-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we're focusing in on some key

moments. key moments of the malaysia airlines flight 370, missing now for more than ten days. there are new questions about a crucial period when the plane was crossing between malaysian and vietnamese air space. earlier, malaysian authorities said a communications system was shut down before the verbal message from the cockpit saying, "all right, good night." now they say they're not sure exactly when the system was shut off. malaysian officials say they cannot confirm the malaysian newspaper report the plane may have dropped below 5,000 feet. the report is from the "new straits times." aviation experts say that's not low enough to evade radar detection. india's military now says radar near the andaman and in this case owe bar islands is not as closely watch closely watched as other areas, raising the popularity it might not have been picked up if it flew through that area. we're talking about a 15-minute period when the plane was crossing into svietnamese air

space from malaysian air space, also the time period when two, repeat two communications systems stopped working. let's bring in our aviation correspondent, richard quest, working the story for us. so what do we know, richard, about this sequence of events during these critical few moments? >> wolf, i'm pleased you said "stopped working," because that seems to be crucial. and we don't know why. whether -- we can't make the leap to say switched off, disabled. we just know stopped working. so monday, let's go through what we actually know. we know that at 12:41, the plane, mh 370, departs from kuala lumpur, a six-hour flight to beijing. that much we know. we know at 1:07, there is the last transmission from the plane's automatic reporting system. we know this, because it's been told to us by the ceo of the

airline, and it's been in the news conferences. then 1:19, last verbal communication. this is a significant one, wolf. this is where the co pilot, we know it's the co pilot. that's been confirmed at a news conference. the co pilot says, "all right, good night." and that's the last verbal communication. go to another press conference during the week. we know 1:21, the transponder. this is the bit that sends the signal out that the name of the plane, the altitude, the direction, the speed, we know that stops working. so these are facts that we know on the time line. then move forward. civilian radar has already confirmed they lost contact with the plane at 1:30. now this is when it gets more tricky, wolf. bear with me. 1:07, we had that acars reference. 1:37, the next acars message

should have been sent from the plane. but it wasn't. so sometime in that period, either it was disabled or it failed. but we know between 1:07 and 1:37, they were the key times. finally, 2:15. we get military radar, last detects the plane. and 8:11, the satellite makes its last so-called handshake. now, wolf, pull all this together. and what we come back to is a very fine line, a very defined area where between 1:07, 1:19, 1:21, 1:37, the incident was taking place, wolf. >> so this -- these are critical moments, as you correctly point out. two systems stopped working during that same rough period, the handover, between the malaysian and vietnamese air space, that handover was taking place. so would that be an optimal time

for someone to do something wrong in this particular place? >> absolutely. and it seems to be -- i mean, the conspiracy theorists say that is exactly the point upon which you would do it. let's go back if we can to the previous page on this time line. keep -- here we are, exactly the page. so the previous one. the one that -- the exact page of the first shows exactly where. 1:37, next acars transmission. this is the key bit that we don't fully understand. why did this transmission not take place. was it because it had been disabled, was it because it was not working. wolf, that is the answer that we are looking for at the moment. and if you look at the map, you can see exactly just how wide this search area has now become. remembering where we are over here, wolf. we've left over here, heading up this way. but the incident happens, the plane turns around, and then you end up with this vast arc where they're continuing to search.

more than two dozen nations are now involved, ships, planes, and the focus of attention, wolf, firstly appear over these countries. but deep, deep, deep into the south indian ocean, where australia, it was announced today, australia is now taking the privacy. >> australians have good technological capabilities over there. stand by, richard, we're going to get back to you. the little data that is available on flight 370 is being fed into the boeing 777 simulators to see what can be learned about the plane's possible flight path and location. our own martin savidge has been doing that on a flight simulator just outside toronto. also joining from us new orleans is james bern zony, former deputy director of the cia's counter intelligence center. martin, let's start with you. the revised time line suggests the so-called acars system made its final transmission after the

cockpit signed off with malaysian air control. so does that lend more credence to a potential mechanical failure as opposed to someone doing this deliberately? >> you know what, we've gone over that, the pilot here and i, and i'm not sure we have come to any strong conclusion as to whether this means that this was an accident or deliberate. if you have the shutdown over time, it certainly sounds deliberate. but the fact that the acars system would be first. why? >> you know, it doesn't lend any credibility to the theory that either way. it could have been mechanical, although i believe that it's highly unlikely. the systematic approach with which it was shut down suggests to me it was shut down by somebody. >> we could point out, wolf, the acars system could actuallily be accessed by going through what is sort of the big huge gps system. this is used how you input --

how you're going to travel. here you see acars right here. you can access it now. and you can begin to -- if it was an emergency, use this system to start transmitting messages. but you could also shut down aspects of the acars system by certain key entry. so the real question here is, was acars totally dismantled, or was it -- its ability to report somehow degraded? in other words, shutting it down, using this key board, or did somebody actually pull a wire? and i don't know if we've got the answer to that. >> earlier, martin, we had been told, and maybe this is incorrect that, someone had to go below the cockpit actually to shut down that acars system. you couldn't just do it from within the cockpit. but what you're saying is, aspects of it could be shut down, even while a pilot or co pilot is seated? >> right. this would seem to sort of get it at the problem that many experts have seen, that even though the acars system is said

to be shut down, there is still a report that comes over the satellite. and acars is believed to be that system. so in other words, it's like there's no information coming. but there's definitely a signal coming out. so that somehow perhaps they degraded, shut down certain reporting aspects, but didn't cut it off all together. but again, there is so much more we would really need to know in order to make that final judgment. >> all right. i want to come back to you guys. hold on for a moment. james bernazoni, terrorism expert, worked in the government. based on what we have learned so far, do you suspect credibly this was an actual terrorist act? >> i think the human factor is emerging. i think when you look at the human factor, there's three main investigative. the pilots acting on their own. an inside job. or a classic cockpit breach. if you are looking at the inside job, you look at everybody who touched that aircraft.

i think one of the major developments that we may pursue is the flight simulator of the pilot. everybody should be focusing on that pilot and that flight simulator. but one must ask the question, did anybody else have access to that simulator to learn how to fly the 777, and if so, did that pilot provide that training. >> and what would -- if it were a terrorist act and the plane simply disappeared for it to be a credible terrorist act, wouldn't it have had to land someplace or that that plane could be used down the road in some sort of horrible way? >> yes. the terrorists are students of history. and relative to a hijacking, hostage situation such as twa 47 in beirut, lebanon, the passengers were held in exchange for prisoners held by israel. it was the lebanese hezbollah who perpetrated that act. and as a result of the exchange, the israelis, although they won't admit to it, let 700

fighters go. and so we don't know this yet, wolf. basically, all theories are still on the table. but in the focus of human factor, one must look at if the plane is intact, most probably will be eventually for prisoner exchange. if it's not intact, then there is a lot of forensic work to do. >> stand with us, james. richard, martin. everyone stay put. we're going to talk more about the focus on these two pilots and anyone else on that plane who may have had experience in the cockpit. our panel standing by. much more coming up. and later this hour, the crisis in ukraine. president obama picks specific targets, individuals for sanctions. we're going to talk about that strategy with the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., bill richardson. peace of mind is important when you're running a successful business. so we provide it services you can rely on. with centurylink as your trusted it partner,

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the mystery of flight 370, the investigation is shifting toward the pilots and all those on board the plane who may have had some experience flying airliners. richard quest is city with us. james bernazanni, as well. the main airport, flight simulator. martin, malaysian investigators removed this flight simulator from the captain. what exactly could we learn from that simulator? >> well, i agree, and i think mitchell, the pilot agrees, that could be a key piece of evidence and information. and explain why, mitchell. >> well, the flight data or the flight simulator is like any other computer. it stores data. it stores the roots. anything he did with it, any

tinkering, any planning or practicing maneuvers, will be stored on a hard drive. >> so in other words, if he had preplanned this, if he had had wanted to actually try it, he could have loaded all that information into the simulator as if it were the real flight. >> yep, absolutely, he could have. and that's going to be important for investigators to look through now and see if there was any premeditation to this. >> the problem with a tool like that, it could be used by a pilot to practice, to hone their skills, or it could be used by anyone who might have aviation skills to plot something bad. >> yeah. >> james, do you think the malaysian authorities are really handling this investigation well? are they inviting the top experts around the world, including from the u.s. government, in as their full cooperation? james, that's for you. >> i'm sorry. yes, wolf, english i think that people have to understand is do not confusion intention with

capability. the united states has the experience because we have been victimized by terrorist incidents and we bring a wealth of knowledge relative to investigative pursuit that perhaps the malaysians wouldn't have, not because they don't have the capabilities as far as the conceptualization of what happened. because they have been through it before. but unfortunately, the united states has been through this before. and the fact that the fbi is now arriving to assist with the con comprehendence of the united states, i think will advance this investigation and to bring it to logical conclusion. one aspect of this human factor investigation relative to the flight simulator, not only is the flight simulator of value, but now with that theory of perhaps the training was done by somebody who was visiting this fellow's residence to learn to fly the 777, the investigators will be in to look at the

communication devices of this pilot, his e-mails, his phone calls from his cell phone or land line. to see who he was in contact with leading up to the mystery of where this aircraft is. >> i asked the question, richard quest, because yesterday the malaysian authorities gave us one line when that so-called acars system stopped working and today they revised it, a significant revision. and the credibility is beginning to be questioned. >> well, what they did was, they clarified, wolf. because what we knew is that at 1:07, there was a transmission by this automatic data reporting system known as acars. aircraft communication and reporting system. so we knew that happened at 1:07. now we all jumped the gun, and we assumed that if there wasn't another one, then it failed after that. but if we move -- and therefore, we had the last verbal

communication, and you had the transponder stopping. and we all thought that clearly that must be the moment. but if we move to the next set of the time scale, you'll see exactly. but instead what we now know is at 1:37, there should have been an acars. there should have been an acars. so you have a window, wolf, between 1:07 and 1:37. it's a 30-minute window. and in that window, we know two things happened. we know the transponder stops, and we know all right, good night. but we could not know at what pointed acars was disabled. all we do know, in that 30-minute window, potentially it was the moment because at 1:37, it didn't chirp as it was supposed to. >> an important clarification, because it helps underline if, in fact, these two systems, the transponder and the acars, were switched off at different times or the same time, and it's a

very significant development in terms of trying to come to grips with what actually happened. guys, thanks very much. we're going to stay on top of this story, investigators are checking the background of all the people, all 239 people on board the missing flight, flight 370. we're going to meet with family members in malaysia's capital. also coming up, there is a developing situation in ukraine. president obama today expanding sanctions against russia as a response to crimea's independence. we're standing by for a closer look. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know pinocchio was a bad motivational speaker? i look around this room and i see nothing but untapped potential. you have potential. you have...oh boy. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

getting right back to the search for the malaysia airlines plane in a few minutes. but first, the vote is in. crimea one step closer to becoming part of russia again. president obama signed an executive order, freezing the assets of several russian officials involved in the crimean incursion, including members of russian president vladimir putin's staff.

here's part of what the president said a little while ago. >> as an initial step, i'm authorizing sanctions on russian officials, entities operating in the arms sector in russia, and individuals who provide material support to senior officials of the russian government. and if russia continues to interfere if ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions. >> back in crimea, ethnic russias are celebrating their victory. nearly 97% of those who voted voting to break away from ukraine. all of this still subject to approval by russia's parliament. president putin is scheduled it address the parliament, by the way, tomorrow. let's discuss what's going on. the response from the u.s. joining us is ambassador bill richardson. thanks for coming in. >> thank you very much, wolf. >> so the president is keeping his post mode promise of sanctions, imposing these

sanctions about a dozen people, ukrainians, russians, top aides to president putin. he says they were responsible for this military incursion and crimea referendum. but if they were responsible, president putin was totally response, but he personally is not on this list for sanctions. why? >> well, what the president is doing, president obama, is gradual sanctions, to see if the russians pull back. i think that's the correct response. you don't want to have officials like putin and foreign minister lavrov involved, because you're negotiating with them. so i think what needs to happen now, wolf, is off-loaded by the u.s.'s serious sanctions by the europeans, especially germany. because they have the most economic contact and all kinds of issues with russia. now, the key issues for us are,

what are we going to do in light of this soviet aggression? i think we've got to take some steps, energy-wise, defense-wise. i would bring those missiles back to poland, some energy security issues like export of natural gas to provide some of our european friends relief from the russians. but i think you have to look at the strategy short-range and long-range. >> you said soviet. you meant russian, right? you're not seeing a revival of the soviet union or anything. >> no, but the key questions are, are the russians going to go beyond what they did in crimea. i don't think so. are they going to go into other parts of ukraine? and then the second question is, how effective and intensive are the sanctions from the united states and europe going to be? i think the proper start was what the president did. now it's up to to the europeans, the key are going to be france, england and especially germany.

you know, russia has to weigh what's happening. 10% of their exports have already -- a lot of their exports have been affected. their currency has gone down 10%. so what you're seeing is a number of economic squeezes on russia already happening. two pipelines did disapproved. >> but you know that the russians, by all accounts, they're going to respond to the u.s. and european sanctions with their own retaliation, if you will. this thing could really escalate. >> that's right. it could escalate. but russia has to really be careful, because so far, they have been on a roll. but now when the sanctions start to bite, like those two pipelines that weren't approved by the europeans, like economic sanctions that would follow from europe and germany. possible economic sanctions from the united states. you know, there's a lot of russian investment in america. yes, the russians can retaliate.

but they also have to recognize that in the region, for instance, they've got problems with poland, we should enhance our relationship with countries like some of the former soviet satellites. and it's important that russia view this in the context of not just rekindling tharold soviet empire, but their relationship with the west. this is an interdependent world. we and the western countries, europe, have leverage over russia. it's mainly economic through trade, through energy. through all kinds of economic incentives. and at the same time, we could put them in a political isolation. so russia has got to be careful. this is not just a one-way street. >> bill richardson, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. let's go to crimea right now. get a sense of the mood on this day after that referendum, our

own nick paton walsh. how accurate is that 97% figure, those who voted 97% approving the referendum to rejoin russia? what's it like over there right now, nic? >> well, if you really bear in mind this has been an extremely kind of one-sided democratic process, if you can call it democratic at all, 97% isn't a huge surprise given the 10 to 12% ethnic minority who boycotted the election and simply haven't heard a pro ukrainian voice at all ahead of it. so perhaps, yes, those who bothered going to polling stations i'm sure all wanted to join the russian federation. you can't deny there was a large part of the population who want closer ties with russia, a lot fueled by misinformation about the intentions of the new government in kiev, suggestions they dominated or sway the far right extremists.

yes, a lot of paucity and fashion for this referendum, but you also have to bear in mind, despite the regular layerties of the polling stations, one where only a fifth of the voters were actually on the electoral roll, the rest allowed on by officials. despite that, the biggest irregularity was the fact there are over 20,000 russian groups and it's calm today, wolf. extraordinarily calm. but parliament pushing through a series of moves, part of the choreography here of getting this peninsula into the russian federation pretty much as quickly as possible, wolf. >> are you seeing any actual military signs of the russians moving beyond crimea to other parts of ukraine? >> reporter: not at this stage. the latest we saw was on sort of a part of land that runs northeast of crimea, the neighboring region. they landed there about three days ago, causing a lot of alarm. that situation has apparently

dehe is deescalated. we're not seeing moves of them moving further north at this appointment. and the focus on the streets is very much taking away signs of russian military and replacing with so-called self defense forces, a lot of heavily equipment riot police standing around the local parliament the. as this fails to be a done deal, we're waiting for president putin, you get the feeling of a done deal. the need for force around is lessening. we still have the question of what happened to ukrainian troops in their bases still loyal to kiev. that's very worrisome. but on the streets, it seems like it's passed. wolf? >> looks like it's a done deal, as far as the practical situation on the ground is concerned. nick paton walsh, thanks very much. we'll take a quick break. when we come back, back to the mystery surrounding the malaysian airliners, the flight 370. families and loved ones of those on the missing flight there, waiting and watching. so many questions as

investigators look for anyone on board who had experience flying planes. also, looking for red flags connected to the flight. we're taking a closer look at what type of screening pilots and crew members it actually have to go through. at farmers we make you smarter about your insurance, because what you don't know can hurt you. what if you didn't know that taking pictures of your belongings helps when you have a claim? or that farmers offers a policy that'll replace your car with a new one, if it's totalled within the first two model years. and that parking near a street lamp deters thieves. the more you know, the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. we are farmers.

welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. the mystery of malaysia airlines flight 370 is now entering its

11th day. and we're focusing in on some key moments in the time line. there are new questions emerging today about a crucial period when the plane was crossing between malaysian and vietnamese air space. earlier, malaysian authorities said a communication system was shut down before the verbal message from the cockpit when the co pilot said, quote, all right, good night. now they say they're not sure exactly when the system was shut off. malaysian officials also say they cannot confirm a malaysian newspaper report that the plane may have dropped below 5,000 feet. the report is from the "new straits times." aviation experts say that's not low enough to evade detection. it's not as closely watched, and that raises the possibility the plane might not have been picked up if it flew through those areas. as the search field widens for missing malaysia airlines flight 370, investigators are also now

launching background checks on everyone on board. our saima mohsin is joining us from malaysia j's capital, you talked to family members of a young flight engineer also on that plane. how are they taking all of this? >> reporter: with great difficulty, wolf. it's a really delicate balance, isn't it? trying to be sensitive to the loved ones and family of those on board the flights, but at the same time having to do the crucial job of asking tough questions and investigating the people on board. i spoke to them earlier. let's take a look at my report. >> reporter: she's crying for her step brother. i hope he comes back home. kisha really misses you, my brother, she says. this is 29-year-old herald emory, an aviation engineer who

works for a private jet company. as authorities investigate each and every crew member and passenger on board flight mh 370, anyone will be of particular interest in & a high priority. off camera, his father says, "i am confident that my son is not involved. they're welcome to investigate me and my family." >> translator: no police have come to ask about this at all. none at all. this goes to sydney, canada, usa, singapore. he went to beijing to repair a plane and was going to bring it back here. >> reporter: he called them thursday evening to say he was flying friday night on flight mh-370. emory is the youngest of three children from the first marriage. he married his childhood sweetheart. they have a young boy. just 1 year old. even though i'm his stepmother, he accepted me as a real mother. we were close. he's a good person.

today, the sultan visited to show his support. >> we pray. >> reporter: some comfort for a family searching for answers and hoping for good news. and you miss him. >> of course. >> reporter: wolf, a lot of families going through exactly the same turmoil that this family has been through. but also under a lot of scrutiny. this is the tenth day, heading into the tenth night, since the disappearance of flight mh-370. and, of course, not just the passengers, the crew under scrutiny, as well. we saw both the pilot and co pilot's homes searched by plain clothes police officers. we caught up with them as they were leaving with shopping bags. they did confirm they took away the flight simulator.

they have rebuilt that and are still going through it to find out what exactly that was about. a friend i spoke to, wofl, told me it was nothing at all bizarre. this is just a man, a pilot, who loves his job, took his career home, and shared it with his friends, challenging himself every day. but still, wolf, ten days on, not enough clarity on what exactly happened to the flight. a lot of confusion here in kuala lumpur. >> i'm sure they're going through the hard drive on the flight simulator to see what routes this pilot was checking out. saima, thanks very much. saima mohsin reporting from kuala lumpur. flying an airliner, no doubt a expressful job. just what type of screenings to pilots need, especially when it comes to mental and emotional health? our own brian todd is looking into this part of the story.

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investigators are looking at whether there were any red fl s flags. malaysia jb authorities are doing background checks on every person aboard that plane. brian todd is here looking at this part of the story. are they looking into psychological background checks, for example, of the pilot and the co pilot? because those guys were in the cockpit. >> they were in the cockpit, and we know that the pilots are one of the focuses now of the investigation. they have searched the pilots' homes. we can't say for sure whether there were any issues regarding either of these men that would have played a role in this disappearance. the malaysia airlines ceo did say the psychological test, the psychometric test, standard procedure for their airline. but they are going to look at that going forward now, wolf. and see if they can, quote, tighten the entry admission. i don't know if that's some kind of a hint that he's giving or not. it may not be. but they're going to look at the psychological screening. what we do know, every pilot of

a commercial airliner goes through some psychological screening. how rigorous it is depends on the governing body of that country. and of the airline itself. here in the united states, the faa requires a medical certificate to become a pilot. psychological screening is part of that. that certificate has to be renewed every year if the pilot is 40 years old or under or every six months if the piled is 40 years old or over. but the problem is, pilots often have to self-report if something is happening. if they're getting maybe a dose of depression or something like that or something happens in their life, they have to self report it. it's not necessarily checked up on every year. and it's not -- it's up to the pilot to tell them. so that may be an issue here. if the pilot doesn't say anything, if the pilot keeps everything in, then maybe that slips through the cracks, and, you know, there could be a gap there, wolf. >> yeah, i know you're working this story and will have more in "the situation room." thanks very much. the search for the missing plane now spans 11 countries. we're taking a look at how

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the pilots and passengers a aboard the missioning malaysia airlines flight are once again unit scrutiny. authorities say someone deliberately diverted the plane, but is there a political aspect to the ongoing investigation? let's bring in our chief international correspondent,

christiane amanpour, joining us from london. christiane, some are suggesting that malaysian politics are actually playing a role what's going on here? >> wolf, you can imagine after 11 excruciating days, the greatest aviation mystery of our time, they will obviously be a series of moments when people start turning in and feeding on each other and the lack of information going on. yes, you are right. there unpleasant thing most low in the tabloid press, but nothing we should take seriously at all at the moment. most people say the initial investigations into the pilots revealed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary at the moment. don't forget, even though focus is on the pilot, there could be that added situation where somebody forced and commandeered the pilots to do what they may or may not have done. turn off the transponders and turn the plane around, etc.

a lot of politics including whether or not the malaysian government is reacting fast enough and giving enough help to the americans or others and of course in particular to the families of those who are waiting so desperately for news. people can't believe it has taken this long to come out with the statement and then to say that it is foul play rather than anything else. >> we know there have been irritants in malaysia's relationship with china as a result of this and vietnam as a result. even with india to stop looking for all practical purposes. how does all that was play into the search? >> it's incredibly difficult. with 26 countries searching, the mac mum amount of cooperation is viths. pakistan they didn't detect anything and malaysia said one of the difficulties in getting all these countries to give their evidence or radar evidence or surveillance evidence is a

lot of these countries keep that information close to the vest. look, this is such an unusual situation that you are bound to get to a certain cycle where politics rears its head. what people want are factual answers and particularly the families want that. of course those in the security world who want to know what happened, whether it was a hijacking or whatever it might be. >> given the internal politics in malaysia, if they blame and are throwing the blame on these two pilots, how does it play into the political calculus? >> well, you know, again it deflects a lot of the attention that has been drawn towards the malaysian government. in this part of the world, especially in beijing and other places where families are waiting for word, they are beginning to treat the government as the bad guy. it's not really the bad guy, but

the unhelpful guy and not coming forth with the information in a timely manner. that is excruciating for them. they are accusing the government of playing defensive politics to try to make up for shortcomings. again, the real situation here has to be one where as much information as possible is collected and then disbursed as timely as possible. all these political games as frustrating as they are and you heard this sunday, dan pfiefer said the united states would like to help, but they need more information. malaysia, come on. we need more answers and we need you to cooperate. at the same time malaysia insisting they are cooperating. you can see what's going on in the tense situation. >> very tense situation. thanks very much. to our viewers, stay with us throughout the day for all the developments on the missing plane including a live report minutes away. we'll be right back.

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they want to know if you want to test your skills. go to cnn.com/brackets. that's it for me. i will be back 5:00 p.m. in "the situation room." a two-hour special edition. newsroom with brooke baldwin starts right now. >> thank you so much. you are watching the coverage of the disappearance, but the burning question here is did something sin ter happen in the cockpit of that plane? what we are doing here is piecing together this timeline as one bit of information still remains unclear. was a crucial tracking system, we will hear this a lot, the acars system from the plane's engines to the ground basically every half hour turned off