remember, you can always follow us on twitter. tweet me @wolfblitzer. you can tweet the sh show @cnnsitroom. watch us live or dvr the show so you won't miss a moment. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. next, new questions tonight about why the navy's best hope for finding the plane has turned up nothing. is the search in jeopardy? plus, tragedy at sea. a ship full of teenagers on a high school trip sinks. 300 are missing tonight. why were they told not to move as the boat sank? and first on cnn, new video of al qaeda leaders meeting out in the open. why a new policy of the president may have prevented a drone strike taking out the terrorists. let's go "outfront."

good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, the search for flight 370 in jeopardy. the bluefin hunt agent this instant after two attempts were cut short. the bluefin, which is supposed to stay in the water for 20 hours a dive was raised after only 11 hours this morning. official says a piece of the bluefin's equipment was low on oil. how can that happen? also, major delays. it's been three days since we heard about an oil slick in the search zone. only now is a oil finally arriving at a lab in western australia for testing. michael, the air search just resuming at this hour where you are. but obviously more than 40 days in now. no debris proven to be from the plane. when are we expecting the next update from the bluefin? >> yeah, we're expecting an update any hour, really. it's normally in this hour, in fact, erin, that we get the update from the search headquarters. as or to the bluefin itself, we'll probably hear than once it is up and they start downloading the data. this is, as you said, the third

mission for bluefin. we've heard of no difficulties so far as opposed to the first two missions. both of which were cut short by some technical difficulties. the first one was actually because of a software fail-safe that is in the bluefin saying that when you get to 4500 meters, two and a half miles down there, come up. you're too deep. well, they tweaked that software. so that's not going to happen again. it can go deeper now. the second one was a bit of a problem with some oil pressure in one of the -- gain, fail-safe things that protects the electronics. they got it up. they got it fixed, down again. the key on boths of those previous missions is that they did get data off and it showed nothing. so that's a bit of a concern, obviously. but this was always going to be a long process. you mentioned the air and sea search. it is continuing. we were told three days ago now that they were going to wind that down this week. but every day the planes have been going out. and the ships are still out there. even though they haven't found

anything. and the oil that you mentioned, that has taken a while. you got to remember that this is 1600 kilometers, a thousand miles offshore. what they did is they sent a ship out to that area. they flew a helicopter with to the ship. the ship got closer to shore. the helicopter brought it ashore. it's being examined. we're hoping to hear in the next three hours what that oil, and if it's related to the missing jet, erin. >> thank you very much, michael. reporting live from perth. and i'm actually looking at my blackberry right now, waiting to see when the alert does come in. it usually does come at this time. we may get an update on exactly what the bluefin found. so we'll keep our eye on that. 19 n the meantime, richard quest joins me along with arthur rosenberg and jeff weise. let's talk about the search. let's talk about this oil slick. from your reporting, what are they going to be able to ascertain? let's say it tests positive for it is jet fuel there are lots of reasons jet fuel might be around. it's unclear. will they be able to tell it comes from this plane? >> first of all, the jet fuel

question is a particularly interesting one. if the plane flew to endurance, the tanks were empty. the thing left the sky because it ran out of jet fuel. >> so there wouldn't be enough to have a noticeable slick 40 days later is what you're saying? >> it's an interesting question whether or not that would be jet fuel. jet fuel also is not thick. it's very light. it creates a sheen on the top of the water. and that's what they were talking about when they found it. that it wasn't some thick oil. angus houston specifically saying he did not believe it was from ships. however, there are other parts of the machinery that does have oil, more traditional oil. >> i guess my question is let's say it test positive. and there are other reasons you might have random fuel slicks around. so could they tell, well, this fuel pump filled up this jet, and therefore we can back into this is fuel from this flight? >> they will get very close. >> okay. >> there is not a -- they're going back to look at the origin and the source. of course, it's all gone now.

but they will be able to. you would not expect to find jp-4 in the middle of the ocean in such quite a way. >> i would add to that, i think the entire world is looking for something, something that is indicative of a jet airplane. >> yes. because no one can understand why there is no debris. let's be honest. even the experts who try to explain it away are a bit confound. >> it's inexplicable. if it turns out that this is jp 4 -- >> which is a certain kind of jet fuel. >> which is jet fuel, i think that's a very important clue in establishing that, yes, a jet airplane went down in that area. >> all right. so that would be crucial. jeff, what about this issue of the bluefin? two technical glitches. so far we don't know of one today. it may come up and we get more time that it was down on the bottom. why do they only have one bluefin searching? granted, they're $5 million each. but if you're doing a project like this, why don't you have

all the bluefins in the world hunting around? >> when they searched for air france 447, they had three similar types of auvs at work. there are many of these things. there are dozens of different kinds of auvs that are made. it's a question of what is available. the resources. if it was deemed imperative to have a dozen of these things scouring the bottom, you can be sure that there would be a dozen scouring. >> how is it not deemed imperative given the whole world does is watching? given that the families do not know? >> to me, this smacks of playing in a world series game with half the team on the field. maybe you're going to win. maybe you're not going to win. they're in the world series now of the greatest airplane mystery investigation ever. >> and one puny little bluefin sailing around, richard. >> hang on, hang on. let's just have a moment of reason here, arthur. first of all --

>> it's -- >> it's not got problems. >> it's a rehab. it's reconditioned. >> but it's not got problems. it worked perfect. it got to 4,500 meters. if they had five weeks to get a bluefin and get it out this. in the air france example, they had several to find where they could get them to contract for them, to get them to the slot. so i have no doubt that god forbid this goes on, next year we will have more resource. but at the moment, it was all that was available. houston pretty much said that. >> and these things, everyone knew they cost $5 million. they're used for scientific research. they're not just sitting around, all right. arthur, they're not just sitting around. they're being used. >> but there are other less expensive vehicles that can do the same thing like a towed side-scanning sonar equipment. and there are hundreds of these around the world. clearly, they have to be towed behind a ship.

they're lowered down on a cable. and if you use them, they have the added benefit of giving you information real-time. with this device, the bluefin, it's two hours down. they call it going down the elevator. 16 hours at the bottom. >> that's like a mine shaft. >> two hours up and four hours on the ship downloading the information. >> is it possible they're only using one bluefin because they have more information than they're releasing and they actually know -- >> i don't think so. i think what we're look at here is something that was -- a plan. remember, the ocean shield set sail several weeks ago to get into the area. >> yes. >> you're looking at a plan that was put together in a great hurry to get what you could in the position you could at the time that you could. and now, of course, there is more time for people to start look and saying what needs to be done with a bit more reflection of time. but everything that you're looking at out this at the moment was done fast. >> all right. well, there is the state -- oh, now they're touching each other. >> it should be enough.

the bluefin should be enough. the area is not that big where. the four pings are found is only about 12 miles square that should be the work of a few day, maybe a work to search the core area. we've been hearing about an area the size of chicago. so they're going to look at a broader area than that. but the real key core. >> all right. well, that of course is the where is the plane. now why is it there? "outfront" next, investigators focusing on the copilot phone. we're going to talk about -- now when they touch, it will be with a fist. plus, scanning the ocean floor. we have a live demonstration of exactly how that looks and why it's so difficult. because remember, it is pitch dark down there. and breaking news tonight. a ship carrying hundreds of teenagers on a school trip sinks in the middle of the ocean. a giant ship. nearly 300 still missing. they were told not to move. we're live at the scene. honestly, i'm pouring everything i have into this place.

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breaking news. we have just learned the release just came in. the bluefin 21 has completed its first full mission in the search area. obviously a significant headline. it has now searched 35 square miles, according to the statement that i have right here. in addition, the oil sample they say has arrived in perth and is in the midst of detailed testing and analysis. yet those results are not available at this time.

bluefin completing its first full mission. what did it see? did it see the plane? that is under analysis now. as we await that headline, we get to the question of why the plane was there. tonight, the copilot's mobile phone key in the investigation into flight 370's disappearance. officials tell cnn there are new questions about the 27-year-old's phone. the malaysian government investigating whether his phone connected with other towers along the flight path. we reported there was one tower, but obviously there is a whole lot more towers. did it hit others? if not, had he just turned it on for some reason? and why was the copilot's the only phone detected? what are you learning tonight? >> sources are trying to put this piece of information about the copilot's cell phone into context and figure out what it means. technology experts we've been speaking to say if his phone connected with that one cell tower near pen panang, should it have connected with other cell

towers. it must have been flying well below altitude to connect with the tower. we know from a recent serve say, about 30% of people forget to turn their phones off when flying. if any passengers had their phones on, assuming they did and not in airplane mode that. >> too should have dinged that cell tower. of course, one of the biggest questions this all raises, was his phone on from the beginning of the flight or was it turned on before it hit that cell tower which is about half an hour after the plane's communication system is mysteriously shut off. with all the information, i want to make it clear here, erin, sources are saying there is no indication that any phone calls were made. so even though if the copilot's phone did connect with that cell tower and he tried to make a phone call for help, which we just don't know what the situation was, the call wouldn't have necessarily gone through. you have to think how fast that plane was going. and also to put it in the context, this is information handed over from the malaysians to u.s. officials. it's just one very tiny piece of

the puzzle. hard to know what it means without more information. >> absolutely. pamela doing great reporting there. the big question is they tells us a little bit, and then it changes. or they tell you more. there is one thing we know. they know a lot more than this one little piece about this phone. richard quest and arthur rosenberg are with us. given that there is a lot we don't know and that is a small piece of this, this you say is not coincidence the copilot's cell phone was on. >> right. to get to that point, i say you have to look at this new crumb of information. the malaysians have been trickling out these crumbs. some are good crumbs. they lead to the cheese. the other ones aren't so good. but you have to look at this in the context of what we know. what do we know? you start at 1:0. acars makes the last report. 12 minutes the now famous communication, "good night malaysia 370." two minutes later the plane makes the left turn, heads for a beeline across the malay peninsula. and now we find out there is a

handshake between the copilot's cell phone and a cell tower over penang. and the formal communication attributed to the captain means the copilot's flying. so just let's extend it out over 30 minutes. >> what they had said, good night malaysia 370. they said that was the pilot. the analysis they're saying is the pilot. you're saying because it was the pilot, the copilot was flying the plane, hence wouldn't have been on his phone. >> exactly. and the first thing they do, when they pull back from the gate, they have a final checklist. ladies and gentlemen, turn them off. it's also true for the cockpit crew. so i believe that contact, that handshake, no talking, the handshake between the cell phone and the tower not a coincidence. very significant. >> what do you think, richard? especially given the fact that they leaked out this little teeny piece of information. which if it were irrelevant from the other analysis, you wouldn't think they would do.

>> we don't know. you have added plus one plus one and you have come up with half a dozen. we don't know the significance. i know pilots that have left their phones on in the cockpit. you know that too. >> but wouldn't they say it hit other cell phone towers? why this only one? why this bizarre leak? >> it's a leak. it's another leak. and the same sense that you -- they haven't said wrongly so, i believe, they should have said by now, who was actually saying good night malaysia 370. we've never had the official wording on that. >> that's right. >> which is why i caution. i am very suspect about this phone, this handshake of the copilot's phone. because we also don't know because we haven't been told or it hasn't been looked into, were other passengers' phones handshaked? we don't know. >> here is the thing. by definition, they were, if his

was. i'm just saying by definition they were. everyone on this plane had a cell phone. a lot of people had two. and by definition, they were not all turned off. so if they flew by a tower and his picked up, somebody else's was. just doing deductive logic here. >> by accident flying back from london yesterday i left my blackberry on for a short while. and sure enough, e-mails came. >> in and the faa has done studies that 30% of the people on any flight. >> there is no question. everybody watching knows that. >> not intentionally -- >> which is exactly against your own argument. >> no, no. no. >> of course it is. >> but that is looking at facts, like you love to do, in isolation. and i am looking at this as a factual continuum. >> it adds up to the answer you want to receive, arthur. >> no. >> you've got the conclusion in your own mind and you're making the facts fit that solution. >> i think the facts fit a plausible scenario of significance, beginning at 1:07,

including that cell phone hit with that penang tower. >> we'll hit pause there. all i can say is it's bizarre they would only leak this little thing. and u.s. officials are confirming the one thing. do u.s. officials know more or not tell mortgage? something stinks. we're standing by for the results from the latest underwater search. the breaking news is that the bluefin did complete its first day. we have just learned that, so far searching 35 square miles. we have a live demonstration of what it's like to scan the ocean floor next. and a story first reported here on cnn. video of al qaeda's top leaders. they boldly met out in the open. was there a reason? did they know there had been a change in policy in washington that would prevent a u.s. drone from taking them out? marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips. mattel started in a garage.

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breaking news in the search for malaysia flight 370. the bluefin-21 underwater drone we can confirm has now completed its first full underwater search mission. that is significant and all in, we are just finding out it has searched approximately 35 square miles in total. the air search today continuing. they're searching another 16,000 miles by air. and they say they are planning for the bluefin's next mission. what it saw underwater, we're waiting for the analysis of whether it saw the plane. two earlier missions were cut short due to technical problems. this is the first time they've had all of that full 16 hours of footage. stephanie elam is off the coast of santa barbara with a demonstration of what it might be seeing, how it is scanning the ocean floor. and stephanie, they're using this auv in the indian ocean. it's obviously had a lot of challenges so far. how difficult is it to operator?

we talk about i taking pictures there are really pictures with sonar, right? >> exactly. it's like images that we're looking at here. it's listening for the images in a way. that's why we brought you back out here to the santa barbara harbor, so we can show you how this technology works. i want to introduce you to james coleman with teledyne resign. these conditions are difficult, aren't they? >> they are indeed. it's not just difficult for the sonar, it's difficult for the entire operation. because of that massive depth you, have you to get the sonar way down deep, which means you have navigation issue, communication issues and just vehicle control issues in diving that far. >> a quick synopsis, how does sonar work? >> this is a multibeam sonar, they're using side-scan sonar right now. all operate in a fundamental principle of emitting sound out. as that sound bounces off of the sea floor, they receive it and build an image of what is on the sea floor. >> that's how they get it.

they're using sonar that is made by your company. it's a different kind. but can you show what's this mapping looks like when they get that image back? can we go inside and look at that so we get an idea. >> first of all, they're building a -- we've already seen this mow the lawn pattern. that's what we've been doing here today. we have a grid pattern here. the boat is over here. we've been mowing along. and slowly building up a map of different things that are on the sea floor. this is what the mission planning they have done on the auv. but the data itself, this is what side-scan sonar data looks like. it's looking out from the sensor to the side. the sound goes through the water column, hits the sea floor and moves out. as it moves out, it's building up an image of what is on the sea floor. at the moment there is nothing particularly down there. but as things show up, we'll see an image. >> as they get that image, it's a slow process as they build up this map of what is doug down there. but they can get an idea if there is any kind of debris, the

basic shape of the bottom as well. a place that many people had no idea to comprehend how deep it, erin. >> it is incredible. someone said to me, it's like the pressure of a cadillac escalade on your fingernail, stephanie, down there. but they don't know what is down there, right? they don't know whether there is valley, whether there is mountains, though they're hopeful there aren't. there could be hundreds of feet of silt. how hard does that make it when you have no clue what is there? >> right. i guess that's a good question for james. how do you know? how do we have any idea what is down there? >> at the moment, they only have very general information that is derived from various sources. they don't really have detailed survey information. they're not going off a good map. are they just have a general estimate of what the depth. and they're going to learn based on the first missions. they're going to get an idea and replan how they do their second missions. and just as they go, based on what they learned from the first missions. >> so basically, erin, they're flying blindly because no one knows what it is like down there. and that's what is making this

search even more difficult. >> all right, stephanie, thank you very much. out front next, another desperate search is under way, underwater. this one is off the coast of south carolina. hundreds of children are missing. a ferry suddenly sank. they were told not to move. and you saw here on cnn first video of al qaeda's top leaders meeting out in the open without a care. tonight intelligence officials are analyzing the video, frame by frame, trying to determine what the terrorist group could be planning.

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breaking news. a desperate search under way for nearly 300 people after a ferry just suddenly sank, a huge ferry. many of the missing are teachers and students. search and rescue teams have been working around the clock for the past 24 hours, desperately seeking survivors. at least 164 people have been rescued, and at least according to one report, at least six people confirmed dead. but as we said, hundreds are missing. the ship was on its way to a resort island off the southwest coast of korea when it ran into trouble. our paula hancocks is out front tonight in jindo with the

latest. >> translator: people screamed in the ship. >> reporter: chaos inside a south korean ship as it sank off the coast. on more more than 450 people, including more than 325 high school students on a class trip. as the ship began to take on water and capsize -- passengers claim they were told to stay put. >> translator: i was keeping still without making any movements. there was an announcement that we should not move. >> reporter: cell phone video believed to be taken from inside the ferry shows people wearing life jackets and waiting. it's thought that many of those who did survive are the ones who disobeyed the crew's orders. >> soy was staying put. but suddenly the water came up to my face. so i think it was a narrow escape from dying. so kids were forced to stay put. so only some of those who moved survived. >> reporter: dozens of boats and

helicopters rushed to the sinking ship. dramatic video shows passengers clinging to the vessel, twiekt hoisted to safety, others jumping into the chilly water. authorities sent divers into the water to make their way into rooms, searching for survivors. >> kids were screaming out of terror, shouting for help. >> reporter: back on land, a heartbreaking scene as relatives of those missing gather at a hasher in jindo. one mother sharing a text message from her son who was on board the ferry, quote, there are few people on the ship. can't see a thing. it's totally dark. we are not dead yet, so please send along this message. >> paula, i know there are reports the father of one of the students on board say there are people still alive in the boat 24 hours later. what can you tell us about that? >> well, erin, we know there is a mother that we saw just about ten hours ago now. and we saw a text message that she showed us.

it was from her son who was on board that passenger ship. he had texted his elder brother who sent it on to the mother saying we are still alive. it is in darkness. we cannot call. we have no phone connection, no internet connection. and it came at about 10:00 at night. so that was about 13 hours after the first signal that the ship was in trouble. the problem is there is a possibility that this was just a delayed text message, a very cruel twist of fate for this mother. but it's not certain at this point. it did give other parents hope, and they did hope that there was potentially an air pocket. they are trying to grasp any straw that they can. it's almost 24 hours now after the ship first had its distress signal. and coast guards are saying that you can only survive in these waters for about two hours. but parents here are refusing to give up hope. erin? >> paul lab, thank you very much. and the water there 50 to 55 degrees. we're going to be joined by a former commander in the coast guard to talk about how long someone could survive in that water.

now, though, a navy ship is standing by this the area, an american navy ship ready to assist. a spokesman for the u.s. navy in south korea joins me now on the phone. what can you tell us, lieutenant, about the rescue effort right now? >> well, thank you, erin. thank you for having me. first, i wanted to express our thoughts for those passengers that passed away and also the missing passengers on the ferry. this is a terrible tragedy, and our hearts go out to those families. >> and is this at this point a rescue effort? do you think there are possibly still children alive? >> erin, what i can tell you is from the u.s. navy's standpoint, we have the u.s. bonhomme richard, which is an amphibious assault ship, and that ship has about 3,000 sailers and marines on board the uss bonhomme richard. we have the mv-22 osprey, which is a marine aircraft as well as

the mh-60 helicopters, which are capable of search and rescue. we also have small boats, and we have divers aboard that could be potentially used if requested by the republic of korea, navy and coast guard. i will tell you at this time that the uss bonhomme richard has just launched a couple of helicopters to support in the search-and-rescue operations as of right now. >> and lieutenant, you heard, you know, some of the parents are desperately hoping that a text message was not delayed, that it did just come through, that there could be an air pocket in there, that there could be some of these children alive. that a scenario you're still operating under that scenario, that there could be an air pocket, or is that beyond the scope of reality? >> well, i think collectively, as the search and rescue team, never give up hope. it's also important to point out that the south korean government, as you would expect, has the lead in this operation. and from our perspective,

they've been doing a great job. they responded very quickly after the sinking occurred, and they have been working tirelessly on the operation. our u.s. navy officials have been in constant contact with the onscene commander for the korean government. and we will continue to work closely with the republic of korea and will provide our capabilities as requested. >> all right. thank you very much, lieutenant arlo abrahamson. i want to bring in admiral. you heard our paula hancocks. if there were passengers still alive, they would have been this the ocean for about 24 hours. could there be survivors? >> well, in the water it's highly problematic. the ability to survive in those kind of temperatures in hours, not days. if they are in the water, i think we have a considerable problem. there is probably not anybody that is still alive.

i think the real issue is there anybody inside the ship, trapped in an air pocket. do. >> you think this possibility that could there could be air pockets? again, these are hundreds of children. that they could be alive in an air pocket? >> well, it's hard to tell. you need to know how the ship flooded as it rolled over. it listed to port. it was there for a while. and the ship slowly flooded from the top down after it had been flood by some catastrophic event from below desk. it's hard to tell which compartments were flooded and which aren't. it's going to be very difficult to determine where an air pocket might be. >> and passengers saying it was foggy outside. it started to tilt. there was a loud bangs. this all happened incredibly quickly, within a couple of hours. what would cause a ship like this? this is a huge ship. you look at it, it looks like a cruise liner. there were hundreds of people on board it. what would cause it to go down so quickly? >> erin, ships are constructed in compartments so if the ship is flooded in one particular area, the rest of the ship

maintains buoyancy. there is a reserve amount of buoyancy available. so if you flood a compartment, the ship can still stay afloat. i think the indications are there was a catastrophic flooding event that probably impacted more than one compartment that allowed the ship to lose buoyancy and roll on its side and then down flooding through the open areas on the top and that probably caused the final capsizing. >> we look at these pictures. some people watching if you can still see the ship, doesn't there have to be people that are alive somewhere? explain for us how difficult it would be for someone to be able to resist the pull of gravity that is in the lower part of the ship. >> once the access to the ship are underwater, up is down and down is up. it's hard to orient yourself to know which way to go. it's very problematic. its same problem you have if an aircraft is put upside down and put in water. our helicopter pilots go through egress training. it's so disorienting it's hard to explain. the second problem is the amount

of current where they have the confluence of waters around the straits make it difficult to safely dive many those conditions. >> i want to read before we go, another text message. a parent says that he received from a child on board the ferry. it says "i know there is a rescue operation under way. if it is possible, get out of your room. and the stay tuned replies no, dad, the ship is tilted and i can't get out. no one is in the hallway. it sort of gives you goose bumps to hear that. where was the crew? aren't they trained for this? >> most crews are trained to evacuate the passengers, and they're drilled and exercised in those particular maneuvers. it's hard to say happened because there was such confusion there is not a lot of clarity on the events that took place before the vessel rolled over. it's a very tragic event, and your heart goes out to these folks. but it's very difficult to try and understand until they're able to get inside the ship and try and ascertain exactly what the source telephone flooding was. >> all right. thank you very much, admiral. >> thank you.

and "outfront" next, a story that first broke on cnn. video of al qaeda's top leaders meeting out in the open. how president obama's policy could have prevented america from taking them out. and breaking news. the president sending a new message just moments ago to russian president vladimir putin. abe! get in! punch it! let quicken loans help you save your money. with a mortgage that's engineered to amaze! hey kevin...still eating chalk for hearburn? yea. try alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heart burn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. alka-seltzer fruit chews. enjoy the relief! [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ]

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first on cnn, u.s. intelligence officials tonight poring over the video you first saw broadcast by cnn of major meeting by al qaeda leaders. experts are analyzing every single frame of this video tonight, going through every single face, every single approach. barbara starr reports from the pentagon. >> reporter: u.s. intelligence experts have examined every frame of the video showing nearly 100 al qaeda fighters meeting in yemen. they're trying to figure out if they're missing any signs of plotting for an attack against the u.s. cnn was the first to broadcast this. the intelligence community trying to identify blurred faces and asking if they are being sent to attack the u.s. analysts are also looking at the flashy white truck leading the convoy. who had the money to pay for it? the expensive camera, even

paying attention to the fruit juice being served. none of the suspected terrorists appear worried about a u.s. drone strike. the rarely seen al qaeda leader nasir al wuhayshi takes time to great fighters who recently broke out of jail. it's a sunny day with a dark shadow. >> quite an extraordinary event. the leadership taking a big risk in doing this. they clearly felt that for propaganda purposes it was worth taking the risk. they wanted to get the message across there are groups still in business. >> u.s. officials tell cnn each image is a piece of intelligence about the group the u.s. calls the most dangerous al qaeda affiliate. al-wuhay most worrisome, on the right, the leader, nasir al-wuhayshi, and number two, for al-qaeda, worldwide, a personal aide to osama bin laden. in the video he vows to attack the u.s.

on the left a former guantanamo bay detainee. the u.s. believes the video was shot in march, warning them of the attempt to hide explosives in shoes. >> they have tried to build explosives that can get around security. we have been concerned about that for many years now. >> the chairman of the house intelligence committee telling wolf blitzer their group has gone underground in their communications even as plotting has increased. >> the more they can get away with plotting, planning, organizing, financing, all the things they would need to do to strike a western target they're going through that process, including, by the way, bringing in very sophisticated people to devise new devices that would try to get around security protocols in the u.s. and other places. >> barbara, this is pretty incredible, i guess the question is did u.s. officials know about this meeting? i mean, is there any reason they

would have known about it and had a drone and killed all of the leaders in the same place? >> well, you know, erin, this is a big question right now. if they were going to strike this meeting with a drone, they would have had to believe that everybody in the meeting is imminent threat to the u.s. otherwise they could not strike. but what u.s. intelligence officials will not say is if they knew the meeting was taking place, and if they did, did they have anything that could have struck nasir al-wuhayshi nearby? there is just not anything that would tell them that. >> the real question is how with all of this information they would not have known. thank you, barbara. and now to the breaking news in ukraine, president obama speaking a short time ago to cbs news about the crisis saying he believes the u.s. sanctions against russia are already working. >> what you have already seen is

the russian economy weaker, capital, the decisions are not just bad for ukraine, over the long term they will be bad for russia. >> in donetsk, where the chaos is unfolding, nic, you have been watching what is happening on the ground, who is winning the standoff tonight? >> reporter: certainly, the pro-russian protesters, well equipped in kiev, and they definitely have the momentum. we've seen today ukraine troops trying to move their armor around, running into local residents, who in one instance seems to help them take over. and then paradeing in one of th towns they have come effectively to power in using the russian flag, and making it very clear they were the main power in that particular area.

and in another place, too, the ukraine army we saw came into the village, fired shots in the air and crashed into a car. that made the locals so upset they had to use a local police chief to negotiate the situation where they give up their firing pins and weapons just to be allowed out of the village. so when the ukrainians are trying to move around, it really has an impact. >> nic, when you talk about what is happening on the ground what is the feeling in terms of whether these are skirmishes or whether this is the edge of a full-blown war? >> reporter: well, what is happening here is a concerted, very consistent and organized effort by the protesters with these mysterious armed men, who nobody knows who they are, but they seem to know what they're doing to take over large areas of donetsk. and the government is not really fighting back at all. there is just a concern, is this a move for a broader referendum, quite possibly to declare this

area a part of russia or independent? does any part of russia intervene, there is a huge concern that nato says there is. a huge amount of troops nearby, if there is significant bloodshed here and moscow's media has been making noise. if there is that type of bloodshed then yes, we could see more. the army is really not ready for it, erin? all right, thank you, nic. now we have breaking news on the missing flight 370. we just got news, showing the depth where the mission was forced to abort. they now are saying it is deeper than previously thought. the bluefin-21, they thought it couldn't operate that deeply but now they say it can. so they will reprogram it. and at this moment confirming the underwater search is

happening in the area where the second ping was detected. they only heard it for 13 minutes, saying it is the single most promising lead because of its quote unquote quality. and that is where they're focusing the search tonight. all right, we'll be right back in just a moment. when fixed income experts... ♪ ...work with equity experts... who work with regional experts... that's when expertise happens. mfs. because there is no expertise without collaboration. (music) defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. calcium citrate plus d. highly soluble, easily absorbed. that's why i got a new windows 2 in 1. it has exactly what i need for half of what i thought i'd pay. and i don't need to be online for it to work. it runs office, so i can do schedules and budgets and even menu changes. but it's fun, too -- with touch, and tons of great apps for stuff like music,

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. ford mustang on top of the empire state building. how did it get there? for the answer we turn to the one and only jeanne moos. >> reporter: down there on the street is where cars are supposed to be. not up here. 86 floors above new york city, on top of the empire state building. the out of place 2015 ford mustang had tourists wondering. >> first is, how in the name of god did they get it up there? >> maybe by helicopter. >> i thought they would bring it up the helicopter. >> up the elevators like us. >> reporter: not just you and i. we would have to be chopped up into pieces, the mustang was cut up into smaller pieces, small enough to fit in the empire

state building elevator. they actually built a mock elevator back at the ford shop to make sure everything would fit. this was not the first time the ford mustang rode the elevators. back in 1965. the then newly edition was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary. the weather didn't cooperate. snowflakes were flying as they put together the mustang high above manhattan. it had to be done overnight when the observation deck was closed and the car had to be put together in a six-hour window. here is the process sped up. despite the weather, they met their deadline. >> 1965 also. >> reporter: ford was not actually first to raise a car to new heights. maybe they got the idea from chevy. >> chevrolet, for 1964. >> reporter: they did use a helicopter to lift car and model

atop this sandstone tower in utah. though windy conditions prevented the chopper from retrieving them on time and the model had to huddle in the chevy for a few extra hours, ford's executive chairman was not exactly huddling at the wheel on top of the empire state. but don't expect him to drive off. >> if you put in an engine you could drive it around here. >> reporter: the chevy didn't have an engine either. i would take a herd of wild mustangs to pull this car. the one that mattered here was the one running the elevators, jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> there is so much effort put into that. can you imagine driving a car at that height? i would be absolutely terrified. all right, thank you for joining us, we'll be right back here tomorrow night. anderson cooper "ac360" starts

right now. good evening, it is 8:00 p.m. here, and 8:00 a.m. off the coast of australia, where the search is running into trouble and doubts about the entire effort are growing. new glitches about the bluefin-21. and new questions about there is only one of them in the water and new questions about the cell phone signals and the aircraft itself. is it even conceivable that the pilot's phone was the only one transmitti transmitting or are they holding something back? a crucial 24 hours ahead as we have all the angles on that. also tonight, survivors on the sinking ferry in south korea say they were told to stay put, don't go for the life boats, now's hundrnow hundreds of them are missing, the race tonight to see if anybody is still possibly alive. and we'll take