symbol of hope for better days ahead. anna cabrera, cnn, washington. >> to find out how you can help, log on to cnn.com/impact. thanks for watching the program today. nice to have you with us. my colleague, wolf blitzer, starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, investigators are narrowing their focus and servers shifting their search to the east as we near the end of day 26 in the search for malaysia airlines flight 370. also right now, the death toll is rising of a powerful 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of chile. the quake triggered small tsunamis and landslides. and more than 2,500 homes suffered serious damage. and right now the u.s. supreme court strikes down one of the limits on political donations. supporters say it's a victory for free speech. critics say it's another step on the road to ruination.

hello, i'm wolf blitzer, reporting from washington. there have been plenty of developments today in the case of missing malaysia airlines flight 370. malaysian's police inspector general says all 227 passengers have been cleared of any wrongdoing. the investigation looked at hijacking, sabotage, any personal or psychological problems that would have been in play. also today, the families of 18 of the passengers met with investigators and government officials in kuala lumpur. this meeting was supposed to clear the air and answer families' question in the investigation. meanwhile, this search zone moved a couple hundred miles closer to the australian coast. the "hmstireless," a nuclear submarine has joined the search to search for pings from the plane's black boxes. let's get more now on the investigation and what police say is the next step.

for that we turn to our senior international correspondent, nic robertson in kuala lumpur. >> reporter: yeah, wolf, 170 reports taken by the police so far as part of this ongoing investigation, ongoing criminal investigation. but now saying that all 227 passengers are cleared of the four aspects of the investigation. the police are looking at. this, of course, not the mechanical investigation of what could have gone wrong with the aircraft. the issues of hijacking, sabotage, personal issue, psychological issue on board the aircraft, all 227 passengers now cleared. the focus does seem to be turning as far as the police investigation of those aboard the aircraft towards the crew. and we now hear as well from malaysian airlines tightening up security procedures aboard the aircraft. they now say that the pilots cannot be left alone in the cockpit. if either the captain or the first officer leaves the

cockpit, another senior crew member must take their place. so there must be two people inside the cockpit at any time. the police have said this is a criminal investigation. officials have said whoever steered the plane off course knew what they were doing. was very capable in flying this particular aircraft. so we can really begin to see how the police investigation focusing down on what's taken place in the cockpit, malaysian airlines themselves concerned about what goes on in the cockpit, if only one of the -- one of the pilots who is in that cockpit -- although no one is joining those dots together, it does seem to indicate which way this part of the investigation is going. but all those passengers now cleared of any involvement. this should make the investigation a little easier, although the police chief saying still a long way to go yet, wolf. >> nic robertson in kuala lumpur, thanks very much. let's bring in our panel to talk about the developments.

mark weise is a cnn aviation analyst, former 777 pilot for american airlines. peter goelz, former ntsb managing director. and tom fuentes, cnn law enforcement analyst, former assistant director of the fbi. tom, let me start with you. they say they have cleared all 227 passengers. so what does that mean? they're just looking at the pilots, the crew members, who else are they looking at? >> well, that's what it means. but i don't know why they would clear the passengers, unless you've developed a really strong suspect from either the crew members in the plane, the other crew members, or the pilots or ground crew personnel. so to clear the passengers, i'm not sure that you can investigate for three or four weeks and clear everybody when this investigation, you know, is going on in 14 different countries considering the background of all of the passengers. >> that's the only explanation i have, they have cleared the 227 passengers, peter, because they are really honing in on someone

or some others. at least one individual or a few individuals right now. but they're not sharing all those details with us. >> right. they're zeroing in on the flight crew. that's where they are. >> the pilot, the co pilot? >> that's -- >> there is no indication -- there is no indication there is anyone else in there. and that's where they're zeroing in. and i think there's a foreshadowing of that over the last week from police spokespeople. >> and the other foreshadowing of that, mark, is that malaysia airlines now, all of a sudden, they have said, we've got new security protocols for anyone coming into the cockpit. there's not going to just be one person in the cockpit any longer. there is always going to be two people in that cockpit. the timing of that also suggests this the suspicion focusing in on either the pilot, the co pilot or both of them. or others who may have gotten in there. >> yeah. it certainly does. it certainly leads suspicion to the crew. but it also is a bit disturbing that it's -- it's so many years

past 9/11. of course, malaysia didn't suffer a 9/11 that the united states did. that it's now stepping up to what most countries in this world determine to be standard security procedures for a cockpit. >> yesterday we were speculating, we were talking right here, wondering, are they going to move the search zone again? they moved it from the southern part of the indian ocean, moved it north about 700 miles. and now they're moving it to the east, closer to australia, another 200 or 250 miles. that does not -- i'll start with you, tom, once again, instill a whole lot of confidence these people know what they're doing right now. >> no, it doesn't. but as we said yesterday, we wouldn't be surprised. it happened today. and we're not surprised. >> you were -- none of us are surprised, but, you know, the fact that they have now for a third time said, you know what, we didn't find anything in the south, we didn't find anything in the new location, so we're moving the search to a new location. what does that say to you? >> it just reaffirms that the data is very soft.

that they're working on. and it means that they're trying everything they can to take one last shot before the 30-day clock runs out. and, you know, god love them. i hope they had the right data. i hope it proves fruitful. but clearly desperation. >> this is really the fourth time they have changed the search area. originally in the south china sea between vietnam and malaysia, that whole area that proved to be not an area they really wanted to search. then they went to the southern indian ocean, moved it up north and now back east. so really four major search areas. >> well, we don't even know, wolf, really, what the altitude swings were. if, in fact, were any altitude swings. >> a lot of reports it went up to 45,000, down to 12,000, 35,000. >> right. i mean, and this all has to do now with fuel consumption and distance it would have traveled. there's so much we still don't know. >> and presumably, i can only assume -- and i'll ask you, peter, you were involved in a

lot of these investigations. they have information that they're not sharing, whether it's sensitive information, submarines may have collected, other information, tom, from interrogations they're not sharing, because this is now as they say, a criminal investigation. does that, by the way, rule out mechanical? if they say this is a criminal investigation? >> well, it could be a crime to tamper with the airplane and sabotage it. so it could be both still. >> you agree? >> i do. but i think they're looking at the cockpit. and i think one thing with the new policy of not leaving a pilot alone in the cockpit, it may foreshadow something they picked up on the to you we are tapes and why the tower tapes have not been released. >> and i'm glad the international air transport association has said they're going to have a complete review of international experts and come up with lessons learned, recommendations. they want this report out by december. this is a very significant development. all right, guys, we're going to have much more on this coming up. there are new details coming in.

in the meantime, right now about that massive earthquake in chile. the 8.2 magnitude quake hit just off the country's northern coast last night and triggered a tsunami and several small landslides. six people are now confirmed dead. three of the victims were crushed to death. crews are out in force to assess the damage, but it appears this powerful quake could have been much worse. could have done a lot more damage. rolando santos, cnn vice president of chile, is joining us now live from the capital of santiago. rolando, give us a sense, how destructive was this quake? >> well, given the magnitude of the quake, actually, not very destructive. and i'm not minimizing in any way the six people who lost their lives. by the way, of the six people, four of those lost their lives through heart attack. the other two as a result of the earthquake. but if you look at the damage in the region, compared to when you and i talked during the quake

four years ago here in santiago, you don't see the wide scale kind of destruction where you have tall buildings burning overnight and all of that. a lot has to do with the region, wolf. as you know, in the very northern region, desert country. not very many tall buildings. the biggest problem turns out to be the smaller buildings in the small towns between the two major cities, because they're not as earthquake-proof. >> given the normality, 8.1, on magnitude, 8.1, a lot of folks are saying, you know what, this really wasn't the big one that chile had expected, others had expected. they're still waiting for what they call the big one. what are folks there saying? >> well, the big question is here, what is the big one? if you look at the history of the country, this country back in 1877, had an 8.3 earthquake. at that point. the biggest earthquake in the history of the united states --

history of the world, actually, occurred here in santiago in 1960, which was a 9.5. and 5,000 people died there. so what is the big one? you could argue the 9.5 was. a lot of scientists are saying that basically it has a lot to do with how far out in the ocean it happens, whether or not the energy has built up or dissipated. we have had 94 aftershocks, and people are saying, well, that's good. because it's dissipating the energy, and some scientists are saying, no, that's not necessarily true. so i don't think anyone has a right answer about that. i think mother nature is going to do what mother nature does. and quite frankly, and at the risk of being subjective about it, i've lived here for seven and a half, almost eight years. i think we escaped with very little damage, considering the magnitude of the earthquake. >> 8.2 magnitude is a huge, huge earthquake. and i'm glad to hear that from you, rolando. thanks very much. rolando santos, reporting for us

from santiago. still to come, if investigators are correct, flight 370 went down in one of the world's least explored oceans. an expert in underwater recovery joins us to explain the huge challenges ahead. and a new united states supreme court ruling that equates money with free speech. we're taking a look at how this will affect political races, including the contest later this year. peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

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a supreme court decision today that will affect how money flows to political candidates. the court struck down current limits on the total amounts a person can give to political campaigns. the house speaker, john boehner, says the decision is a win for free speech.

>> what i think this means, freedom of speech is being upheld. you all have the freedom to write what you want to write. donors ought to have their freedom to give what they want the to give. >> democratic senator charles schumer, had this to say, and i'm quoting. this in itself is a small step but another step on the road to unionation. it could lead to interpretations of the law that would result in the end of any fairness in the political system as we know it. so two very different assessments of this u.s. supreme court decision. joining us now, our political correspond taters kevin read and maria cardona and chief political analyst, gloria borger. politically, this is a very, very significant rule. >> yeah. it's very significant in the sense that it allows a wealthy donor to kind of spread the wealth and to say, okay, if i like these ten candidates, i can give the maximum amount to an unlimited number of candidates. i also think, quite frankly,

that it helps political parties, because you can give more money to political parties and may take some of the emphasis away from the super pacs. we heard so much during the campaign. so if it's issues you care about like obamacare, maybe you'll give your money to a super pac who wants to stop obamacare. otherwise you may decide to give it to candidates in committees. >> kevin, as you know, until today, and i want to be precise, the limits in a political cycle that you could give to candidates, you could give 2,600 or whatever individual candidates. but the total would be $48,600. >> right. >> the limit as far as political parties and political committees was $74,600. so the $48,000 you dloe away and you can give a million. find enough candidates give the maximum amount. the $74,600 throw away, you can give a lot more money. >> right. >> so in other words, rich people can really unload if they want. >> and what happened was, those limits before, what they did was

create an incentive for a lot of donors who reached those limits to again go to outside groups and those groups became more powerful. what we saw today with this ruling was the pendulum swing back more towards the party committees, not only the federal parties but state parties as well as individual campaigns, federal candidate campaigns. it swung enough. i think the outside groups are still going to remain relevant, but donors aren't going to have to rely on them as much. >> if you're a really rich person, maria, and you love the democratic party and i know you love the democratic party, you can give the democratic congressional campaign committee unlimited sums of money now as a result of the united states supreme court. so you're thrilled by this decision, right? >> there are still limits we can give to the committee. but you can give to all committees and you can give to as many candidates. i do think it's a bad trend for politics, wolf. because it continues the notion that you can buy access. and, you know, the supporters of this law will say, this is great

for free speech and the first amendment. i don't think the first amendment was made to essentially give the wealthiest donors the ability to buy as many candidates and committees as they want. and this is what is happening today. but i will say this. and gloria sort of mentioned this. and kevin, as well. what i think is good about this is that it does, i think, to the extent it will give donors emphasis to give to the committees where there is accountability and where you know exactly who is giving the money, which i think is the big problem with what was happening with super pacs and all of these shady groups, i think that is a good thing. >> the democrats, like chuck schumer, are portraying this as a complete disaster. and republicans are saying it's a huge win. i don't really think it's either one of those. because as you pointed out, wolf, you have those individual limits to candidates that still remain in place. if those caps had been removed, then we're talking a different ball game here. but those caps still remain. >> specific caps. but you can spread your money around. >> sure. >> so if you want -- if you have

25 candidates you like, go ahead. >> but if -- i think where this is really negative, though, is i think in the public perception. the public already believes that their single vote doesn't count. and, you know, 99% of people don't make more than, you know, $80,000. >> it's good to throw more money into politics after citizens united. after that decision. >> not necessarily a lot, but there will be more money in politics and i think this brings up the fundamental debate, which is there too much money in politics? >> absolutely. >> if you consider the fact that a cola company spends $2 billion a year just marketing their product and we spend $2 billion on a presidential election, which one is more important? so i think that's a fundamental question we still have to debate. i would argue, the political -- the direction of the country is important enough that there is -- >> quickly around the table, maria first. is it too early to see how this supreme court decision today, following four years ago, citizens united, will impact the midterm elections this november? >> i think it will actually hugely impact them. and as you said, as a democrat,

i hope that now these wealthy donors will focus their money, not on outside groups, but on the committee. >> i think it will -- i agree that it will have an impact. i don't think it's going to be huge impact. but the campaign committees are going to be very well-funded this year as a result. >>, and you know, they may actually have candidates, if they get a bunch of money from these donors, may actually have more control over their ads that are going to appear on television. you often hear them complain about these super pac ads that come in, that have nothing to do with the message of their campaign. so if they have this money themselves, they can hone their campaign just the way they -- >> more accountability. >> said they could give unlimited sums to the super pacs. this decision today will remove and excuse the rich people have when politicians come to them and say we need money. they won't have that excuse anymore. >> the lowers the playing field. >> if you are a big donor right now, your e-mail is going to double. >> obviously. >> and mail solicitations triple. >> because you won't be able to

say i'm maxed out, i'm sorry. now you're not maxed out. >> but the voter is going to say my vote doesn't count, i'm not going to participate. >> major decision by the supreme court. we don't know the complete fallout. but obviously opens the door to a lot more money getting involved in politics. all right, guys. thanks very much. >> thank you. just ahead, high-tech underwater equipment will soon be able to help find malaysian airlines flight 370, but time could run out before they can use it. an expert in underwater search is joining us live. [ male announcer ] ortho crime files. reckless seeding. a backyard invasion. enter homeowner, and ortho weed b gon max. kills weeds without harming innocent lawns. guaranteed. ortho weed b gon max. get order. get ortho®. ortho weed b gon max. making moves that would put an adult in the emergency room. yet all they really want to do is grow up. it's funny, everyone i know wishes they could go back and feel younger. sound familiar?

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australia to help hunt for flight 370. today's designated search area has actually moved a few hundred miles closer to australia. a top priority, trying to find the flight data recorder before the batteries die in its locater beacon. before they can search the ocean bottom for the boeing 777 and its black boxes, searchers first need to find some floating wreckage that can help pinpoint where to look. arnold carr is president of american under water search and survey, his company not involved in this search, but they have been part of many missions like it. arnold, these searches go through distinct stages. we're now 26 days into this incident. what stage are we at right now? >> you're really in the first stage of a three-stage event. the first stage being trying to find the debris in this case. unfortunately, you don't have gps information and good radar

tracking information as to where it went down. but the debris is always a clue and a very important clue. and that's the stage we're in right now, stage one. >> this new area, they've moved this search, as i say, a couple hundred miles to the east, closer to australia. we're told it has an enormous what's described as an enormous underwater trench near this area that's actually deeper than the grand canyon. and they're trying to find that pinger. they're trying to find that beeping coming from the so-called black box. they've got a pinger locater device that should get there sometime tomorrow. what do you think? is this a really doable process right now? >> it's an extremely difficult process. the pinger is a great advance in technology, but it's limited, as you well know. and in time and range. and they really, when you get into the deep water, you really have to, in this case, fly that

locater down low near the bottom to cover the bottom laterally. it's really difficult. the key, really, is to find where the plane went and tighten up the area of search. >> and if you don't find any wreckage, though, how do you do that? >> well, it's a process of continued analysis. if they can really analyze the radar and get better information from it, that's a key. and then the debris hopefully the sooner you find the debris, the better. because it's more accurate in hind casting and getting back to the most probable site of the crash. >> arnold carr, thanks for joining us. >> you're welcome. up next, a new search zone for the planes and ships scouring the indian ocean. we'll also take a closer look at why they have actually moved the search zone closer to the australian coast. plus, earthquakes rocking

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welcome back, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. let's get you caught up on the latest search for flight 370. the search zone has now moved a couple hundred miles closer to the australian coast.

the zone being patrolled by several ships and planes. there is also a british navy nuclear submarine there, joining in the search. also today, malaysia's police inspector general announced that all 227 passengers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in four major areas of the investigation. hijacking, sabotage, any personal or psychological problems that may have affected the flight. but police also said the criminal investigation doesn't end there. the crew is still under scrutiny and also taking a closer look at the food and cargo that would have been on the flight. now to chile, where emergency crews are out in force assessing the damage from a very powerful earthquake. the 8.2 magnitude quake hit off the country's northern coast last night and triggered a tsunami and small landslides. at least six people killed, three crushed to death. more than 2,500 homes have been seriously damaged. nearly 1 million people were evacuated. military troops have been deployed to the area to keep order.

officials say right now everything is calm. general motors' ceo is being grilled by a senate panel again today. mary barra has acknowledged that gm knew about ignition problems as early as 2001. the problem could cut off the engine and deactivate air bags, power steering and power brakes. the issue has been linked to 13 deaths. barra stressed that gm is now a new company. it does things differently than the old gm. but senator ed markey of massachusetts had some very harsh words. >> i am he very troubled you are not willing to commit the ending this culture of secrecy at general motor. >> i didn't say that. >> yes, you have. and i know this. i have tried year after year for more than ten years to have legislation passed that would require the disclosure of all of this information. and it was the automobile industry that killed my

legislation year after year. and this is the moment now for you to say more than that you're sorry. >> strong words from senator markey. barra has been ceo for three months. gm has been protected after their bankruptcy back in 2009. now back to the search for flight 370. the area of the search closer to the australian coast, as we get closer to when the pings from those black boxes are expected to go silent. our own will ripley is joining us from perth, australia, the staging point for the search area. first of all, will, what's the explanation? why did they again decide to move the entire search zone? originally in the southern indian ocean and is then up north about 700 miles and now to the east closer to australia by another couple hundred miles. what's the thinking? what went into that third shift in the indian ocean? >> reporter: yet another move to

report. the official word that we're getting out here, wolf, is just that they're continuing to analyze this data and refine the search area. they're saying that maybe some new objects have been spotted in this search area closer to the australian coastline. let's be frank here for a moment. they have been scouring the other area and haven't found anything yet. so they're now searching the areas around the perimeter, hoping that maybe they'll come up with something, which we haven't seen yet. >> how many ships and planes will be on the search operation in a few hours when it resumes? >> reporter: you know, yesterday we saw ten planes, nine ships. we expect those assets to continue to be deployed today, with the addition now of the "ocean shield" which could arrive later this morning here in perth. the "ocean shield" equipped with high technology from the u.s. navy, the tow pinger locater, giant underwater microphone that can listen for the pings, the fading pings from the flight data recorders and also the underwater drone submarine to scan the ocean surface. then you mentioned also we have

that british submarine in the area, which has the s.o.n.a.r. equipment that could also scan the ocean floor and listen for pings. but all of this technology is pretty much useless if we don't narrow down the search area. it needs to be about 1,000 times smaller than what it is right now. >> got to find something. they've got to find some wreckage to give them at least a clue. so far they have come up with no wreckage at all. will ripley in perth, we'll check back with you and stand by for the resumption of this search in a few hours. much more ongoing coverage of the search from flight 370 coming up. also, nerves rattled after recent earthquakes in both north and south america. but are both continents overdue for a bigger more devastating quake? our own chad myers standing by with his assessment on what they're calling the next big one. my advice for healthy looking radiant skin. a good night's sleep... and aveeno®. [ female announcer ] only aveeno® positively radiant has an active naturals® total soy formula. it helps reduce the look of brown spots in just four weeks.

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last night's powerful

earthquake in chile was deadly and destructive, but geologists say it could have been much worse. they were in a larger and more devastating quake could be around the corner. same is true for california, which has experienced several smaller quakes over the last few weeks. the thought that the so-called "big one" could hit sooner rather than later is making people nervous right now. chad myers is watching this. he knows about this kind of stuff. chad, just how likely is it that the so-called "big one" in chile or california, these parts of the world, high-risk, seismic area? >> there is a new risk, a newer risk. we have known about it since 199 the. but we're not talking about the san andreas fault. we're not talking about the big fault that runs all the way from north of san francisco all the way down to mexico, right through riverside and into the east of l.a. we're talking about a different fault. this is what the san andreas fault is going to do, all along the fault, going to slide, the

slip strike. you see how that moves and you can see the pictures where defenses don't line up anymore. that's when the earth moves this way and buildings shake back and forth like this. but with this new thrust fault here, from about puente hills, it's not a horizontal thrust anymore. it's a vertical issue we're worried about. we're worried the strike, the slip, is going to be this way. it's going to slide up, and so all the buildings that are up here on top of the earth are going to be pushed up by a couple feet. and it's not an even push up. you think, that's okay, i'm two feet higher, that's great. but your neighbor is one foot higher, your neighbor here two feet higher, think about what that does to the infrastructure when the pipes and sewers and lines are under water. we had a big earthquake down here. and this is a different type of fault. this is called a thrust fault. the thrust fault in chile last night was because this nazka plate here is pushing under the south american plate. this is on top, this is going

down, almost like -- think about a cold front or warm front. as this goes down, you get some tension. and the tension built up under the water and all of a sudden that tension couldn't hold anymore. and one side of the plate popped. when it popped, pushed all the water above it up. probably a couple feet. that's where the tsunami came from. and that tsunami ran across, even a foot and a half tsunami, wave, if you will, and hilo, hawaii this morning, wolf. >> had some really actively smaller earthquakes and aftershocks in california. now an 8.2 off the coast of chile and now the u.s. geological survey reporting that an earthquake magnitude 6.2. 6.2 just hit off the coast of panama right now. so what does that say? it looks sort -- is it a coincidence these earthquakes are happening in this part of the world? >> i rarely believe in coincidences. and even in this place, in this case, i don't. when one big earthquake happens in one part of the world, that can relieve some stress in

another. but can also create some stress in another. so when these plates move a little bit, these plates are all connected in a big, long line. and you get that friction in one spot to slide, and all of a sudden you've made more friction up here a thousand miles away, u get another slide here. i likely don't think california and peru, chile, are connected. but because this happened yesterday at 8.2, this is 6.2 along the same plate boundaries, i believe they are not coincidental. >> not coincidental. chad, thanks very much. excellent explanation. >> thanks, buddy. 27 days after the disappearance of flight 370, and we're apparently no closer to knowing what actually happened. tweet us your questions about the search, use the hash tag 370qs. we're going to get some answers. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own.

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questions continue to pour in daily about the search for flight 370. let's bring back our panel of experts to tackle some of your questions. our aviation analyst, mark weise and peter goelz and tom fuentes. rose asked this. do you feel that the searchers have found evidence of the jet but officials are keeping it quiet for now? >> i don't think so. i think they haven't found anything yet. >> you agree? >> i agree. i think if they find something they would announce it. >> they can't keep something like that secret. >> no, especially somebody like boeing. if there is a problem with the airplane, they want to make sure it gets fixed. >> kelly tweets this question. will the debris ever wash up on shore, and if so, when would

they expect to see it and when? good question. peter, what do you think? >> well, eventually, it will wash up. some piece will show up some place. but it's going to take weeks and months before that happens. >> assuming it landed. >> assuming -- >> in the ocean where they think it did. >> there will be a piece that will wash up some time in months or years from now and somebody is going to bring it in and say here it is. but, boy, it's going to take time. >> all right. amelia writes this. mark, for you. why is a transponder in a location that makes it accessible to be turned off? tell our viewers, first of all, what a transponder is. of. >> a transponder is a unit on the aircraft that's an electronic unit that basically sends out a signal, a it sends out a signal that lets the air traffic controller know it's the airplane's altitude and the speed and direction of flight. it's basically telling you who i am, where i am, and where i'm

going. it builds a little bit of a cocoon around an airplane. >> it's important to know where the plane is at all times and the altitude and the speed. why is it so easy to turn it off if you are a bad guy and you want to make sure the hijacker disappears, why do they make it so easy to turn it off? >> you have to look at it from the perspective of this doesn't happen very often. it's true and you have to have it accessible to the pilots. >> why? >> one, it's a method of communication to the ground unit and it's a method of having a problem on an airplane whether it's mechanical or a security problem. it's a way of going through different radar sectors to different radar sectors. >> you never turn it off. >> you sometimes change the code on it. >> why was it -- why can't they figure out a way to keep it on at all times and not be allowed to turn it on. i saw what it looks like.

you turn it off to on. three of the four planes hijacked, the first things the terrorists did was turn off the transponder. it seems like i no brainer. >> maybe they will. it's a very rare chance that the unit itself could overheat or short circuit or the pilot might consider turning it off. i want to revisit that. >> here's another question. after the flight redeemed missing, why was the military personnel alerted to look for the plane immediately. who wants to tackle that. >> great question. absolutely. >> it seemed to -- >> nobody cared. it was like 1:30 in the morning. all of a sudden they don't realize a plane is missing and they don't scramble or do anything. >> we never have seen the transcript of the internal

communications. we don't know what they were saying. >> the many questions that have come up because of this, it certainly seems so opaque. you can't see what's going on. that was a big question. you go over somebody's territory, where was the malaysian air force or thai air force. we certainly don't know about it. >> here's another question. does the u.s. or any military have technology to locate it and not want to use it because it exposes a cryptic not known. what do you think? >> i don't think so. i think if they had a way, they wouldn't say how they revealed the source or the method, but look here. >> i agree. >> i don't think the country would be that cynical. the agony would be too great. they would reveal what they knew. whether satellite or sonar or submarines and stuff like that. they don't want bad guys to know how they collect this. >> they would have refined the

search area and say i think this is a better area to search. >> without revealing how they find that. we have more questions after the break. we try to answer more of your viewer questions. if you have one, tweet us the question and use the hash t tag #370 qs.

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>> more viewer questions about the analyst with tom fuentes. a question. is it possible to use storage for allidate? in other words, make sure everything is strained and it's already someplace that they can get access to even if the plane disappears. >> that's one of the options and they will create this to look at. that will be one of the options they will look at. that has been a complaint that

the data will clog up the system. with the cloud that may be the solar system. >> it will cost a few hundred thousand to do that, but if the plane already costs $200 million, a few hundred thousand is not going to break the backs of the airliners. >> less than the cost of an sbrarpt system. >> we need this. >> i agree. >> any large experience policies taken out on passengers. i assume they looked at that. >> that is something they look at and you are relying on all of the countries that had nationals on the plane and what i have been checking the financial records and recent deposits and withdrawals and other information that will be relevant. >> that's one of the first things you look at. >> that was one of the first things with the silk air next 1967. see whether either one of the flight crew had taken out a

large policy. >> they have. >> it was a million dollars. it became effective just around the time of the flight. >> here's another question. could the plane have been remotely controlled and all communication jammed by a device. you are a 777 pilot. the answer is no to that question. there have been a lot of talk about that and speculation in print and other media about being able to do that the answer is no. >> dixie with this question. would the missing plane would have had enough to land in somalia or other african country? >> i'm not sure of the distance on that, but typically that airplane would have taken off on a 7 1/2 hour flight with the fuel that would have been required to go to beijing and alternate airport.

we don't know what altitude that aircraft was at. >> the experience types out there who think the plane landed on ground somewhere even though there is no evidence of that. >> i locked at that early on the first week of the disappearance and i'm guessing what the speed and heading and everything was. i noticed the plane could land almost half of the cities in australia and malaysia air could have gone as far asthma nilla in the philippines and japan. >> could have gotten to kazakhstan. here's a question from rob. is it possible the plane could have landed and sunk intact? this could explain no debris and no emergency. in other words a sulley sullenberger miracle on the

hudson. >> that was during the day on flat open water. this was at night. this airplane would have come down and probably broken into many parts. >> we will continue tomorrow. that's it for me. 5:00 p.m. and a special two-hour edition of the situation room. newsroom starts right now. >> hello, everyone. filling in for brooke baldwin. first up after days searching on the indian ocean on the wreckage of flight 370, the search has been moved. like last time, this is not because of data analysis, this is because they say this area has been scoured to the point that no new objects are being cited. no sign of the plane there, searchers are turning the focus to an adjoining area to the east. is this premature? as to the investigation, we have confirmation that all