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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: At Least 290 People Dead in Air India Crash; Noem: Military, National Guard are Not Leaving L.A.; Sen. Alex Padilla Handcuffed at News Conference; Venezuelans Lose Protected Status; Judge Blocks Trump Admin. from Continuing to Detain Mahmoud Khalil. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all over the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in New York. And you're watching "The

Brief."

Just ahead this hour, at least 290 people have died after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff into a medical school in India. A

U.S. Senator handcuffed, forced to the ground, forcibly removed from a Homeland Security news conference in Los Angeles. And a federal judge has

blocked the Trump administration from continuing to detain Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. I'm going to speak to a member of his legal team.

We do begin though with the sad air catastrophe in India. Air India has confirmed that Thursday's crash, and you see it there, disturbing video as

the plane went down, of a London bound passenger jet in the western city of Ahmedabad killed all but one person on board.

Doctors tell CNN that the sole survivor, a British national, should be well enough to leave the hospital within the next couple of days, which is truly

remarkable. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had barely gotten off the ground when it went down in a neighborhood quite close to the airport. There's the

wing.

Authorities believe that in addition to the 241 victims onboard the plane, another 50 people were killed on the ground. Richard Quest takes a closer

look at the crash and what could lie ahead for investigators.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS (voice-over): The Air India 787 was in the air for less than a

minute. It crashed and burst into flames just after the runway in the Indian City of Ahmedabad, with all 242 passengers on crew on board. This is

the first major incident involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner since it was introduced in 2011.

Emergency crews were met with colossal plumes of smoke, fuel fed fires, indicative of the amount of fuel the London bound jet had taken on board

needed to make the 10-hour journey.

BHAWNA PATEL, SISTER OF PLANE CRASH PASSENGER (through translator): My sister was going to London. She was going to London. The plane crashed

before she could get there.

VISHNAL MENARIYA, RELATIVE OF PLANE CRASH PASSENGER (through translator): My uncle was on the plane. As soon as I got here, we began trying to call

his phone, but we were unable to connect.

BLITZER: India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, described the incident as heartbreaking beyond words. Amongst those on board were passengers from at

least four different countries, India, the U.K., Portugal, and Canada, according to the airline.

The directorate general of civil aviation said the crew of Air India 171 did make a mayday call to air traffic control, but it's not known under

what circumstances. And data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft signal was lost less than a minute after takeoff. The maximum altitude

reached was 625 feet. Both key bits of information as authorities begin the investigation into the causes.

RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU, INDIAN CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER: We are going to do a fair and thorough investigation. We are not going to spare anyone. We

are not going to leave any stone unturned.

QUEST (voice-over): Of great assistance will undoubtedly be this CCTV footage, which shows the plane crashing. The landing gear is still down as

it plummets into a residential area and a hostel being used for medical students.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: You have evidently the flaps not deployed and the landing gear down, which increases the drag. So, there

evidently a lot of problems which made it difficult for this aircraft to take flight and hold altitude.

[18:05:00]

QUEST (voice-over): The Dreamliner was specifically designed what's known as long, skinny roots, those long-haul destinations that can't support high

passenger numbers. Boeing says the 787 unlocked more than 425 new nonstop routes around the world, has carried more than a billion passengers.

This incident comes at a time of major restructuring and growth for Air India after it was privatized and bought by the country's multinational

conglomerate, the Tata Group in 2022. Growth was something the airline's CEO spoke enthusiastically about when I met him last week in New Delhi.

CAMPBELL WILSON, CEO, AIR INDIA: So, in addition to transforming the airline, we had to build training academies. We had to build flight

simulated academies. We've had to set up a flying training school. We're set setting up a maintenance base. And merged four airlines.

QUEST (voice-over): Campbell Wilson told me safety was part of the focus of rebuilding Air India, which has seen a few rare but high-profile crashes

in recent times.

The enormous loss of life from Thursday's tragedy puts the airline once again under scrutiny. It'll also lead to questions for Boeing, and the

investigators will be keen to know exactly how this aircraft performed at its crucial moments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: And Richard Quest joins me now. Richard, from that video, and I hesitate to show it again because as we show that video, of course we're

watching people lose their lives. But from that video, the CCTV, it's clear the landing gear is still down. Is it clear to you from that video that the

flaps were not deployed to or what deter -- what is the evidence that the flaps were not deployed?

QUEST (on camera): It's not clear because you can't see clearly. We have actually run that video against just other video of 787-8s taking off to

see just in a normal clear shot how much of the flaps can you see extended. And you think you can, and then you can't. So, it's too risky, in a sense,

to say if any form of certainty, whether the flaps are down.

The landing gear -- you would expect the landing gear to be down at that point. Because what happens is the plane leaves the ground, one pilot note

-- calls out a positive, climb the other pilot -- and then gear up. So, you are just about at that point where the gear would start to come up, the

landing gear would come up when, of course, the plane starts to sink and it sinks disastrously towards the ground.

And one other point, Jim, one other point, with things like in modern aircraft, settings that are wrong for takeoff, the plane will usually

scream at you if there is a misconfiguration of such severity, the plane will tell you that it is not configured correctly for takeoff.

SCIUTTO: So, in your long experience of covering crashes, the potential explanations for difficulty gaining altitude on takeoff, what are they?

QUEST: Loss of power, total loss of power. For whatever reason, the engine suddenly stop producing thrust. It could be anything, from bird strikes and

likely contaminated fuel and likely electrical problems. It could be anything. But that is what is first in my mind when I look at it, that

there is a loss of power in some shape or form that they are not able to, because there's also this known as the -- that's known as the turbine that

expands from the back that allows you to have extra power if there is, and there's some question about what's known as the RAT, it's some question

about whether the RAT also deployed. We can't see from that picture whether it has.

And then, the second aspect is how the plane was being flown. So, did they have the right takeoff settings? What did they use full length of the

runway? The hot and high nature of the airport? Was it -- did they fly the plane satisfactory for those conditions? There's no good news other than

the fact that they will get to the bottom of it because they will easily retrieve the flight data and copy voice recorders. They're in the back of

the plane. And as you can see, the back of the plane is lodged in a building.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, and I think we should show this video again, have you ever seen a crash such as this one, a ball of flames, really, and such

a tragedy for those on board, seeing someone walk away from it?

QUEST: No. No.

SCIUTTO: Like we've seen here?

[18:10:00]

QUEST: No. People talk about the Air France at Toronto, they talk about the Delta Airlines. They were very spectacular fires in the France, on

Delta when it went upside down. But in this scenario where you see the fireball of explosion, we don't know when he left the aircraft. There's

some confusion about whether he jumped before or waited till -- I don't know. But the fact he was able to walk away, and we've seen the video. I

mean, it is -- they're calling it the miracle of seat 11A.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, there he is. Richard Quest, thanks so much for helping us understand. Well, people across India have quite understandably been

devastated by the news of the crash. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, formerly Twitter, the tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us

in this sad hour. My thoughts are with everyone affected by it.

Let's go now to journalist Vedika Sud who has been in and around the sight of the crash. I wonder what's taking place there now. Are you beginning to

see investigators arrive?

VEDIKA SUD, JOURNALIST: Well, they've been here through the last few hours at least, Jim. It's 3:40 in the morning, that's the local time here in

Ahmedabad. We're about half a kilometer out from the airport. So, you could hear planes just operate above us.

But here is the crash site, and I'm going to show you the crash site where the Boeing that we were talking about, 787, plowed into these buildings.

This is a medical college. These buildings that you see, Jim, they are the hostels in which the doctors and some of the family members stayed in,

absolutely charred. They're black really in color.

You can see a lot of cranes. I can hear them operating inside, behind those walls. Of course, a part of this wall to the left has collapsed. So, you

can see that crane in sight. But we, of course, cannot go beyond this point. We are about 20 meters out from the crash site.

Now, if I can just ask my camera person to pan to the right. You're going to see some charred trees. I'm just trying to show you the impact here. I

can still see smoke coming out from the trunks of those trees. I'm not sure if you can see that on camera, but charred as well. That's the impact that

the crash really has had on the site here.

To the right of that is one huge slab of the wing of the aircraft. You can see a lot of debris lying around. In fact, being here, Jim, we can even

smell the smoke and the burnt metal that still lingers in the air. You won't see a lot of people around us right now because like I said, it's

early in the morning. You can even just say it's the dead of night, really. They've all gone back. But you do see a lot of security personnel around, a

lot of police people, a lot of people from rescue teams, from, I believe there are about 300 of them inside, according to the police officers who've

been sitting here.

Now, you did mention that the CCTV footage and the videos that we've seen saw that plane take off from the runway. Now, the irony of this is it was a

scheduled flight. It was routine, until it wasn't really.

SCIUTTO: Well, Vedika Sud, we know it's late there and you and your team are in a place that is a difficult place to be. It's a place where many

people lost their lives. We appreciate your work there.

Joining me now, CNN Safety Analyst David Soucie. He's a former FAA safety inspector. David, it's good to have you. I've heard from our experts a

number of potential explanations are just factors that they've noticed early on, the fact that the landing gear was still deployed, the

possibility that the flaps were not, possibility of engine failure, bird strike. I wonder with the proviso that this is early and we certainly don't

have all the information, what stands out to you about what we know now as to what might have caused this?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST AND FORMER FAA SAFETY INSPECTOR: Well, as Richard said in his piece and later in the interview too, I concur with

most of all what he's saying. The only concern I have is, again, the configuration a lot of people are saying that those flaps were up. So, what

my question would be is, what was the configuration when that decision was made by the pilot to go past V1?

And V1 is the point at which the pilot says, we are no longer able to press the brakes and stop before the end of the runway. So, that V1 on this

aircraft is about 165 knots. So, he was good at that point. Made the decision to go ahead and rotate, and then after that, it appears that it

never got into the position where it was maintaining the climb, and that's where things went wrong.

So, again, as Richard said, something happened between the time he lifted off and made the decision to go and at the time that he was supposed to be

climbing and wasn't. So, I don't think it was the flaps. The flaps if you - - if they're not positioned properly before you take off, all hell breaks loose in that cockpit. It tells you that everything is wrong. So, you -- I

don't think that's going to happen.

[18:15:00]

SCIUTTO: A number of experts have mentioned the possibility of engine failure, given that that is often an explanation for why planes can't

maintain or gain altitude on takeoff. Is that a potential explanation? And if so, what are the potential explanations for loss of engine power?

SOUCIE: Well, first of all, although this was a high and hot, they call it. When it's hot, of course the molecules are further apart and the

aircraft doesn't lift as well. So, we have to consider that. But even in -- even with that, this 787 Dreamliner is able to take off in those conditions

with one engine. So, in this case, if it were a power failure, it would've had to be both engines that failed, which is highly improbable at this

point in my mind. Even a bird strike would not necessarily -- not -- would rarely take out both engines. So, I don't see that as a possibility.

The weight and balance, the loading on the aircraft before it took off could have a factor in this. But again, it -- I don't think he would've

taken off at that V1 speed. It wouldn't have gotten to the V1 speed if he was overloaded. So, there's just so many unanswered questions, Jim. And I

know that -- I know one thing, the black box will have the answers in this case.

SCIUTTO: And they'll have that, given the location that they're able to access. I imagine black box -- I mean, they're designed to survive even

intense heat of a fire fueled by jet fuel.

SOUCIE: Yes, they are. And even more importantly, in this aircraft, and I was involved in the early planning stages for this aircraft back in the

early 2000s. And at that time, this aircraft is so sophisticated, it has stress indicators on the wing that tell the aircraft -- that tell the black

box and record how much stress is on the wing, whether it's turning left or light right, whether it's twisting or not. Unprecedented number of values

that are collected in that black box. So, this accident investigation will have plenty of data to wade through.

SCIUTTO: Yes. David Soucie, thanks so much for joining.

SOUCIE: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says, the Military and National Guard will remain in Los Angeles amid ongoing

protests against the expanding immigration raids there. This as California is fighting to limit how President Trump can federalize the National Guard

there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

SCIUTTO: We're also tracking breaking news out of Los Angeles today where U.S. law enforcement agents pinned a sitting U.S. senator to the ground,

handcuffed him after they removed him from a news conference for the Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem. Democratic Senator Alex Padilla

of California identified himself clearly to those officers, said he simply had questions for the Homeland Security secretary. We don't know if she

heard them, but he certainly said it within earshot of those officers. Here's the moment that this takedown took place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I want to say thank you to every single person that has been able to do this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up. Hands up.

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): I'm Senator Alex Padilla.

NOEM: Also, I want to talk specifically to the rioters and to the politicians in Los Angeles.

PADILLA: I have questions for the secretary. Because of the matter is half dozen (INAUDIBLE) --

NOEM: I also want to talk about, specifically --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Secretary Noem was speaking about the ongoing situation in Los Angeles where President Trump has deployed the military to -- over protest

against expanding immigration raids there. Senator Padilla is a longstanding standing advocate for immigrants. His own parents immigrated

to this country from Mexico. Here with his reaction to being handcuffed and thrown to the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PADILLA: If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a

senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and

throughout California and throughout the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Secretary Noem and Senator Padilla there both speaking in Los Angeles. The city's mayor, Karen Bass, says protests are limited to a small

area. And our reporters on the scene who've been witnessing it themselves and reporting have said that they have largely been peaceful.

U.S. Northern Command, which has command over the military units there, says it will deploy some 700 Marines to L.A. within the next 48 hours. They

will join thousands of National Guardsmen already there. Secretary Noem says they will remain in Los Angeles, in her words, to, quote, "liberate

the city."

Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles. She joins me now. And Stephanie, you were in the room as Senator Padilla, who identified himself quite clearly to

those officers, was taken down. Describe that moment.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It was a shocking moment, Jim. There's no doubt about it. I mean, we were there. The press conference had

begun. Secretary Noem was at the microphone. She was speaking. She had already begun. The senator walked in. He didn't burst in. He just walked

in. He was basically about parallel to where I was seated in a row, and he interrupted her. He just said, Secretary Noem, I want to know, that's how

he started. Just started talking.

And immediately -- he has a strong voice too. He has a big voice. When he started talking, immediately, security detail was on him. At that point,

that's when he identified who he was. Now, granted, he is a U.S. senator from the great State of California where we are right now, so that is worth

noting. But yes, he didn't identify himself right away and he did interrupt her press conference. Those -- that detail that was with her, they pushed

him out of the room and they got him out. That's where we understand that he was put on the floor, he was handcuffed, he was not arrested. He stayed

out of the room.

The secretary barely missed a beat. She just kept talking. She took a few moments and then kept talking about her -- the need for the federal

government to liberate the city. And what you were saying before is really key here, and I think this is going to what the senator was asking. The

protests are happening in downtown Los Angeles, in a part of downtown Los Angeles. The vast majority of the city is operating business as usual,

including over here on the west side where you see -- you may have just seen them walk by, you see the National Guard is here because this is a

federal building. This press conference was inside of a federal building. So, you have to go through security to get in there.

It wasn't just like some Joe off the street could just walk into that room. It takes a lot to get up there, and there was a lot of law enforcement on

that hall as well. So, I do feel like it's become a political hot potato between both sides here of what went down. But the truth of the matter is

it's not truly characterized by how either one has said it.

Was that amount of force necessary? You could hear the argument on both sides, but it did seem aggressive at the time as he was only 12 to 15 feet

away and he was not lunging at her, and he was not trying to move much closer to her, from where I was sitting, which was directly parallel to

where he was standing. Jim.

[18:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Did he pose a threat? I mean, he identified himself as U.S. Senator Alex Padilla quite clearly. You can hear it on the tape. Did he, in

your vision there, pose a threat to anyone in that room that would necessitate him being dragged out of there and handcuffed? Presumably one

would need to pose a threat to be handled that way by law enforcement.

ELAM: Right. And we all had to go through metal detectors to get in here. He was in the building for another meeting. I did not take him to be a

threat. I took him to be someone who wanted to, you know, ask this question and to do it in front of media, right? You know, that media is there. We

are all sitting there. But no, I did not feel like he posed a threat. He was not moving quickly. And by the time he identified himself, which was

just a few seconds after he first started, and they were pushing on him and removing him, and he was saying hands up because he was not pushing back.

At that point, they didn't stop. They continued to push him out the door. And I watched him get pushed completely out the door.

So, yes, you could hear him say who he was. I gathered that maybe the people who were in the security detail didn't know who this U.S. senator

was. That's what it seemed like to me.

SCIUTTO: Stephanie Elam, thanks so much. Well, aspects of President Trump's immigration crackdown are amounting to a double blow for some

communities, that includes Venezuelans who had temporary protected status or TPS revoked by the Department of Homeland Security, and are also now

under President Trump's partial travel ban. CNN's Randi Kaye reports from Florida, where many of the 350,000 Venezuelans in the Sunshine State are

now living in fear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADELYS FERRO, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE VENEZUELAN AMERICAN CAUCUS: They are closing the walls on us. The uncertainty, the pain, the

fear, the isolation is just overwhelming for our community right now.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adelys Ferro is talking about the Venezuelan community. Hundreds of thousands of

Venezuelans who had fled to the United States have been told their temporary protected status or TPS was terminated.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We want to keep bad people out of our country.

KAYE (voice-over): And just last week, the Trump administration issued a partial travel ban on Venezuela, restricting travel for Venezuelans to the

U.S.

FERRO: We are again pawns on their political game.

KAYE (voice-over): Ferro is the co-founder and executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus.

FERRO: It's a racist, xenophobic, bigot and discriminatory attack. Again, a community that hasn't done anything wrong.

KAYE (voice-over): In Doral, Florida, where around 40 percent of the residents are Venezuelan, people told us they came here full of hope,

seeking a better life, and they are not the criminals the Trump administration has painted them to be.

LUIS ATENCIO, VENEZUELAN AMERICAN: Do I look high risk you?

KAYE (voice-over): For Luis Atencio, the travel ban makes it impossible for his 85-year-old grandmother, who still lives in Venezuela, to visit

him.

ATENCIO: It just feels like administration is piling on us. When you would think that they would help the people who are fleeing a dictatorship,

basically.

KAYE (voice-over): This woman, a single mother who works as an economist here, has lost her temporary protected status and asked us not to show her

face out of fear. She told me she's posted critical comments about the Venezuelan government on social media and fears, political persecution if

she returns.

KAYE: You're not a criminal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

KAYE: You're here legally?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

KAYE (voice-over): When I asked what will happen to her nine-year-old Venezuelan son, if they have to leave, she started to cry.

KAYE: It's hard for you to talk about. You're worried for your son having to grow up in Venezuela?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh. Sorry.

KAYE: Don't be sorry. Would your son be safe in Venezuela?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

KAYE (voice-over): Liz Rebecca Alarcon, who is five months pregnant, says her family in Venezuela now won't be able to come for the birth of her

baby.

LIZ REBECCA ALARCON, VENEZUELAN AMERICAN: My grandmother who I haven't seen in two years since my first baby was born, I have no way of having her

come.

KAYE (voice-over): Venezuelans we met painted a terrible picture of life there. Political persecution, hunger, unrest, and skyrocketing inflation.

ALARCON: We have a crisis in the Western Hemisphere that has never been seen before with more than 8 million people leaving the country. That is

unheard of.

KAYE: How do you feel when President Donald Trump says that, you know, Venezuelans are criminals, or we have to get rid of the bad people?

ALARCON: It's an absolute lie about our community.

KAYE: What's the fear like in the community right now?

ATENCIO: There's people who will not leave their homes because they feel that, you know, maybe if they're on the wrong street corner or the wrong

place, they could be rounded up by ICE.

KAYE: Are you hopeful but that some of these people will be able to stay?

ATENCIO: If I'm being real, probably not. Not really hopeful.

KAYE: None of those we talked with voted for Donald Trump despite how well he did in Miami-Dade County. It's also worth noting that the Trump

administration has told Americans it's not safe for them to travel to Venezuela. In fact, the travel advisory level is at its highest, level

four, but the administration is willing to send back Venezuelans who came here legally back to Venezuela.

[18:30:00]

And it's really just the tip of the iceberg here. It's not just the people we spoke with, it goes well beyond that. We heard stories of a child who is

on dialysis who may have to go back to Venezuela, also, grandparents who are being treated for cancer. These are real people who are being impacted

by this, who will be forced to go back to Venezuela unless they can find somewhere else to take them in.

Randi Kaye, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Our thanks to Randi. Just after the break, India is leading the investigation now into exactly what caused the deadly Air India crash.

We're going to discuss next what investigators will be focusing their attention on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are more international headlines we're watching today. Officials say at least 290

people are dead following a plane crash near India's Ahmedabad Airport. It is not yet clear why the Air India jet bound for London went down shortly

to seconds after takeoff. One passenger remarkably survived the crash of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

A court hearing just wrapped up in San Francisco on California's attempt to limit how the Trump administration can federalize the National Guard in its

state. The judge says he hopes to make a quick ruling. The case is the first major test of President Trump's decision to deploy troops to Los

Angeles to respond to protests over his widening immigration raids.

The retrial of Harvey Weinstein has ended after jurors deadlocked on a charge of third-degree rape. Weinstein was convicted on the main count of

committing a criminal sexual act. He was acquitted on a charge stemming from a separate accuser. A mistrial was declared on the rape charge. The

foreperson complained to the judge that jurors were pressuring each other to change their positions.

[18:35:00]

Let's get more on our top story now, the Air India Crash. CNN Investigative Producer Katie Polglase has more on what happened and a warning. Some of

these images sadly contain disturbing pictures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER (voice-over): These are the final moments of Air India Flight 171. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner with more

than 200 people on board struggling to stay in the air. It crashes in a huge fireball.

A CNN analysis geolocating multiple social media videos and examining flight tracking data shows how the deadly crash unfolded. The plane took

off at 1:38 p.m. local time from Ahmedabad Airport in Western India. CNN synced together flight tracking data with this video from a security

camera. The Dreamliner is heading to London Gatwick Airport. It reaches 625 feet in the air, but then the tracking stops less than a minute after

takeoff. You can see in the CCTV it starts descending, plummeting at a speed of 475 feet per minute before it hits the ground. But there was

enough time for a mayday call according to India's civil aviation director.

Geolocated videos show the plane crash just outside the airport. This video of the plane's fall was filmed about 650 feet beyond the airport perimeter.

On the ground at part of the crash site, you can see the plane's tail lodged in the roof of a building. That building is here, housing a food

hall, and just half a mile from the airport. The fuselage and main crash site, just 465 feet away from the tail where a massive fireball can be seen

in a populated neighborhood. Officials say people on the ground are among the dead.

Closer footage shows the horrific aftermath as recovery teams comb through the charred wreckage. But incredibly, at least one passenger survived and

was taken to the hospital. He heard a loud bang about 30 seconds after takeoff. He was in seat 11A, which according to online seat maps, is right

next to the emergency exit.

This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and while the cause is still unknown, this latest disaster puts more pressure on Boeing following

a string of failures in recent years.

POLGLASE: So, according to the plane's tail number, it started flying in 2013, just two years after Boeing started manufacturing these 787

Dreamliners. Now, investigators will be looking into the maintenance records and pilot training in their search for answers.

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Joining us now seeing an aviation analyst, Peter Goelz. He is a former managing director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

Peter, always good to talk to you though, sadly, under these circumstances.

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST AND FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: Very sad.

SCIUTTO: Tell me what stands out to you, granted at this quite early stage of the investigation hasn't begun, but what stood out to you from what

you've seen of the videos?

GOELZ: Well, as always, Jim, the, there's some tantalizing bits of evidence that you see. For instance, the security camera shot of the 787

going down the runway showed that it really used up the whole runway. You know, it's 11,500-foot runway, a 787 needs about 8,500 feet. It looked as

though it used every bit of the runway and then it disturbed a bunch of dirt and dust at the very end. That could create fog that could be ingested

into the engines that could diminish their power.

The second thing that is tantalizing is the setup of the plane as it finally crashes, it looks like it's almost flaring and getting ready to

land, and that is very perplexing. The landing gear is still down. It does not appear as though the flaps have been extended particularly at all or

perhaps just slightly. So, it's really, really perplexing at this point.

SCIUTTO: That flaring and the gear down, I suppose there were other explanations for the gear down. They didn't have time or they were focused

on other issues. But do you see in that the possibility they were attempting to crash land?

GOELZ: I don't think so. I don't think they had enough time to make that kind of decision. You know, the first thing once you're flying you do is

retract your landing gear. And it does not appear that that was successful if they tried to do it. I think they were in crisis mode from the moment

that plane left the runway.

[18:40:00]

SCIUTTO: Yes. A loud noise, the one survivor who just remarkably walked away from this crash said he heard a loud noise before the landing. Any

possible explanations for something like that?

GOELZ: Well, that could be an engine compressor, you know, blowing out. It was extraordinary that this individual survived. And you know, you take

eyewitnesses and victims' remembrances seriously. But the real evidence will be in the cockpit voice recorder, which will tell us what the crew was

thinking, what they saw, what they were hearing, and what they did. And the data recorder. This type of plane has a very sophisticated data recorder

and this this accident cause will be discovered I think in a relatively short period of time.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And of course, well, the families are mourning and they want and deserve answers. Peter Goelz, thanks so much for joining.

GOELZ: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Still to come. A U.S. judge has ruled that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil cannot be detained for the reasons cited by the

Trump administration. We're going to break down that judge's decision and what comes next That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's imprisonment of Mahmoud. Khalil saying it cannot continue to detain him or

to deport him. He is the Columbia University graduate student at the center of a high-profile deportation fight with the U.S. government over his pro-

Palestinian activism on campus. That's also sparked protests in cities across the U.S. over the last several months. Khalil has been in prison in

Louisiana since March. Missing his own graduation and the birth of his son.

Joining us now is the executive de director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, part of Khalil's defense team, Donna Lieberman. Donna, thanks so

much for taking the time.

DONNA LIEBERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: First let me ask the significance of this ruling. Is Khalil now in the clear or is this just one step on the road?

[18:45:00]

LIEBERMAN: Well, he's still in jail. But this is a huge step forward because this is the first time that any court has ruled that the attempt to

detain and deport somebody as a risk to our foreign policy based on political expression that the government doesn't like, according to Marco

Rubio, is unconstitutional. This is the first ruling that Marco Rubio's power to decide that they -- he doesn't like somebody's politics has been

called unconstitutional. It's a big deal.

SCIUTTO: Yes. This is one of the -- for folks not aware, this is one of the many justifications this administration has used or attempted to use to

deport people using what was, I think until recently, a little-known line in U.S. law that the State Department can do so for things counter to U.S.

interests here.

The Trump administration now is until Friday morning, as I understand it, to appeal the ruling. On what basis can it appeal?

LIEBERMAN: That's tomorrow.

SCIUTTO: Well, there you go. On what basis can it appeal, and who gets this case next? Does it go right to the Supreme Court?

LIEBERMAN: No, no, no. They can file their appeal and it will go to the Court of Appeals. And we will continue to assert the legal arguments which

are powerful that you can't, in a country that respects the First Amendment, try to deport somebody because you don't like what they're

saying, you don't like their beliefs. We have the right to freedom of belief, freedom of association, freedom of speech. And really those are the

grounds. The court set it quite clearly, those are the grounds on which the Trump administration is trying to deport. Mr. Khalil.

SCIUTTO: I imagine Trump administration, if they lose, they appeal, is this a case that you do expect to eventually get to the Supreme Court to

decide this for his case and for others?

LIEBERMAN: You know, you never know. It could be. But you know, the important thing is that while we have won this really important victory so

far, you know, we will continue to fight to ensure that he is out of prison, that he is released and that he can go back to his wife, his

newborn baby, his community and that he will no longer be subjected to the irreparable harm that the court has said he has been subjected to by virtue

of this really outlandish effort to deport him.

SCIUTTO: It's our understanding that he posted a $1 bond. Does that mean that he'll be released from detention soon?

LIEBERMAN: The court has to order him released, and we are hoping that the court will do that. He remains incarcerated right now and we're -- we will

be arguing strenuously that he should be released immediately. Every minute that he is kept in detention causes irreparable harm to him and his family.

You listed, you know, the life events that he has lost, you know, graduation, the birth of his child, the first months of his child's life,

but also his reputation and job opportunities. He has suffered an enormous amount because of the unconstitutional detention that this government has

subjected him to.

So, we're fighting and we're not going to -- you know, winning the legal issue is so important. It is so valuable to him and to people across the

country, but we need to get him out of prison.

SCIUTTO: And we should note to those that don't know that Khalil is a legal immigrant to this country and a green card holder. Donna Lieberman,

thanks so much for joining us and we appreciate the work that you do.

LIEBERMAN: Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, it is of course, baseball season here in the U.S. I'm going to speak with New York Mets star pitcher, Kodai Senga about the

growing number of Japanese superstars like himself in the Major Leagues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:00]

SCIUTTO: Japanese players are now some of the biggest stars in Major League baseball and Kodai Senga, the New York Mets ace, is right at the

center of the action. I caught up with him and the New York Mets at City Field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): They are the sight and sounds of Major League baseball in the summer, but there is one sound fans are hearing more and

more this year.

Japanese. Once a relative rarity in professional baseball. Today, Japanese players aren't just more common, they're some of the very biggest names and

talents in the sport.

Kodai Senga in his third year in the Majors is the ace of the New York Mets, owner of one of the best ERAs in baseball and a lock for a return

trip to the All-Star game this year.

SCIUTTO: What's been the hardest thing about moving from Japanese baseball to the Major Leagues?

KODAI SENGA, PITCHER, NEW YORK METS (through translator): Of course, there are differences when playing baseball in a different culture. So, I think

it's really important to think about it and study it well so that I can take advantage of the good parts of the baseball here in the United States

and the baseball over there in Japan.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): There are other differences as well. The Japanese ball is smaller and more tightly wound, and so an adjustment for pitcher's

control. The strike zone is smaller too. And as for the fans --

SENGA (through translator): Over here in the United States, when the excitement hits, the fans cheer loudly and you can really tell they're here

to enjoy the game. While over there in Japan, they enjoy the cheering itself almost as its own activity. So, I think that's a different

experience.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): 12 Japanese nationals are playing this year, the most since 2012, headlined by superstars like Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers,

Shota Imanaga of the Cubs, and of course, Kodai Senga of this reporter's beloved New York Mets.

SCIUTTO: The influx of Japanese players is not just good for the Japanese players, it's also good for Major League baseball. It's happening at a time

when baseball executives have been worried that interest in baseball's been declining, or at least flat here in the U.S. And the hope, and they're

seeing this, is that players from Ohtani to Senga are creating a whole new fan base.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): There are already some promising signs. Viewership of Major League baseball in the U.S. and Japan has shown double digit

growth this season, from ESPN up 22 percent, to TBS 16 percent, to NHK channels in Japan up 22 percent as well.

Major League teams are now playing regular season games in Japan. And with players from Japan to compliment the many internationals from Central and

South America, baseball executives hope to expand Major League Baseball into a truly international sport following the success of the NFL overseas.

SCIUTTO: Do you worry at all because you, of course, started in Japan, that so many of the best players will come to the U.S., that that will hurt

Japanese baseball?

SENGA (through translator): Well, at the level of the NPB, even if many players leave, as long as young players join, it's fine. So, how should I

put this? We shouldn't stay the way we are just because things are changing, but instead create a system where even if new players leave, the

next generation can join in.

[18:55:00]

SCIUTTO (voice-over): For Senga, the move to the U.S. is a long-term proposition, not just a temporary stint away from home.

SENGA (through translator): Well, if I could get a long-term contract, that would be my wish.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): And for this lifelong Mets fan --

SCIUTTO: Please stay for the New York Mets, OK? You promise me?

SCIUTTO (voice-over): That is a home run.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (on camera): Well, the Mets got another win today against the Nationals, but we found out that Senga, he was injured. It's going to be

placed on an injured list for a strain of his right hamstring. We wish him a quick recovery. He's a good guy there.

Well, thanks so much for your company today. I'm Jim Sciutto in New York, home of the Mets. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with

CNN.

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[19:00:00]

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