I can talk with people and to the parents and the brothers and sisters. Yes, just
everything that I can is do to be here.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Back at the Joseph-Konig School, that help is appreciated but clearly it will take more time for the people of this town
to overcome the disaster that has hit their community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: Of course, Richard, really a time of many tears here right now in this very small town of Haltern. But we also have the feeling here
when we speak to people that they are also gathering strength right now. There's one woman I spoke to who said that every time she thinks about the
incident that happened that she bursts into tears but the same time says she also sees that somewhat of a mission of hers now to be there for the
parents of the children who were killed and tried to comfort them in these very trying times.
And one other thing that we should add as well is that the city officials told us that they are actually working very closely with
Germanwings as well. There's a Germanwings representative here at all times to try and of course also help the families with any sort of
logistical concerns. And that's of course going to be very important when those flights are set to depart for France tomorrow.
QUEST: Fred Pleitgen, who is in Germany, covering that part, Fred, thank you, Fred, keep us informed on the development, a reminder that the
planes going from France and from Germany -- sorry; from Spain and from Germany will both go to France tomorrow, to Marseilles, where the relatives
and the friends and those who wish to will be taken as close as they can. But of course, the actual site itself, that remains cordoned off as the
recovery of remains continues.
This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, live.
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QUEST: U.S. markets fall after disappointing economic data. The Dow Jones industrials is down 1.6 percent. The market is off some 300 points,
17,718 for the market. (INAUDIBLE) only one small blip at the beginning where the market was higher for the rest of the session it was down. And
in fact it closed at the worst of the day.
The fall in durable goods orders helped to sort of push the market perversely sentiment down. The Nasdaq made the steepest drop, losing 2.3
percent. Apple fell more than 2.5 percent.
And interestingly, the market fell and fell sharply despite M&A news that normally perhaps would have really given it a boost because the size
of this and in significance of this deal, Heinz is buying Kraft Foods in a $40 billion deal. This is almost like the 1980s in these sort of big RJR
and Nabisco type deals.
It's with help of the owner of the private equity group, 3G Capital, and Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's company. The new company, how
original, will be called Kraft Heinz and it will bring together -- just look at their products. On this line you have Kraft itself, Jell-o,
Planters Nuts, Maxwell House. Then you've got Heinz, Bagel Bites, Lea & Perrins. I do like a bit of Lea & Perrins in my tomato soup.
Anyway, it's going to create the world's fifth largest food and drinks company. Kraft was up 35 percent in Wednesday's trading. Let's put this
together. CNNMoney's Cristina Alesci joins me.
Interestingly, two such well-known names, but only the fifth largest group.
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Kraft itself, the Kraft that we're talking about today, is actually just the U.S.-focused
business, the high-growth, sexy international business which spun off in a company called Mondelez. So what essentially is leftover from Kraft is the
businesses that you named and the problem is there's a growth problem with Kraft because it was left selling Cool Whip and Velveeta and mac and cheese
to a U.S. consumer that wanted more and more natural ingredients, organic, fresh food.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: You're saying a name that is synonymous with the supermarket was actually in trouble.
ALESCI: It was. It was flat. But it was not sexy for public investors. So what this deal does is it's going to help the company cut
costs. Because if you can't grow the top line, you got to slash costs to boost the bottom line.
The investors that you mentioned, 3G Capital, these Brazilian (INAUDIBLE), they are known for cutting costs. So that's number one.
Number two, the logic here is that you can take Kraft's U.S. products that they have not been able to sell overseas and plug it into Heinz's
distribution network internationally so you get the international growth that Kraft was looking for.
QUEST: Where do you grow the product line? Because you go back to your first answer, which was about they're not making the healthy future
goods that people want to buy. If you're just selling Velveeta cheese, yes, you'll make some more markets. But you've got to grow the cake, to
pardon the pun.
ALESCI: You do. And they're trying. They're experimenting with these high-protein snacks and selling nuts and cheese mixes that appeal to
that Millennial person that's trying to healthier. But at the end of the day, they've really had a tough time doing it. So they're going to do the
easy thing first, which is take their products overseas to emerging markets and sell there.
QUEST: Warren Buffett is also assisting with this. Tell me that part.
ALESCI: Well, he's famously said he likes to eat like a 6-year-old, too. So presumably he eats a lot of mac and cheese. And this is a guy
that owns Sees Candies, Dairy Queen, Mars. He provided financing for Burger King to take over Tim Horton's. Look, for him, he's got a
completely different goal than a public investor does. He doesn't care too much about growth. What he wants is steady cash flow.
And as healthy as Americans are -- go ahead.
QUEST: Look at these numbers, $18 billion on rev for '12, '13, '14. It's steady but it's actually down. But it's not -- he's got to -- the
business has to grow.
ALESCI: That's the beautiful thing about Warren Buffett. He doesn't care too much. As long as it's a steady, controlled decline or even flat,
he's OK. He wants the cashflow. And we've seen him do this with other businesses before because he knows at the end of the day as healthy as
Americans want to be, they're still going to want their one burger a week or their mac and cheese occasionally. So as long as that buying pattern
continues here -- and it can get a little bit more overseas, then he's good.
QUEST: I have to confess, as we say thank you, I love Kraft mac and cheese. It's --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: -- I have no idea what's in it. I have no idea; I don't want to know what's in it.
European markets are down. The euro pushed back against the dollar. These are the numbers. The FTSE was down as the Xetra DAX lost the biggest
-- the biggest losses were in the Paris. The euro climbed to 110 against the dollar. The DAX fell to a two-week low. (INAUDIBLE) business climate
better than expected for March.
Barclays shares fell 2.5 percent after a ratings downgrade.
This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. After the break, we'll return, of course, to the events in the Alps where the teams continue to look for the
clues as to why Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed. Helicopters can't even land. Recovery workers rappel down site to buy rope (ph).
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QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment, when we'll hear about the treacherous task facing workers in
the French Alps and their recovery business. And as Jeremy Clarkson's drop from "Top Gear," we'll be live in London for the reaction.
Before any of it, this is CNN and, on this network, the news always comes first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST (voice-over): The chief executive of Lufthansa says the company simply does not understand why its Germanwings plane crashed in the French
Alps. Carsten Spohr described the incident as "the darkest hours of the company's history" at a news briefing. The head of the French aircraft
investing team, the BEA, said while it could take months to find the answers, the truth will be discovered.
JOUTY: I'm clearly optimistic in terms of first of all we're convinced that we will at least have an audio file that we can use. The
accident site is difficult to reach. It has one or two hectares. That is not immense. So if we go through it carefully, we will find the parameter
recorder and those recorders are designed to withstand serious crashes. So we are optimistic that we'll get the recorder parameters and those two
things from now. And they will help us understand what happened.
QUEST (voice-over): The U.S. State Department says the Yemeni president has left the country voluntarily. That comes as a Houthi
spokesperson said the Yemeni defense minister has been captured at an air base near the port city of Aden, which was formerly used by U.S. forces.
The rebels took over the Al Anad airbase before advancing on Aden.
The U.S. Army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion nearly a year after he was returned to the United States in a prisoner swap
with the Taliban. Bergdahl was captured after leaving his post in Afghanistan in 2009. After completing its investigation into his
disappearance, the U.S. military now says he could face life in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. DANIEL KING, U.S. ARMY: Sgt. Bergdahl is charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with one count of Article 85, desertion
with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty and one count of Article 99, misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command,
unit or place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The British Broadcasting Corporation has decided not to renew Jeremy Clarkson's contract. The "Top Gear" host had been suspended after
an altercation with a producer on the show. The BBC's director general said he could not condone what had happened and that the actions a line had
been crossed.
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QUEST: The word that everybody is using was used by the ministers involved, "obliterated." It's the only word to describe the remains of
what was Germanwings 9525 at its crash site in Southern France in the Alps.
While the world is in shock, the crash location is presenting a host of problems for investigators who are scouring the treacherous terrain for
clues. There's a obviously a dual purpose in what they're doing. The first is to try and leave the staging area and go to recover bodies and at
the same time discover what happened.
The ground is rocky; it's frozen. It's unstable. From the staging area, helicopters have to literally fly the rescuers in, rappel them down
ropes and not surprisingly they've having difficulty getting helicopters in there. And always there's the risk of further bad weather, creating
instability up on the mountain sides with the prospect of mudslides, landslides and avalanche.
Joining me (INAUDIBLE) is the CNN safety analyst. And she's the former inspector general with the U.S. Department of Transportation. We
need to -- whenever we're having difficulty with these stories, Mary, you are always so good in helping us understand.
This one is a conundrum. Nothing about what happened in that plane makes much sense.
MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER I.G., DOT: That's right, Richard. And we've talked about so many of conundrums in the air, particularly with MH370.
But this one's troubling because there are pieces here that it's hard to make fit. The pilot's on a day when two witnesses on the ground could look
up and see the plane obviously those in the plane could see the ground and the mountains.
The descent, the lack of a communication with air traffic control, very much in need of that flight data recorder, I fear.
QUEST: Because the cockpit voice recorder, particularly if it's in the case of incapacity, Mary, where there wasn't much talking or there
isn't much to go on, that FTR, the data recorder, will be very significant. But they may have to do without it.
SCHIAVO: They might. And you know, I worked a couple crashes where it literally came down and we hired sound experts and acoustic experts, et
cetera. And we were listening for the sound of whether the autopilot was clicked off and the sound of who was reaching for various things, et
cetera, and so those clicks and sounds and if there was a large event that occurred, a decompression, a fire, something like that, that will be
evident on the tape.
But those sounds are so important.
QUEST: We need to talk about the A320. Now look, the planes had got about 6,000 in service, give or take. It's slightly less than the Boeing
737. It's a workhorse for the short-haul fleet in Europe and indeed here in the United States in many cases.
Factor in Air Asia and this incident, both at altitude in the cruise unexpected.
Is there cause for -- I won't say concern at this point, but for further thought?
SCHIAVO: Well, I think there really is because you know, I always like to look at the trends and the statistics. And to have midflight, in
air cruise altitude accidents, disasters, crashes, whatever happened, it's rare enough that it's a mystery that must be solved because it's a
different trend in statistics. This past year in aviation has shown us a lot of things that we aren't used to. And it's a different kind of
accident. So we really do need to get to the bottom of it to make aviation safer in the long run.
QUEST: The -- I'm going to go to some deep territory here. The angle of attack indicators, there has been much talk about the freezing of the
indicators that could lead to envelope protection and an uncommanded dive, which can't be arrested.
Do you give any credence to the thought that this might be involved here?
SCHIAVO: Well, and that did happen -- I think it was in November. November 5 of last year, that very thing happened. However, two things on
that tend to cause me to rule that out. One, the airline has said that they made the changes that were recommended in that air witness directive
and in the course the directive by the E.U.
And it was a clear day. Usually if you have a problem with you indicators, (INAUDIBLE) angle of attack, all those, you -- it's in
instrument conditions. You don't have visibility. Here the pilots had visibility and they should have been able to see what was occurring.
QUEST: Excellent point. Finally the BEA today gave what I thought was a stunning briefing, clear, concise, factual without speculative.
Do you have confidence in the BEA?
SCHIAVO: Well, I do, because I've worked several cases in the past, where the BEA was the lead agency. Air France 447 and the West Caribbean
crash down in Venezuela, BEA was the lead because the citizens were French and it was headed to Martinique and they take a long time. Believe it or
not, 10 years is not unusual for the BEA. But they're very competent; they're good. And I thought the briefing today -- I thought he did follow
all the rules. I thought he did -- people don't realize what goes in, for example, to really publishing a transcript for a voice recorder for the
cockpit voice recorder. They have to check it against air traffic control. They have to check it against known data. They have to put a timeline on
it. And every piece they can to verify what they're listening to. And I have been in rooms where we have listened to clicks and we have -- if
there's 30 people in the room, there's 30 different opinions as to what that is. So there's a lot of work to be done before they put out a
transcript on that. And so I thought he was wise to not comment on what it said.
QUEST: Mary, good to see you. Thank you for joining us from London - -
(CROSSTALK)
SCHIAVO: -- thank you.
QUEST: Now as we investigate and what happened and talk about in Germanwings 9525, never mind the weather. We talked about -- just that
with Mary about the weather was good on the day. But the weather now for the rescue or the recovery added.
Here is Tom Sater at the World Weather Center.
So at the moment, they're managing to make progress. But I heard you earlier suggest that the weather's going to get worse, and that will hinder
the events.
TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're still dealing, Richard, with a storm system that's been sliding across Northern Africa and up through
Italy. It's east of where our crash site is. Now that's helping us in some cases, but it's going to change every 24 hours.
We had fresh snow last night with the storm system we were mentioning. But this is at the higher terrain. And the good news is because the ridge
tops and the summits are much higher to the east, if the moisture is coming in from the east like it did yesterday, we're going to get most of that
moisture squeezed out and heavy valley rainfalls and higher elevation snows.
So you can even see on the returns here in the color purples, most of them stay just to the east. That's going to help us as long as a component
is easterly. Yesterday it came in from the southeast. Now in the next 48, as the storm still churns up toward Czech Republic, our winds are
northeast. And look how the zone of heavier snow stays in the higher terrain. Now that's not everything.
Now that we're watching a cold front come in from the northwest, this is another problem. It dries up , Richard, notice the clouds. The skies
may be clear. The moisture dissipates. But the cold front will still be bringing the winds. And that is not a good thing. They die down at night
and then on Friday, extreme winds that could be well in excess of 90 kpm, that's going to put a scratch on the day on Friday until that cold front
can sweep through.
As you well know, when we look at this area, they're setting up a grid, not just to categorize the debris and remove, of course, the remains
of family members, but they're going to this for the air traffic control. One helicopter pilot will circle, acting in a military way of air traffic
control. You can't have all the helicopters get into the smaller area all at one time. Pilot A, go to grid 1, exit east; pilot B, come into grid 5.
The way they're going to be looking at this -- and this is where the weather can change in an instant -- any westerly wind that's strong or
easterly wind should stay aloft. But at times, they break down and create these updrafts and downdrafts -- and they're unexpected. So you need to
keep, of course, the rotator aircraft away from the ridges, away from the steep slopes and away from each other.
So we're going to be watching that closely. My big concern, Richard, are the crews that are on the ground because this is spring. And there's
moisture in the ground, that's in the rocks. This time of year now, temperatures are above average in the day and below -- they freeze again at
night.
So all the water that's in each little crack and crevice freezes and refreezes, expands and contracts. All it takes is a shower to cause a
landslip or a rockslide, or even the hum of the rotors. Think about all the helicopters in the area, the vibrations could create a problem on their
own. So that's what we're going to be watching.
QUEST: This is -- I say golly because it brings home the difficulty that they're going to face.
Tom, please keep us informed in the next 24-48 hours as that weather forecast becomes clearer and takes place.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS; we're in New York as usual. And when we come back in just a second or three, Jeremy Clarkson has reached the end of the
road at the BBC. The organization has dropped the host from "Top Gear." The pain may be beginning not just for Clarkson but also for the BBC
itself. Clarkson was one of its biggest stars and most profitable banks. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
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QUEST: The show's over for "Top Gear's" Jeremy Clarkson. The BBC says it will not renew Clarkson's contract. But it hopes "Top Gear" will
go on without him. Clarkson was suspended after an altercation with a producer. Co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond have not made it
clear whether they will stay with the show or leave with Clarkson.
Max Foster joins us from London.
I read the statement of the investigation by Tim McQueary (ph). They have no choice. Clarkson beat up a producer to the point where his lip was
bleeding and he had to go to hospital.
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: The attack, the physical attack lasted for around 30 seconds, according to the BBC investigation, was halted by the
intervention of a witness. The producer offered no retaliation. Apparently the volume was so loud it was heard in another bedroom. It was
heard in the dining room. It was -- this was a -- as you say, it was a very difficult situation for everyone involved.
But you cannot have that situation where a member of staff is hitting another member of staff. So Tony Hall, the director general of the BBC,
investigated this and this is how he spoke today. And he had no alternative but to get rid of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HALL, BBC DIRECTOR GENERAL: I've always been a great fan of his work on "Top Gear" and I also believe that his voice and voices like his
have a place, an important place, on the BBC. But not at any price. Physical violence, accomplished by prolonged verbal abuse, has crossed the
line. And that's why with regret I decided this morning that we will not be renewing Jeremy's contract.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: You can kind of sense the respect that he felt for Jeremy Clarkson, as so many people in the U.K. did, a million people signed a
petition trying to keep him at the BBC. And also you know, he's a right- wing figure, unashamed right-wing figure. Many people view the BBC as quite liberal. So I think the BBC really values his contribution to this
idea that he is kind of adding some neutrality to the BBC.
QUEST: But Max, you and I have both worked at the BBC in earlier parts of our career. And we both know the internal battle that always goes
on between a political correct response and doing the right thing but the corporation sort of also looking out for itself. One can imagine the
turmoil in coming to this decision.
FOSTER: Absolutely. And there were events that you and I have reported on, up to this, where he's crossed the line but it was within the
gray area. This is a point where he crossed the line to the point where he hit another member of staff and it couldn't come back from that.
He contributes so much to the BBC. It is the biggest brand commercially around the world, "Top Gear," and he, I know from personal
contact, as you do, is the creative force behind "Top Gear," which produces so much money for the BBC. And I think there's an (INAUDIBLE) that the
commercial value of that is one thing but also you've crossed a line.
QUEST: With "Top Gear," I mean, the BBC first of all admitted it does not pretend it's going to be easy to replace him. So they've got their
type.
Does Sky immediately go -- this is why everyone's saying that Sky or some other organization -- probably (INAUDIBLE) TV -- immediately goes out
and buys Clarkson, tries to recreate "Top Gear" into another name? Do you think it will?
FOSTER: I don't know. I mean, Netflix has been suggested. There's all sorts of U.S. networks as well, Richard, have been suggested because
he is -- a lot of production companies, they make their name on providing returnable formats, something that will keep providing income in the
future, something which you can sell in a year's time. And that's what exactly what he produced. It was the most popular factual program in the
world. And he produced this income to the BBC, which many other networks would love to have.
So ultimately, I think there will be people courting him. And a lot of people, I have to say, the media commentators in the country saying it's
an own goal because they're basically going to be able to -- they're giving an asset to their competitors.
QUEST: Car window, if they hadn't found those same media commentators, would have been saying one rule for Clarkson, one rule for
everybody else. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Our London correspondent is Max Foster.
Thank you, Max.
More than a million people signed the online petition to reinstate Clarkson as "Top Gear's" host. It's a tiny fraction of the show's
viewership. As Jim Boulden explains, dropping Clarkson will cause a real financial headache for the BBC.
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JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With an estimated 350 million viewers, "Top Gear" is simply the world's most widely watched
factual TV program, so says the Guinness book of world records.
The ousted host, Jeremy Clarkson, proudly held the records plaque when the show was credited for airing in more than 200 territories. It's
estimated the show is worth some $75 million a year for BBC Worldwide.
CHRIS CURTIS, "BROADCAST" MAGAZINE: They generate that money a number of different ways. They sell the U.K. version into many, many territories
around the world, pretty much every country in the world takes "Top Gear." And then there are remakes into specific territories. So there was a
successful remake in Australia that ran for many series. There's been -- they just have a deal with China, which is obviously really exciting for
BBC Worldwide. Korea and France, there's a new remake coming. And then there's the events, the live events.
BOULDEN (voice-over): But all this was with Jeremy Clarkson at the wheel since 2002. Now he's out, accused of hitting a producer. So "Top
Gear" without Jeremy Clarkson, will it have the same appeal? Well, possibly not. And will the channels that air it around the world have any recourse
against the BBC?
MARK STEPHENS, MEDIA LAWYER: The BBC, when they sold the series and syndicated it across the globe won't have done so in relation to the cost
over there. They can't do that because they imagine that one of them became ill or worse still perhaps was killed in an accident. They have to
do -- they sell the program. They sell the format.
BOULDEN (voice-over): Still, Clarkson's replacement will be expected to bring in the numbers.
CURTIS: It's perfectly feasible that the BBC could lose a lot of money over there, since it's perfectly feasible that a channel which buys
"Top Gear" around the world says, you know what, we don't want that. We don't want that show with its (INAUDIBLE) new presenters.
BOULDEN (voice-over): And if you're sparing a thought for Jeremy Clarkson, remember he sold his rights to "Top Gear" in 2012 for what's
believed to be around $12 million. And it's unlikely he'll be off the air for long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see that foreign organizations, I can see the Americans for example, I can see him on "America's Got Talent" and
other programs. It's quite clear to me that Jeremy Clarkson's career is not dead and probably because the BBC are well-known, stingy payors, he'll
probably get far more money.
BOULDEN (voice-over): With 14 million page likes on Facebook, and a million people signing a petition to keep him, Jeremy Clarkson has already
made audience ready to follow him -- Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: After the break, families mourning those lost on 9525, we're going to remember some of the victims at the crash.
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QUEST: As recovery crews work through the wreckage of frankly what's left of Germanwings flight, new information is emerging about the victims
of the crash. Suzanne Malveaux looks at what we're learning about the lives of those that ended on board.
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SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This remote crash site high in the French Alps has now become an epicenter of international grief.
Today, we are learning more about the three Americans, two from Virginia, who lost their lives here.
Emily Selke and her mother, Yvonne, who was a 22- year veteran of the government contracting company, Booz Allen Hamilton. Emily was a proud
alumni of Drexel University's Gamma Sigma Sigma Zeta sorority. On its Facebook page, the chapter posted, "As a person and friend, Emily always
put others before herself and cared deeply for all those in her life."
JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: We can also confirm that a third U.S. citizen was on board the flight, but are not releasing the name
at this time out of respect for the family.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Among the other silenced here, 34-year-old opera singer, Maria Radner, who was traveling with her husband and baby.
Radner had just completed performances in Barcelona with her colleague, Oleg Bryjak, who died alongside her.
ULRICH WESSEL, HEADMASTER, JOSEPH-KONIG-GYMNASIUM HIGH SCHOOL (through translator): This is tearing a huge gap and there will be scars left over.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): At this headmaster's school in Germany, they are mourning the loss of 16 young students and two instructors. One
teacher was recently married. The other, engaged.
WESSEL (through translator): They had plans for their life and that was changed from one minute to the next like a burst bubble.
MALVEAUX: The school group had just finished an exchange program at this school in Spain. Outside, two students mourned over their final photo
with their friends.
ANA GARCIA, FRIEND OF VICTIMS (through translator): On Friday, we were with them all day on a field trip to the beach. They were really
happy because they had never seen the ocean. It's hard to believe.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): For many of the victims, death came in the prime of their lives; 28-year-old Paul Andrew Bramley from Britain was
studying hospitality and set to begin an internship next week.
A 29-year-old mechanical engineer, Greg Friday, was traveling with his mother who celebrated a birthday the day before the flight.
Today, investigators scoured the grim scene to identify more passengers whose lives were cut much too short.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Because the news never stops, neither do we. This is CNN.
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QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment": I worked for the BBC for 15 years. I know how the corporation can tangle itself in these issues. But
the truth is they couldn't win when it came to Jeremy Clarkson. If they hadn't fired him, they would have been accused quite rightly of double
standards when an employee hit another member of staff.
They fire him, and everybody immediately says they'd cut off their nose to spite their face.
Whatever they'd done, they were going to get criticized, which is why Lord Hall's comments that the line had been crossed is the best way simply
to say goodbye.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.
I'll see you tomorrow.
END
