Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Source: 14 Bodies Still Not Recovered After Midair Collision Due To Challenges; Officials Give Update On Major Collision Investigation & Recovery. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 31, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:14]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We are awaiting a live update from Reagan National Airport. That is what you are seeing there on the right side of your screen. Officials will be bringing us the latest on their investigation into the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter.

In the meantime, recovery efforts are continuing on the Potomac River. And this is a live picture of that, where we have seen some adverse weather conditions that have been coming in and out of the area.

At last check, there were 14 bodies that we're still missing. Experts say divers are facing big challenges. That includes thick mud on the bottom of the river and zero visibility underwater.

I'm now joined by Tim Taylor. He is an ocean logistics and technology expert. He's also the CEO of Tiburon Subsea.

And it's really interesting to talk to you, Tim, because you have discovered a number of wrecks, including World War II submarines, and you are no stranger to diving in dangerous conditions around -- around wrecks.

So tell us a little bit about what -- what you are seeing here as challenges to these divers, especially considering this very cold water.

TIM TAYLOR, OCEAN LOGISTICS AND TECHNOLOGY EXPERT & CEO, TIBURON SUBSEA: I'll tell you, probably the biggest thing -- and people don't understand -- is the mud.

All right. You -- if anybody that's ever walked in a -- in a boggy area and tried to walk through mud knows it is a substance that is -- it will reach out and grab you and hold on to you.

Water, even low visibility water, these guys can feel around and work and. But the mud is -- is treacherous and hard to work in. And lots of this wreckage is in that mud.

And without the ability to dredge that or coffer dam it off -- a coffer dam is a surround the site with walls and pump out all the water. And then then kind of archeologically dig it out.

These guys are -- are working, going to be working at a very slow pace. And they're going to probably try to use enhanced imaging with sonar and that type of thing to identify the smaller parts that are within the mud or under the water to find them and, and piece them back together, at least recover them for -- for the -- for the forensics.

KEILAR: Is part of that a positive though, in that the mud will keep some of these items in the right place rather than dealing with the currents? A lot of people don't know this, but the Potomac is tidal, so it goes in and out because it goes into the Chesapeake Bay. The currents are quite strong.

Is that something that is actually going to keep stuff where they can find it?

TAYLOR: It could, yes. The lighter -- lighter things obviously no. But heavy metal and any type of object in the mud, yes, that would be -- that would be -- and you can you can see through mud with sound and -- and even ground penetrating sonar is -- is you can map these things.

So you can know where they are and then you can target them. So they're not just reaching in and looking around groping. They can -- they can use technology to -- to scan the area and create a map and then target these anomalies.

And you know, and this is years of other stuff that are in here. It's not just -- you don't see it, but rivers contain trash and trash sinks and people throw bottles overboard and cans go here.

And so there's layers of --of other things that are in -- guarantee you, a wrench that fell overboard while someone was working and that are all going to show up nice and shiny on sonar targets.

And you're going to be pulling a lot of junk out of that area as well. And so it's this is a -- this is so -- so different than a terrestrial or even a deep-water salvage where -- where it's a sandy bottom or less sediment. Rivers are -- are notoriously very muddy, boggy bottoms, so.

KEILAR: Yes, no doubt --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: -- it's going to be different.

So talk to us a little bit about how -- they recovered two black boxes. So they have been able to kind of go inside of some debris, you would expect. How do they do that?

And then talk a little bit about the tools they use for that. But also the risks to -- they're wearing dry suits, right? So talk about the risks as there's a lot of sharp stuff for them to tear their dry suits on. TAYLOR: Yes. So -- so dry suits are designed to basically keep you

dry, but they keep you warmer as well. You wear an insulation underneath the dry suit and you wear a shell suit over it that seals. It seals out the water around your neck and around your hands.

[14:34:56]

But if it tears and you take on water, all that weight is in -- in your suit and it could -- it -- but besides the fact that you're now not thermally protected and the water is in there, you are now a very heavy object underwater.

Now, I have to say, shallow water, it's safer than if this happened at depth. So they -- they can get some help. And they're not -- they're not suffering long exposure times and decompression or anything of that nature.

But it's more of an environmental suit. The dry suit right now for them is to be able to stay underwater longer and do the work. But you can't catch it on stuff. You can't -- it's -- it's -- it's delicate in a lot of ways. You don't want to puncture it.

And there are a lot of sharp objects. And if you're working as a diver in a zero visibility you typically -- if this was this is like a confined environment, which it is, you're laying a line so you know where you are so you can follow that line back out.

Because you have to -- if you go anywhere in a larger piece of records, you need to be able to turn around and find your way back out. In zero visibility, that's feeling your way or following your line back out. If they're using that.

KEILAR: Tim?

TAYLOR: You know this is the bigger pieces.

KEILAR: Tim, thank you so much for being with us.

This press conference at Reagan National Airport is beginning. Let's listen in.

JOHN DONNELLY, CHIEF, WASHINGTON D.C. FIRE & EMS: Welcome and thank you for being here, joining me today. I'm John Donnelly, Chief of the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department, and I'm representing the Unified Command Team that is operating today.

I'm joined today by Deputy Mayor Lindsay Apia (ph), Metropolitan Police Department executive assistant chief, Jeff Carroll, Clint Osborne, the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency director for the District of Columbia.

The military district of Washington, the Metropolitan Washington Airport's Authority, and both the fire and police chiefs. The United States Coast Guard, the Maryland State Police, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and the Virginia State Police.

And I'd like to thank all of them for being here as well.

We are here at Reagan National Airport with our Unified Command Team, and we will provide an update on where recovery efforts stand. Well also give more information about the cadence of updates from Unified Command going forward.

I'm joined today by Terry Liercke from the Metropolitan Washington Airport's Authority and the other members of the Unified Command Team.

As we continue to learn more about the victims, we are sharing our prayers and condolences with the families of the loved ones and those who we're lost in this tragedy.

And I want to thank again our response teams for their heroic efforts over the past 30 or so hours, including the team on this site, as well as the teams that are supporting the families. This is heartbreaking work.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into what happened, and they will be providing updates later this afternoon. We will not be talking about the investigation in this conference.

So Terry Liercke, from the Metropolitan Washington Airport's Authority, will now provide an update on airport operations. And then I will update you on the activities since our last briefing and the activities over the next operational period.

TERRY LIERCKE, VICE PRESIDENT, REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT: Thank you, Chief.

Again, my name is Terry Liercke. I'm the vice president airport manager of Reagan National Airport. I just kind of wanted to give an update on where we stand.

As we know, the airport is open and operating. We are in a reduced capacity and a reduced arrival rate due to the proximity of the recovery site. We do have two of our three runways that are closed.

So as always, we do want to encourage passengers to reach out to their airlines for any potential flight delays. Typically, a full schedule here at National Airport would encompass about 800 flights a day using those three runways. We've had several, obviously, cancellations yesterday.

Airlines are resuming as much, as possible, normal operations. I think we have about 100 flights or so canceled today.

I do want to just recognize a lot of the airport teams who work behind the scenes. And we are here to support and coordinate with the ongoing recovery efforts, as well as working with NTSB in their investigation.

With that, I'll just turn over my remarks to the next speaker. Thank you.

DONNELLY: So overnight, our teams continued search operations and surface work, including site sonar scanning, shoreline searches and aerial searches. Also, two Coast Guard cutters have arrived on station. And you may be able to see them out there on the water.

Other efforts off site included the NTSB, American and PAL Airlines, and district officials -- officials meeting with families at the Family Assistance Center and providing the support that they need to get through this horrible event.

[14:40:11]

We've identified 41 -- or we have recovered 41 sets of remains and 28 of those victims have been positively identified. And as of 6:00 a.m. this morning, next of kin notifications have been made to 18 families.

Going forward with our recovery operations, search teams will continue to work the site. We'll do side scan -- side sonar scanning, searching the shoreline and aerial operations.

Our dive teams are working in targeted areas and additional Coast Guard assets will arrive this afternoon.

The salvage crews have begun to arrive on the scene, and they're assessing the work that's going to be needed to recover the aircraft from the water. We expect those operations to begin no later than tomorrow afternoon.

The teams are also working the shoreline down the river, as we do expect some debris to be dragged by the current. And if members of the public believe they have information or have discovered potential wreckage, we're asking you not to touch it and to call 911, and we will send somebody out to get it.

Supporting the response team. This has been a tough response for a lot of our people. We've had over 300 responders operating at one time. And I think we've got about 500 people that have worked through the site.

So the Unified Command has activated peer support for its first responders to make sure that everybody has somebody that can help us get through this.

And the outpouring of support, people like the World Central Kitchen's Relief Team and many of the local restaurants and restaurants here at the airport have supported the -- the people working, making sure they have food so they don't have to stop.

And I want to thank the rest of the community for their outpouring of support and the -- the messages that they have given to the firefighters, police officers, military officials and everybody else that's working.

If you want to help, the Greater Washington Community Foundation has a relief fund. You can donate at the link above.

We also -- be careful, avoid your fundraising scams. Only trust verified sources. And ways you can help is to amplify that message using trusted sources on social media.

Exercise patience through the transition as this impacts the region. Things like the delays at the airport. People are going to need your grace. I know we've got a lot of vehicles around. We've got some areas closed that are normally open to the public around the river, and we need your patience in that.

Check in on your friends and neighbors. And if you're feeling anything about this event, please call the Crisis Hotline. Talk to a medical professional. And you can use 988 on your phone.

What have we got here is that -- the last one? Catching up?

So with that, I'm -- we're going to be able to take a few questions. I'm going to start over here and we'll work our way across, 123.

Yes, sir?

CAMPBELL ROBERTS, REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Hey, this is Campbell Roberts with "The New York Times."

Can any of you talk about the FAAs decision to restrict helicopter flights in and around National Airport?

DONNELLY: So the question is, can anybody talk about the FAA's decision to restrict flights in and around National Airport? I don't believe we have any. So that's probably beyond the scope of this interview. You'll have the NTSB later. And that's something I might ask them.

Yes, sir?

STEVE SKYLAR, CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Steve Skylar with CBS News. Given the time that has passed, can you describe the conditions right now as it relates to the recovery process and whether you all think that you all will be able to recover more bodies?

DONNELLY: OK. The question was, given the time that has passed and the conditions outside, do we believe we're going to be able to recover more bodies? And there's a lot of challenges with that.

So I'm going to answer that one. I'm going to say that yes, we expect to recover all of the bodies. We have a -- that's why our teams are still working. We're going to have to work with the salvage company to do some of that work, though.

Yes, sir?

ALEX CAPARARIELLO, REPORTER, NEWS NATION: If I may ask a question on behalf of the Reagan National Airport. This is Alex Caprariello with "News Nation."

A lot of questions now circulating about the crowded airspace surrounding this airport. Also reports about other close calls, including 24 hours before the fatal accident.

We've seen the FAA take the position of restricting the airspace. Airspace, specifically route one and four for choppers in this area.

What is the airports position about potentially toning down some of the air traffic around this airport? And should this have been done sooner, specifically, the restrictions on the airspace for choppers on route one and four?

DONNELLY: Can you restate the question?

[14:44:56]

LIERCKE: Yes, sure. The question was regarding air traffic, helicopter routes up and down the Potomac, right? That is an FAA responsibility. The airspace is controlled by the FAA. The airport does not have any responsibility outside of the surfaces of the airport itself.

CAPARARIELLO: But most certainly this has been conversations that you've had. And when it comes to safety for the airport, for the passengers that come in and out of D.C.

LIERCKE: Absolutely. The FAA does regulate the airport and we follow all FAA safety regulations. Again, all I can say is the FAA is responsible for the airspace.

CAPARARIELLO: Very briefly, a question for the chief.

Sir, how long do you expect it to take for the salvage to be removed from the river to recover the bodies and do everything that's necessary to bring closure for these families?

DONNELLY: So we're working as fast as we can. I'm not going to be able to give a timeline on that, as there's a lot of unknowns. But we are -- we hope that we have better -- we have, not better, but we have more salvage equipment here tomorrow. And that that operation can begin. Then.

So next, three questions. One, two, three.

PERRY RUSSELL VOUGHT, REPORTER: ABC NEWS: Yes, Chief, Perry Russell Vought, ABC News. How is weather affecting recovery efforts? Rain today. Rain forecast later. What are the elements inside the river? How has all of this affected recovery?

DONNELLY: So the question is how does the weather affect the recovery operation? I think, in my view, it may slow it down slightly, but we are -- all of the units out here, all of the people working, work year round in all conditions.

We're going to be careful. We're going to make sure we don't hurt anybody else. But the weather we've seen so far is whether we can work in. If that we're to change, that would affect it. But we haven't seen that yet.

One question at a time.

Yes? UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, you talked earlier about access to the

site and to gain access to that to that area. We don't think that ice was a real problem that day, but the -- the -- "John Glenn" has been out of service for some time. Do you have an update on when that vessel can be put back?

DONNELLY: So the question is access to the site and the "John Glenn" is the fireboat for the District of Columbia.

So what I referred to on access to the site is things like Gravelly Point being closed and that being lost as a local recreation area while we're working.

There was some ice on the river. We made good access to the site with everybody else.

The "John Glenn" has been reported, is just the one of the districts fireboats. It is not the primary asset for this type of operation. And so while it's in the shop, it didn't affect anything. And we hope to have it back by the summer.

Yes, sir?

GRADY TRIMBLE, ANCHOR & REPORTER, FOX NEWS: I have a follow up question about the runway closures. Grady Trimble with Fox.

So you said two of three are closed because of their proximity to the -- the crash site.

DONNELLY: Yes.

TRIMBLE: Can you explain why they remain closed?

DONNELLY: Sure, absolutely. So the question is, why are two of the three runways here at National Airport closed? So if you're familiar with the runway configurations here, we have a main north-south runway. And we have two, what we call crosswind runways.

The two crosswind runways, if aircraft were to take off or land over the aircraft recovery sites, that is out there right now. Those would be impactful to the operation. So we've elected to keep those runways closed.

TRIMBLE: And to follow up, how long do you expect that to remain the case? And are you saying that if there's -- if there are still recovery teams in the Potomac, then there's no chance that these two runways are going to open? And how does that impact?

DONNELLY: Sure. So -- so the question is asking how long we anticipate those runways to be closed. That's a dynamic situation. We've worked with the FAA. I think what we've communicated is we anticipate our expectation is -- is week.

However we'll reassess on Monday. And as the recovery efforts go, it's a fluid situation, obviously.

Yes?

OK. Paul, here and there.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chief, by talking to salvage. Can you confirm that you're not going to be able to recover the remaining bodies until you're able to get the fuselage off the -- the floor of the river and on to a barge?

And -- and then my follow up to that is, are you making an effort today to get into the helicopter and recover those two bodies.

DONNELLY: So the -- the question is, do we believe we have to lift the aircraft out of the water in order to finish and find the -- the rest of the remains? And the second part of the question was, are -- are we focused on the helicopter today?

And the answer to the first question is, yes. I believe for us to recover the rest of the remains that we are going to need to get the fuselage out of the water.

The second part of the question is, yes, a lot of our operations, not all of them, but a lot of our operations today are focused on the helicopter.

Yes, ma'am?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This question is for Mr. Liercke. I'm (INAUDIBLE) of Fox 5 D.C. Can you confirm sufficient staffing moving forward in the tower? I don't know if that's in your scope or if that's (INAUDIBLE).

[14:50:04]

LIERCKE: It's not. So the question was regarding staffing and the air traffic control tower. That's outside my scope of responsibility.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: John Donnelly, can you talk a little bit about the toll this is taking on your team, and specifically how many people still remain? I know on day one there were upwards of 300 mutual aid. Is it still out there?

DONNELLY: So you know, this is an incident where, even if it doesn't affect you right now, it's probably going to affect you later. It'll be something that you think about.

So the -- in emergency services across the board, we have support teams. The national capital region, all of the departments do. So they have been activated.

The International Association of Firefighters Regional Pier Support Team has been activated to -- to help support. And we, the incident management team, as they rotate responders, through the scene, are making sure that there are opportunities for them to get the assistance they need.

I'm going to ask the Virginia State Police to talk about the peer support. He's doing a little bit.

FIRST SERGEANT KENNETH BLANK, VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: I'm First Sergeant Blank with the state police in Virginia.

We are working with our partners. NWA (ph) is leading the support for the effort for peer support. But I'm here to in support of that effort. And we have several regional partners that are contributing to that, including mental health professionals who are on site from INOVA and from the -- from a nonprofit in the in the area that are providing support.

The Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program is also planning to send support. And all of the -- most of the public safety agencies in the region are providing personnel to assist with that effort.

DONNELLY: Yes, ma'am?

MARY ELKHART, REPORTER, D.C. NEWS NOW: Mary Elkhart with D.C. News Now. I know that this is an unpleasant question for you, Chief, but we've been hearing reports from people that live along the river are potentially seeing partial remains coming up on shore, that people are seeing these.

Is that anything you're hearing or is that why you're keeping people away from some of these shore?

DONNELLY: So we're not keeping anybody away from the shoreline for any of those reasons. If we've closed off an area like Gravelly Point here, it's because we have emergency access vehicles coming in and out, and we need the access to the river.

We have received some 911 calls about either debris or remains. I don't know that we've actually found any remains. We've certainly picked up debris from those 911 calls.

So we're going to do three more and go one, two and three in the back.

Yes, sir?

JONATHAN KEARSLEY, POLITICAL REPORTER, CHANNEL 9 AUSTRALIA: Thanks, Chief. Jonathan Kearsley from Channel 9 Australia. This is a question for Terry.

And Terry is vice president and manager of this airport. What concerns have you had specifically about the congested airspace? And have you ever raised those directly with the FAA?

LIERCKE: So again, the United States airspace is the safest in the world. Safety is our -- one of our top priorities. And we continue to ensure that the airport is safe for operations.

KEARSLEY: Follow up on that. He wasn't in this instance. There have been near misses here before. You would have been made aware of those as manager of this airport. Have you raised concerns with the FAA about the congested airspace around Washington?

LIERCKE: Yes, I can say again, we work with the FAA. We're regulated by the FAA. We comply with all FAA safety regulations.

KEARSLEY: But that doesn't answer the question.

DONNELLY: Yes, sir.

DAVID SHEPARDSON, JOURNALIST, REUTERS: Chief, David Shepardson from Reuters. Can you talk about how much debris has been removed to hangar seven? And at some point, that operation be transitioned to a private company? The NTSB will -- will hire a will to actually put all the debris.

DONNELLY: So that's an investigation question and appropriate for NTSB this afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll take two more.

DONNELLY: Yes, sir.?

TOM RAZA, REPORTER: CHANNEL 7: Tom Raza, Channel 7. Have a question for Terry as well.

As far as -- the airport took a position against adding extra-long distance flights out of here. And one of the concerns was there's just too much already going on.

Do you maintain those concerns because they're supposed to start in the next few months? Are you concerned about safety as those extra flights start?

LIERCKE: Yes. Thanks, Tom. So the question was regarding the additional slots to DCA. As you know, the slots are federally controlled, federally mandated, and we have to follow federal regulations.

RAZA: Are you still concerned about them? I think that the airport authority was concerned at the time.

LIERCKE: Yes. Again, we -- we have to follow the federal regulations on the slot controls. Thanks.

RAZA: OK. Hi there, Chief. I have one more question for you. You're talking about the FAA, Congress, federally mandated, et cetera. Where does the buck stop with this accident and ensuring that the next flight to take off from this runway is safe?

DONNELLY: So, again, the question is really directed to the FAA and Congress, I believe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. One last question is right here.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You have 41 victims recovered. Are you confident in the location of the others? Where are they? Are you confident that you know where they are?

[14:55:07] DONNELLY: So I think we think we know where they are. We won't know until we're done. I mean, we're going to continue this search operation, but we've searched a large portion of this river, and we are right there.

So. Oh, I didn't read -- so the question -- let me answer the question again or let me restate the question. Sorry.

The -- the question was, are we confident we know where the other remains are? And that it -- it couples with the question about removing the aircraft. I believe that when we remove the aircraft, that that will help us resolve this number. If it doesn't. We will continue to search.

OK --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That's the process? You take to salvage the fuselage out. You're going to put it on a -- just reiterate that process. What that looks like removing it putting it on a barge. Is that right?

DONNELLY: So some of that isn't decided yet. We'll have to see what the salvage team is doing once they get all of their equipment here. So we may have more on that tomorrow but so I don't know the exact process today.

So thank you all for coming today. We -- hopefully, we answered your questions. We are going to do this again tomorrow. I don't have the time yet, but we will push that out so we can provide the -- some type of update.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We've been listening to Chief John Donnelly, of D.C. Fire and EMS, along with some other officials, regarding the ongoing effort in the Potomac River just outside of Reagan National Airport.

Some of the headlines there, Chief Donnelly revealing that they are still working to recover 23 bodies, 23 people who we're killed in this midair collision between a Blackhawk helicopter and this American Airlines flight.

The chief there saying that the salvage effort is set to begin tomorrow. Salvage crews are now on site and they will need their help in order to recover those that have yet-to-be-recovered.

He said that 28 of the victims have been I.D.'d. Eighteen families have been notified that their next of kin was killed in this tragic accident.

KEILAR: That's right. And they still are asking for help at this point in time to members of the public. This is a tidal river, actually, with the currents that go up and

down. But down river, they are asking people if they see any remains or debris to call 911 so that they can get assistance with that.

They said they've already taken some calls that they have not received any calls that pertain to remains, but they actually have found some debris based on those calls.

And they're really confident that they're going to recover all of the remains, but they're going to need the help of that salvage crew that's going to start tomorrow.

Let's bring in David Soucie and Chad Kendall back to talk about this.

And also, David, noteworthy that you have the airport operating at this reduced capacity. Significant.

They said 100 flights canceled so far today. I was there yesterday and read was just lighting up the board. You could see it and there were so many people who we're waiting to get out who couldn't.

But what do you think about what you heard there? What stood out to you?

DAVID SOUCIE, FORMER FAA SAFETY INSPECTOR: Well, what stood out to me is the fact that the FAA has restricted all helicopter operations in the area until they could determine what actually happened here.

And -- and that tells me that they could be looking at a lot of different things. If the helicopter was using some kind of flight guidance system.

Typically, when there's a large aircraft accident like this, when I was the EIC, the investigator in charge on it, when there's some question about altitude or location or off course, we need to look at all of the -- all of the equipment that's used on the ground to guide the airplanes and to guide those helicopters.

So that's one of the things that concerns me. I'm sure, certain at this point that they've made -- made certain that that equipment is operating properly.

But I just wanted to convey to the listeners that there's a lot that goes into this, all the way from those antennas at the end of the runway, all the way to the aircraft, the communications between them.

This is a very, very large undertaking. It seems simple on the front that, hey, this just happened. It's not that simple at all. It will go on for weeks.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no question about that.

Chad, I wonder what stood out to you from this briefing.

CHAD KENDALL, FORMER COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PILOT: Yes, I agree with a lot of Davids points there. I want to speak kind of to the operations right now that, you know, as

two runways remain closed, runway 422 and 3315, that it will take some time to get the airport back to normal operations and normal capacity.

With those runways closed and being used in the recovery efforts as well, it may cause some arrival delays into D.C. as we move forward.

[14:59:57]

But this -- this recovery effort is going to take some time. This is a meticulous time for the -- the efforts of the personnel working through these very difficult situations to -- to be able to -- to get through the recovery period.