zeus, panda power, china could be reviving a diplomatic strategy that focuses on friendship and the bay area could be receiving this gift of

goodwill. we will also learn about an upcoming event that's both empowering and entertaining . it highlights the skills and talents of people with special needs. but first, preliminary inspections are now underway of boeing's 737 max, nine planes following a blowout mid-flight. hi, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm dionne lim. you are watching getting answers. the alaska air door plug blowout involving a boeing 737 max nine plane, has led the faa to ground the aircraft and launch an investigation that is underway right now. we're also learning about some early findings. so joining us live now is abc news aviation analyst john nance. john, you must be incredibly busy the past couple of days. i mean, this is nothing short of a miracle that everyone survived. >> well, i think the miracle is not so much that they survived in this particular instance. it's that it did not happen at 39 or 40,000ft. that would have been an entirely different thing. as the ntsb chairman

said, it would have been a very explosive decompression. >> yeah. and we can talk more about that in just a moment. but first, i have to ask you what a door plug is, because to an average traveler like myself, it seems like it would be the same as an emergency exit door. >> well, in fact, they can serve as an emergency exit door as it comes out of the factory. if that's what the customer wants. if that's what for instance, alaska had ordered, then they would have configured those two doors, positioned uh- as emergency exits. but they also can buy the same or sell the same fuselage with no intention to have that high density configuration of almost 220 passengers. so if it's low enough, then they can eliminate having to haul all that gear around and the extra doors, the extra emergency exit uh- slides, and so on. by putting plugs in there, you don't see them from inside. it's only something you can see from the outside. and they they are in there permanently, almost as part of the structure. >> oh i see, and i think people could easily mistake them because they are where that door

would normally be. getting to the actual unit itself, the 737 max nines, they've been pulled. they're being examined. how popular is this model of aircraft? i mean, should we worry about flying on one in the future? >> i don't believe there's any justification for worrying about flying on them in the future. this is, i think, going to be a one off situation in uh. the ntsb will get to the heart of it. they've got both the door and of course, the airplane and uh- and we will make sure that it can never happen again. i'm very confident about that. and i'm also confident about the fact that this has no connection with the previous problems that the max had, which were not aerodynamic problems. they were training. >> and can you refresh everyone's memory about the previous issues? because this affected quite a number of people. hundreds died because of these incidents. >> they did. there were two accidents in different parts of the world with the max, and it all came down to the fact that there was a problem with an automatic pitch trim system that that could be overridden with

two fingers, hitting two switches on the column every 737. pilot should have been well schooled, but the training had not been good enough. worldwide, that's only part of the situation. but there was nothing and is nothing wrong with the aerodynamic of this airplane. it's a very good airplane, very powerful and going to be with us for a very long time. >> i'm really glad you mentioned that, because there is a difference between training and then equipment and failures that way, and we just heard from united earlier, confirmed that they actually found some loose bolts during preliminary inspection of the max nine. what are you hearing about that? what does this mean? because it seems awfully alarming. if united is now claiming there are some issues there. well the first thing we got to keep in mind is that we've got to know exactly, precisely why this door blew off uh- this plug, i should say. >> and if that has to do with loose bolts, then then it is the same kind of category that united is finding. these are new airplanes for the most part,

even 2 or 3 years old. you're not supposed to find elongated holes with bolts in them. and so that may bespeak another part of the problem. but we will get to the bottom of it because as i say, we've got all the parts and pieces. unlike a situation where there's fragment fragmentation of everything you want to look at. yeah. >> and for those of us who are not aviation experts, some of these planes have been in these fleets for decades. is that a problem? the age of these aircraft at all? >> you know, you can take a look at the boeing b-52, which is older than any of the aircraft commanders in the air force flying them. and that's that's what the good maintenance can do. an airplane really has no retirement date as long as it's taken care of appropriately. tsay uh- and maintenance is good in maintenance increases over time, of course, but you've got 730 seven's out there that are very geriatric, and they're still doing a very, very good and safe job. yeah. >> and the inspection that are taking place right now, i know initially we were expecting

perhaps these inspections would take several hours. it is now dragging on a little bit longer. what are some of the things that inspectors are looking for. >> well that's exactly it is. we have to know what we're looking for, not just at the door is there and everything appears to be in good shape. and that's one of the reasons that the inspections have been delayed and not just complete one after another. uh- i'm sure that that's going on right now, and i'm sure that the ability to tell precisely what happened there in it flows immediately into the ability to make sure that it can't happen again, to make sure whether it's bolts that might be suspect or whether it was the absence of bolts and where in the inspection process, by the way, should this have occurred. >> and speaking of that inspection process, yes. yesterday we learned from the ntsb that the black box, or also known as the cockpit voice recorder, was actually written over. how could this happen? because it stands to reason that it would have provided some vital information on what went wrong. well certainly it wasn't

anything volitional, i'm sure of that. >> you had two very adrenalized pilots who did a beautiful job putting the airplane back on the ground safely and getting it into the gate, and someplace in the process. yes. the, uh, the voice recorder was still running, and after it got to two hours, it basically erased everything that went before. that's why it's imperative for the ntsb's recommendation to go. to 25 hour tapes or 25 hour recording loops. that needs to be done yesterday. yeah perhaps this incident will actually prompt some more action and making that happen. >> i do want to get to this because you mentioned decompression right off the top. uh, someone shirt flew off their body. i read headrest cell phones being sucked out of the plane. the secure cockpit door also flew open. that must have been jarring. not only for the passengers, but for the pilot. talk about the force and the violence of it. >> well, and this is only at 16,000ft, where the pressure differential is fairly low. uh, but there are panels actually in the in the door to the cockpit

that are designed to blow out. i'm not sure whether that's what happened or whether the door actually came open, but there was a volume of air in there that has to equalize. and it's going to take a lot of stuff with it. as you can imagine, from about 0.3 pounds per square inch differential, which is what they were at to, uh, 8 pounds per square inch differential at high altitude. there's quite a difference. this was very distracting. the headsets flew off the two pilots, uh, checklists were blown around. and they've got to figure out what's going on and do the right thing. of course, getting on the air and saying, we need emergency declaring an emergency, and we need to go back to portland. uh, i think that's going to turn out to have been a textbook, uh, performance. >> and, john, we have time for one more question. i'd like to know if people should be concerned about flying on perhaps different versions of a boeing 373. uh, more airplane. i mean, there's also a max eight, correct? >> yeah. there is, uh, you know, you can kind of follow me around. i, uh, i'm on those all the time as passenger and i really have absolutely no

concern because i know the training is the key. the airplane is solid as a rock. all of these versions are. they're excellent airplanes, very resilient. and as a matter of fact, you can take a look at the record that alaska has amassed a flying back and forth from the bay area as well as seattle and portland to, uh, to hawaii as, uh, as an indicator of how reliable all right, we will stay on top of the issues with the 737 max. >> and, uh, probably speak with you again very soon. thanks for joining us. >> thank you very much. >> well, moving on, they are one of the most beloved animals on earth, and pandas have even played a vital role in building global diplomacy. we'll take a look at the history of so-called panda diplomacy and how san francisco could be the next benefit direct deposits come up to two days early with early pay day. what if everything came two days early?

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this happened. she even made a formal ask to president xi jinping as she bid him farewell after apec. so joining us live now with what this all means from a diplomatic standpoint is yun sun, senior fellow and director for the china program at the stimson center. it's a nonprofit think tank that analyzes issues related to global peace. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> all right. panda diplomacy as it's called, this started back during the nixon administration. how did pandas end up playing such a role in us china relations as uh? >> well, at the beginning of this bilateral relationship, since its normalization, there have been these talks at panda is going to carry an important diplomatic role because panda is unique to china. right. and

there's a cute and cuddly the chinese government very quickly realized that the diplomatic value of these animals and they started to send or police the giant pandas to zoos and countries, all over the world as a part of the effort to improve relations, to consolidate the friendships, and also to strengthen ties. so to be able to lease a panda or pair of pandas from china is regarded as a symbol of friendly and positive bilateral relations. and the chinese government certainly have realized that the value of the pandas and in the past four decades, and have used it adeptly to strengthen china's relationship with with foreign countries. >> yeah, i almost think of it as a equalizer, because who doesn't love something that's cute and cuddly and attaching that symbolism is very powerful with the panda conservation loan program ending, there have been these headlines across the country about zoos needing to

return their pandas, most notably the national zoo in washington. we actually saw choppers fly overhead when their animals were on the way to the airport. were there any other reasons? diplomatic ones. why the pandas couldn't have just stayed in the u.s. a little bit longer. there >> well, yes, i certainly remember the last days that the well, the giant pandas left washington and there were ceremonies, people and families went to the national zoo to say their farewell. so it was a very emotional moment. i think the panda diplomacy has always been subject to the political context of bilateral relations. pandas can be leased as a sign of improved bilateral relations, and those leaves can also be suspended, in this case, be terminated when the bilateral relationships are not in such a good spot. so i think this is exactly what has happened in the case of the national zoo and the , um, the zoo in san diego,

because from beijing's vantage point, the bilateral lationship has not been going so well. why would china leave its pandas in what they some of the chinese netizens and nationalists would call hostile territory? why would china show the friendship to the united states when the united states is not reciprocating? so i think in this case, the giant panda with the panda diplomacy is showing its other side of the same story, which is giant pandas can be advancers of friendship, but when the when the relationship is not so good, they can also be a part of the punitive measures. >> yeah, and that certainly makes sense. and just a few days ago we had the chinese foreign minister, wang yi, promised that giant pandas could and that was emphasized, could return to california by the end of the year. do you have maybe any insights as to why california. my sources say that san francisco has the advantage because we hosted apec not too long ago. >> well, yes, indeed, i think

california or the state of california carries a special value, uh, in terms of the china us relations. and it also certainly carries a special value in terms of beijing's perspective about about local politics and how local states could advance bilateral relationship between united states and china. so the logic is that maybe the bilateral relationship on the national level is not always going so well, but it doesn't mean the state government, the 50 states in the united states on the local level cannot play a positive role or or even better, from beijing's point of view, even better to for the states to advance its friendship or advance its positive interactions with china, regardless of what the federal government is doing from washington. so i think in this case, california is seen as a particularly important target for the chinese government because while there, there is a very significant chinese ethnic

chinese population. it's also closer. the west coast is closer to china, and that the bilateral interaction in uh- is also much more prosperous from the state of california. i see that makes sense. >> certainly. and finally, how would a panda or maybe pair of pandas like you said, help san francisco, help the bay area tourism comes to mind, as does trade. what else is there? >> oh, the tourism is going to be a big one. um, and because there's currently only the zoo in atlanta still host a four pandas, right? the rest of the country are deprived of the pandas. so when the, when the, when the panda or the pair of pandas do come to, uh, to san francisco or to state of california, they're going to be a huge tourist attraction. but on the other hand, i think the panda also suggest the intention of the chinese government to engage and to strengthen ties. so i think in the in the sense that it is a symbol, it also

signifies what the chinese are willing to do in terms of advancing relationship with the state of california. and i do expect people to people exchange commercial interactions, business ties to also grow because the panda will not be sent without such friendly context. >> who knew that two big cuddly black and white animals could play such a vital role real quickly? if i could also ask you about your predictions for what you expect to happen after this, obviously, rumblings are rumblings. our mayor has made the request. what do you anticipate happening next? well i think what is going to happen, like the chinese said, pandas could be send an and what they are indicating in this case is, well, it depends on what the us will do in 2024 and especially in the coming weeks. >> in fact, this coming saturday, taiwan is going to have its elections. so the chinese are clearing their eyes, watching for what washington will do in response to the result of the taiwanese election. whether it is to the

chinese satisfaction, and then make the decision whether to send the panda. so i think the chinese will be watching and we will be watching as well. >> okay. and hopefully we'll talk with you again soon. after all of this gets tied up and finalized. all right. unison from the china program at the stimson center. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> all right. we're back

the rights of special needs individuals is putting on a show to promote the underserved talents in our community. so joining us live now is anna wang, vice president and co-founder of friends of children with special needs to talk about their upcoming special needs talent showcase. so happy to have you. >> hi. it's great to be here, diane. >> okay, let's talk a little bit about your organization, friends with children with special needs . your son, lawrence was the

inspiration. how did this all come to be? >> yes, i was a co-founder and at age 19, he was discovered to have savant like musical talent. it just shows that there is a so little understanding about individuals with special needs. it took me 19 years to understand that he has musical talent. >> wow, that is remarkable. and after working with kids with special needs also, it's remarkable to see what secrets get unearthed with the right programs. what programs does your group offer to support these individuals? >> we offer all kinds of programs, including arts, and also performing arts such as music, dancing, and all kinds of art programs so that we can discover over and develop the talent. so they become contributing citizens of society . and one of the things that we work on is that people with

disabilities are often under employed, and we want to provide as much platform as possible to showcase the abilities and talent. so that they will be employed in the community. yeah, and hopefully become independent in some cases. >> we will. absolutely. the website, hopefully we encourage people to check that out. for more information. back to the talent showcase. because it's celebrating a big landmark anniversary ten years. why was this event created in the first place? because your son you touched upon. but this touches more than just your son, but the whole community? >> yes. um, it it took me 19 years to discover for his abilities and so i figured that many people with this develop mental disabilities are not discovered for their whole life. so uh, we want to create a platform to attract people with developmental disabilities to

come and show the world of their abilities and talent and indeed, this is our 10th anniversary. we have discovered so many talented individuals and some of them have gone to on win international competitions and very, very inspirational. >> wow. well on the screen right now, we're seeing some of the past participle agents. i do know that you provided us with some youtube video of previous showcases. let's take a quick listen to a performer. this is christy magoon. >> i'll go see failing >> oh, look at that. not only does he sing, he's got, uh, quite the moves. anna, what are some inspirational stories besides christians that you've learned about over the years? >> so, uh, one of our nonverbal contestants, one in our competition in piano and she

bowed to the back of the stage just so that, you know, she was excellent, uh, in her piano playing. and she went on several years later to win the elite international music competition at carnegie hall, which is complete only, uh, amazing. uh, so that's so little that we know about the abilities with people with developmental disabilities. so we want to provide as many opportunities as possible and one of our another contestant was did not get anything and then became honorable mention, become finalist and on in the fourth year became uh, the winner of this showcase and a lot of people wake up in the morning, uh, just thinking that what they're going to do for next year's showcase. so it became a reason to wake up in the morning and be happy and strive to, uh, to reach for the

star. >> yeah, it gives them a goal. and you never know what gets unlocked. how can people get tickets or watch the show? >> uh, the this year's 10th anniversary show is going to be on april 3rd, 13th, saturday at santa clara convention center theater, and is only $10 a ticket. if you you know, that is the greatest deal on earth. uh, is going to be from 4:00 to 630 at santa clara convention center on april 13th. >> it's a great deal for anyone who wants to watch. and then also there is a cash prize for the winner. >> yeah, yeah, cash prize of $500 in cash. and there is, uh, three cash prizes. uh top winners get $500 each. there is a people's choice award that gets $400 and two, uh, $200 for best showman award. and each of

the finalists will get $100 in cash, uh, for being, uh, as a finalist. because we are expecting over 50 different auditions. so the top ten already will get $100 prizes. >> wow. i hope that one day i will get to be a judge. i know you've extended the invitation to me. yes, my schedule works out. so. anna wang, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> all right, a quick reminder to everyone watching right now. you can get our live newscasts along with breaking news, weather and much more, all with our abc7 bay area streaming tv app. you can find it for apple tv along with google tv, fire tv and roku. just search abc7, bay area and download it now. stay with us. we're back after this shor you can instantly know what you spend on things like food. (dad) fargo, what did i spend on groceries this month? (son) hey dad, can the guys stay for dinner? (dad) no.

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abc7 news live anytime, anywhere we are, we are, we are, we are we are, we are where you are. >> never miss a moment of the news that matters to you. download our abc7 bay area streaming app. join us and start watching. >> thanks for joining us tonight, several breaking stories as we come on the air. images coming in right now from fort worth, texas. an explosion. they are searching for potential victims, going room to room at a hotel. and this powerful new storm tonight. treacherous driving. several repd