amanda knox continues to pay the legal price. the family of meredith kercher, an emotional one. the loss of a child and the questions they can't put to rest. kyung lah, cnn, los angeles. another hour of news straight ahead. you are watching cnn. most of the products we all buy

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officials say the germanwings co-pilot deliberately flew into the side of a mountain. investigators scramble to figure out why it happened. the saudi led coalition air strikes press on in the country of yemen, stirring long standing regional tensions. and an explosive blast in new york city devastates two buildings. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. this is cnn newsroom. we begin this hour with our top story. investigators now believe that the crash of germanwings flight 9525 was intentional. they believe that the co-pilot, 27-year-old andreas lubitz, locked the pilot out of the cockpit and crashed the jet

liner into the french alps, killing all 150 people on board. at this point, search teams are looking for the plane's flight data recorder. they're battling steep, icy terrain as they try to recover human remains there. the question now for these investigators is why would this co-pilot deliberately crash this plane? at this point, authorities are looking into his background, his training, and even possible terrorist links. cnn justice correspondent pamela brown reports. >> reporter: tonight, investigators removed boxes from 28-year-old german native andreas lubitz's apartment, the man who authorities say deliberately crashed flight 9525 into the french alps. the ceo of lufthansa says lubitz was an experienced pilot with more than 600 hours of flight experience, a good record. >> translator: he was 100% fit

to fly. his flight performance was perfect. there was nothing to worry about. >> reporter: lubitz passed his initial medical screening, but the lufthansa ceo says the airline does not do ongoing psychological testing, leaving open the possibility that something could have changed. the ceo also raised questions when he said lubitz had at one point "interrupted his training for several months in 2008." he wouldn't explain why, but said lubitz eventually completed his training. >> translator: he went to the aviation school in phoenix, arizona. there was an interruption with regard to the training, and after the candidate mentioned to go through and continued his training. >> reporter: a flight club member said he never showed any signs of concern? >> translator: he was a very normal young man. nothing out of the ordinary, nothing at all. there were no accidents that i'm aware of, nothing. no incident whatsoever.

>> reporter: another flight club member said lubitz enjoyed his training. >> translator: he was a lot of fun. even though he was perhaps sometimes a bit quiet. he was just another boy like so many others here. he was well integrated and i think he had a lot of fun here. >> reporter: why he would deliberately steer flight 9525 for nearly ten minutes into the french alps remains a mystery. >> translator: i can't understand it. we'll have to wait and see for the investigation to continue. >> reporter: the fbi is in a support role, still waiting to see what kind of help they can offer to the germans and the french. right now investigators are looking at anything lubitz had his hands on. they're scrutinizing financial records, his medical history, relationships, and any political views he may have had. pamela brown, cnn, new york. >> and we have since learned that the co-pilot was 27 years old, not 28 as previously reported. let's now bring in cnn's rosy

tompkins. she is at the co-pilot's hometown where investigators are still searching for answers. rosy, thanks for your time. what are you hearing about police activity at his home? what are police looking for? >> reporter: hi, george. yes, it's just breaking light here where lubitz did live with his family. i'm standing outside the family home where on thursday police arrived and started carrying out the searches in the family home. also searching his apartment in dusseldorf, searching for anything that can give us an indication why this young man, 27 years old, a few years into flying with germanwings, following his dreams as a young man, why he would do such a thing, if they could find any clues to any reason to carry out this act. at this time, the police were seen leaving his home with boxes, with some of his belongings we presume. that's all we have to go on at this moment. little of comfort to those who

lost their loved ones in this tragic accident. there's still nothing to confirm what his motives were to do such a thing. george? >> from your conversation there is in that community, what more do we know about his family? >> reporter: yes, we know lubitz lives with his parents in the family home as i said. we also believe that his grandparents lived in this town, and neighbors here, residents all in shock understandably that somebody from their region could have done such a thing. the family has been described as an upright family. we understand they were engaged in the community, and many of the neighbors are saying, you know, think of the parents and the fact that they are dealing with the grief and shock of losing their son and now with this news that he could have deliberately killed all these people. so his parents who got on the plane with all the other families to go and grieve the loss of their son on thursday in france only to arrive and to discover that he was, as we understand, behind it.

so a community in shock, a nation in shock. george? >> you know, the other question goes along with what you're saying, but it seems so contrary. you have people describe him as quiet, as seemingly a stable person. but again, very contrary to what he allegedly did here. is that what you're hering from people in that community? >> reporter: absolutely. that word "inconceivable," "speechless," those are the words we keep hearing from people that knew him. people that lost loved ones cannot understand why he would do such a thing. those who knew him are say thing is so unkconceivablunconceivabl they knew as polite, described as normal by those at his flying school. how he could have done such a thing is inconsokoninconevable inconceivable.

they cannot understand how this man could have done such a thing. george? >> it is important, as you point out, that prosecutors believe this is what happened, but it is an investigation that will take time. rosy tompkins reporting live there in germany. the ceo of lufthansa airlines says the thought that a co-pilot crashed the plane on purpose leaves him speechless. he spoke to our senior international correspondent. >> translator: that something of this kind would ever happen to us is inconceivable. and we just need to understand the single case which every safety system in the world cannot completely rule out. i think that's what we take as an explanation, if you want to call it that. >> reporter: could there have been signs? could there have been indications that this person might have beenmentally unstable? >> the pilot has passed all his tests, all his medical exams.

we have at lufthansa a reporting system where crew can report without being punished their own problems or problems of others without any kind of punishment. that hasn't been used in this case. so all the safety nets we are so proud of here have not worked in this case. >> later this hour, airlines do screen pilots for psychological issues, but critics say there are serious problems with how it's done. plus, we will hear from an aviation expert with more on this crash.

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welcome book cnn newsroom. i'm george howell. we continue with the investigation in the crash of germanwings flight 9525. a french prosecutor said the co-pilot crashed on purpose, killing 150 people on board. for more now, let's turn to scott hamilton, joining us live via skype from seattle, washington. first, many of these airlines, they rely on self-reporting when it comes to mental illness, but this case raises the question, does that really work? >> well, i guess it's sort of like the problem pilots have with alcohol. if you self-report, it works.

if you don't, it doesn't. the annual physicals that pilots are required to to through may or may not include any questions about psychology, any psychological evaluations. lufthansa said they don't do psychological evaluations after the initial hiring. so self-reporting works when it works and doesn't when it doesn't. >> scott, another question that people are raising now is this idea of making it mandatory to have a second person in the cockpit. so what do you expect to happen, just given what we saw in this case? >> well, here in the united states after 9/11, that became a requirement. any time one of the pilots leaves the cockpit to go to the bathroom, you'll see a flight attendant go into the cockpit or in the case of american airlines, they will put one of the galley carts across the aisle and leave the cockpit door open so that there's that access.

would it prevent another incident like this? well, maybe not. each is its own set of circumstances. but i think it would reduce the likelihood of a rogue pilot doing something like this again. >> scott, it's important to point out, as i mentioned earlier in the news cast, it's still early in the investigation, yes? but the prosecutors believe there are key pieces of evidence that lead them to suspect that the co-pilot crashed intentionally. what is the most damning piece of evidence from your expert point of view? >> well, the fact that the airplane was always in the controlled deviation from its flight path, and in a controlled descent at a steady speed. that requires a manual manipulation of the flight management system. an airplane just wouldn't go off and do all that on its own. in that respect, it's very

similar to malaysian flight 370 if march a year ago where the airplane made several coordinated turns and went off on the steady flight path. that had to be human manipulated and i think that's the case here. >> scott, just one other question. this system designed to keep people out of the cockpit, this door system, you know, the pilot could have dialed in a code to get in, but was unable. we're really seeing the system work in reverse now. had that pilot been able to get in the cockpit, he could have saved people on that flight. >> yes. but of course, the system is designed to keep bad guys out, not good guys out. and i would just point out that last year sometime there was a jetblue flight where the captain left the cockpit, then began acting erratically. he tried to get back into the cockpit. the co-pilot flipped the switch

that we're talking about here on germanwings, kept that pilot out. he had to be subdued by other crew members and the passengers, and he was ultimately removed from the airplane on an unscheduled landing. so the system works, but any system designed by humans can be gotten around by humans. >> scott hamilton, thank you so much for your time and insight, joining us there live via skype from seattle, washington. we appreciate your time. ahead here on cnn newsroom, saudi arabia and allies press on with air strikes against houthi rebels in yemen. we'll tell you about the threat of a possible ground invasion. intercourse that's painful due noboto menopausal changesit... it's not likely to go away on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable.

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in the country of yemen, saudi arabia says it will continue its military campaign against shiite houthi rebels, and they are threatening a deadly response. the saudi led coalition of ten nations launched more air strikes in and around the capital city on thursday. they are trying to stop the houthi rebels who are backed by iran who prevent iran from getting greater influence in that region. at this point, the saudis say there are no imminent plans for a ground invasion, but they are not ruling that out either. cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr has more on this story. >> reporter: in yemen's capital, devastating air strikes from saudi arabia. a new offensive to drive out

iranian backed rebels, who seized control of the capital and key military sites. officials say the saudi campaign was quickly planned, catching top u.s. military commanders off guard. >> general, when were you told by the saudis that they were going to take military action in yemen? >> sir, i had a conversation right before they took action, shortly before. >> right before they took action? >> yes, sir. that's very interesting. >> reporter: the white house has already committed significant assistance. the u.s. military is helping the saudis plan bombing missions over yemen, providing targeting intelligence from satellites overhead, and making awacs surveillance planes and aerial refueling aircraft available, as well. the general says he doesn't know if it will all work. >> i don't currently know the specific goals and objectives of

the saudi campaign, and i have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success. >> reporter: the u.s. military involvement, as sensitive as it gets. saudi arabia is backing beleaguered yemeni president hadi who has fled his country. the rebels are backed by iran. the u.s. worries terror groups will exploit the chaos. >> there's a lot at stake here, particularly with al qaeda and isis both active in yemen. but let's face the facts. the u.s. is involved now in a proxy war between the saudis and the iranians. >> reporter: iran condemning the intervention. >> it is a very dangerous situation. we believe any interference in yemen will simply lead to further loss of life. >> reporter: barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> for more insight and analysis, let's bring in

lieutenant colonel rick francona. sir, thank you so much. we always enjoy your insight here. many are asking the question, how involved is the united states? >> well, if you look at the air forces that are conducting these bombing raids, they're good flyers, but they don't have the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities necessary to develop the target sets that they're going after. i looked at the targets they struck last night and the targets they're striking right now. these are the key targets in the yemeni military establishment. this is what you would want to hit. this has been a well-planned and well-executed two nights of operations. that intelligence support had to come from the united states. we have the capability to do that, and i'm sure we're working closely with our saudi allies. >> saudi arabia here stepping in to push back iranian influence, but, again, there are some really important talks that are playing out right now in switzerland. so what impact could this have on those talks? >> well, i think they're trying

to pressure the iranians to put pressure on the houthis to come to the table. every time the saudis have tried to engage the houthis, the houthis have pretty much refused. i know the saudis are massing a lot of troops on their border, but the last thing the saudis want to do is have a ground incursion into yemen. a ground incursion has not worked. it's just a very difficult country. the egyptians have said they're going to send in ground forces. i think this is a lot of posturing. what they're trying to do is get everybody at the table to restore the legitimate government as they see it of yemen. >> there's been some tough talk. one saudi official saying that country would not be opposed to a nuclear bomb if iran had one. what do you make of that talk? >> yeah, i think that the saudis are watching what's going on. iran is their biggest concern.

they're watching what's happening in the northern part of their country. they see the iranians being a major power broker in the capitals of beirut, damascus, baghdad, and now they see possibly the iranians making a deal which they believe might allow the iranians to develop a nuclear weapon. if that happens, the saudis have been right up front with us for years. if the iranians develop a nuclear weapon, they're going to develop one. so we set off an arms race in the middle east. probably the most volatile place in the world where we do not need nuclear weapons. >> rick francona, thank you so much forgiving us perspective on what's happening in yemen. thank you. at the ongoing negotiations in switzerland over iran's nuclear program, secretary of state john kerry briefly discussed the operations in yemen. this after the iranian foreign minister said he condemns the

operation and demands it to be stopped. but there's new optimism in the latest nuclear talks ahead of tuesday's deadline. and there may be a resolution on major sticking points. what to do with iran's underground facility. according to a u.s. senior official, a new proposal would allow iran to run several hundred centrifuges at the site, but tehran would be subject to inspections there. a u.s.-led coalition is hitting isis targets in an effort to retake the iraqi city of tikrit. warplanes carried out 17 air strikes on thursday, targeting isis. it was all if support of a major offensive that recently stalled after isis insurgents repositioned themselves around the iraqi city. the u.s. military says it got involved after iraq's prime minister asked for help. the victims of flight 9525 are being remembered with

relatives gathering near the crash site. a live report straight ahead here as the news continues on cnn u.s. and cnn international. also, found guilty twice already in a sensational murder case. she insists that she's innocent. italy's supreme court considers the conviction of amanda knox, next. i bring the gift of the name your price tool to help you find a price that fits your budget. uh-oh. the name your price tool. she's not to be trusted. kill her. flo: it will save you money!

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welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you are watching cnn newsroom. i'm george howell. the headlines we're follow thing hour.

french prosecutors say the germanwings co-pilot andreas lubitz deliberately crashed flight 9525. flight transponder data indicates he reprogrammed the autopilot, causing the plane to slam into the french alps. saudi arabia says ground troops are a possibility in yemen, if it needs to. warplanes continued on thursday targeting shiite houthi rebels. other nations, including the sunni allies of sudan, jordan, and morocco also sent fighter jets. so far the u.s. has promised only intelligence and logistical support. the mayor of new york city says a huge explosion that leveled two buildings appears to be gas related. officials say gas utility inspectors were at a building in manhattan about an hour before the blast on thursday. no one was trapped in the buildings, but 19 people were injured according to new york fire department. north korea has released the

names of two men they say were spying for south korea. they're accused of committing crimes of terrorism and money forgery. south korea says the claim against the men are "completely groundless." for the latest on the investigation of our top story, the crash of flight 9525, and the mourning of the victims, erin mclaughlin joins us live from the crash site. thank you for your time today. we understand that families visited on thursday. tell us more about that. >> reporter: hi, george. well, many of the families and friends of the victims are thought of gone home last night. some are thought to have stayed here in france, waking up this morning to the grim reality that the recovery process continues, that their loved ones have yet to be identified. yesterday was an incredibly emotional day for them. some 200 to 300 people arrived

in marseilles above especially chartered flights from dusseldorf, germany and barcelona, spain. upon arrival, they were briefed by the prosecutor, who delivered the shocking conclusion of the investigators that they now believe the co-pilot intentionally crashed flight 9525. it's impossible to imagine how difficult that must have been for them to hear. from there, they were taken to a village near the crash site for a memorial service overlooking the mountain behind which the plane wreckage lies. after that, there was a prayer service in the evening. this was really designed to help them through the morning process to help them understand or try to understand what happened. people here mourning this tremendous loss. george? >> erin, obviously poem are getting as close as they are being allowed to the crash site there.

but this is certainly uneasy terrain there. talk to us about the challenges for these crews to recover the bodies. >> reporter: it's slow and pain staking process. the crash site is in a remote area. the workers have to be winched down onto the site. they're tethered together by rope, and that is how they're going about the grim task of recovering the human remains. the remains are being airlifted out. the bodies will not be returned to the families until all dna work has been done, and that process could take weeks. so it's going to be a very long and agonizing wait for these families. george? >> erin mclaughlin, thank you so much for your reporting there live if france. now to the country of italy. the supreme court hears defense arguments in the case of american amanda knox. the court will then decide if it

will uphold her second conviction of murder. knox is following the proceedings from her home here in the united states. cnn's kyung lah traces the case that became an international sensation. >> reporter: a sensational international murder trial. american college student amanda knox, the young accused killer and tabloid headlines cast as a villain dubbed foxy knoxy. 21-year-old british citizen meredith kercher stabbed to death in 2007, part of a demonic sex game gone wrong, they said. the alleged motive later changed to a dispute over money. knox and her then boyfriend drew suspicion by italian police for what they saw as bizarre behavior. not appearing distraught enough. the young pair caught kissing outside the crime scene. both arrested on circumstantial

evidence and what knox claimed was a forced confession. then convicted in 2009, even as dna evidence on the victim's body only pointed to one man, drifter and local drug dealer rudy gaday. separately, he was convicted of the murder. the evidence against knox remained thin, leading to an appeals court to overturn the verdict in october of 2011. >> amanda knox was wrongly convicted. >> reporter: amanda knox was free after four years in an italian jail, vowing to never return to italy. >> thank you to everyone who has believed in me. >> reporter: knox attempted to fade into normal life in seattle. she lives at home. she's changed her appearance, keeps a low social profile. on twitter she calls herself a freelance writer, writing for the west seattle herald paper. she's engaged to colin

sutherland. but the criminal case in italy merely changed chapters. the acquittal overturned in 2014. the saga continuing. >> when i look at amanda knox, i see the victim of what i call the pagan scapegoating ritual. >> reporter: nina burly spent nearly a year investigating the case and has written a book. she says the salacious narrative took over the mundane looklihood that this was just a burglary gone wrong. >> it was a misarnlg of justice. there were mistakes made early on. like many prosecutors and many police around the world, not just in italy, when they make a mistake, they don't like to admit it. >> reporter: mistake or not, amanda knox continues to pay the legal price. the family of meredith kercher, an emotional one. the loss of a child and the questions they can't put to rest. kyung lah, cnn, los angeles. joining me now with insight on where this legal drama might

go is university of washington law professor mary lafon. thank you so much for taking time with us. the burning question that many people ask when they understand this case, do you think the united states will cooperate in extradition with italy? >> if it comes down to a formal request and diplomacy doesn't head off a formal request, i think chances are good the united states will ultimately comply because of the concerns about reciprocity. if the united states doesn't compl comply, then this nation has to worry in the future we won't get extradition either. but i think right now the big game is trying to head off a request and let diplomacy take care of it. >> mary, to see amanda back in seattle, and i remember that news conference after she came back, really just trying to get

back to her life as normal, as best she could, how has that been and how will it be with her with these proceedings happening? >> it's intermable for her. it's very different for somebody that's socialized and raised in a very different legal system, where trials have an end. this seems to be a yo-yo back and forth and back and forth. so it's definitely taken a great emotional toll. >> and i'm just curious to know what the feeling is there in seattle? i remember there was a point where all of the news agencies there said we're going to give her time and back away, but what is happening right now? what's the feeling there? >> you know, like elsewhere in america, there are doubts regarding the validity of the case. i think what folks here are

thinking about, what parents are thinking about is, my goodness, you know, studying abroad seems like such a rite of passage and it can go horribly wrong. i think this is exactly why italy may have incentive to let diplomacy take its course. >> mary fan joining us live in seattle, washington. thank you for insight on this case that's piqued the attention of people around the world. >> thank you, george. still ahead here on cnn newsroom, several buildings in new york city left smoldering and in ruins. a huge explosion sending people to the hospital. ahead, what officials think caused that blast. the promise of the cloud is that every organization has unlimited access to information, no matter where they are. the microsoft cloud gives our team the power to instantly deliver critical information to people, whenever they need it. here at accuweather we get up to 10 billion data requests every day.

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welcome book cnn newsroom. i'm journgeorge howell. in new york, fire crews are still working to extinguish pockets of flames. this was the scene in manhattan's east village after the blast on thursday afternoon. hume flames engulfed parts of one building and the intense heat caused another to all-out collapse. >> you need to sit down, honey. you need to sit down. >> people were shocked, saying

that several bloodied people emerged from the smoldering buildings where the blast appeared to come from. at least 19 people are injured. four of them we understand are in critical condition. the cause is still under investigation, but new york city's mayor says it appears to be gas related. a snap poll has declared british prime minister david cameron the winner of the first televised debate ahead of the uk's national elections. a guardian icm poll said viewers surveyed thought that mr. cameron beat his labor party rival 54% to 46%. the contenders for prime minister took questions from a journalist and studio audience, but did not confront each other. while mr. milliband was asked about his ability to lead, mr. cameron was grilled over so-called controversial zero

hour contracts, which offer no guaranty an employee will get any working hours from day-to-day. only what the employer offers tell. >> do you know how many food banks there were in this country when you came to power? there are 700,000 people on zero hours contracts. would you live on one? >> as i said -- >> could you live on one? >> i want to create a country where more people have the opportunity of the full time work that they want. >> could you live on a zero hours contract. >> that's not the question. the question is -- >> it's the question i'm asking. >> the point is, somebody who chooses a zero hours contract, if you're a student and you want to do some part time work, that contract can work for you. what we've outlawed is exclusive zero hours contract. and no, i couldn't live on one of those. >> people think you're just not tough enough. >> let me tell you, right, let me tell you, let me tell you,

what i'm not going to do is repeat the mistakes of the 2003 iraq war which happened when labor was in power, which was a rush to war without knowing your strategy, and without being clear what the consequences would be. eat not a pacifist, so i supported action in libya. david cameron talked about how i supported action against isis. am i tough enough? hell yes, i'm tough enough. >> tough questions for both candidates. the election will be held may 7th. vigils are being held across the world to have the victims of germanwings flight 9525. ahead here on cnn newsroom, we remember those who lost their lives in this tragedy. not to be focusing, again, on my moderate my goal was to finally get in shape. to severe chronic plaque psoriasis. so i finally made a decision to talk to my dermatologist about humira.

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♪ mm, feel those savings, baby and that's how a home and auto bundle is made. better he learns it here than on the streets. the miracle of bundling -- now, that's progressive. welcome back. more on our top story. prosecutors say the co-pilot deliberately crashed flight 9525 into the french alps, and that is raising concerns about how airlines screen pilots for potential psychological problems. our brian todd has this story. >> reporter: lufthansa's ceo says there had been no sign ofmental instability of co-pilot andreas lubitz, that he passed a psychological exam after he was hire. after that -- >> translator: after that, we have medical test. >> reporter: now airlines are

under fire for what critics say are dangerous gaps in the system. current and former pilots tell us the level of psychological screening for pilots around the world is random and depends on the airline. he says his airline grilled him on his personality. >> do you like your mother, do you hate your mother, do you like your father, do you hate your father. do you abuse small animals? >> reporter: he says some airlines interview a pilot's friends to see if they've got psychological or emotional issues. but government regulations are not as strict. the faa says pilots can't fly if they have bipolar or similar problems. faa rules say that pilots have to under go a medical exam every year or six months. he says those examines don't place a heavy emphasis on psychological screening. forensic psychiatrist lisa van sus tren says that doesn't cut it. >> if the screening is merely adequate and they're lumping psychological screening in with medical screening, is it possible to dupe the screener?

>> it's absolutely possible. most psychological evaluations are simply a checklist. and a person will answer and the evaluator will look down to mark it on his paper, never looking to see what kind of body language, maybe the person withdraws or does something that gives you a clue that there's some sort of stress or anxiety in answering the question. >> reporter: another problem, pilots say the airlines don't check periodically to see if someone has come up in a pilot's personal life that may lead to a psychological breakdown, like a marital or financial issue. and they're not required to check for that. it's up to a pilot to self-report. if he or she doesn't self-report, what happens? >> if you don't self-report, it's really gone unnoticed. typically what happens is, if you have an issue, one of your crew members might recognize something like that. >> reporter: the faa did not respond to our questions about the criticism of that system. some current and former pilots argue the rules don't need to be tightened.

the vast majority of pilots are mentally stable, and that the self-reporting guidelines work. but critics say there are dangerous gaps in the system that out of fear of losing their careers, pilots won't self-report psychological issues or if they seek counseling, they won't tell their bosses. brian todd, cnn, reagan national airport. >> recovering workers at the germanwings crash site will be facing a new problem with the changing weather conditions there. let's bring in our meteorologist derek van dam. >> the weather has been ideal for the past 24 hours, but that narrow gap of good weather is starting to close. i'm not talking about rain and snow settling into the area. i'm referring to strong winds. we all know how difficult it is for these recovery crews to access the crash site on foot, so they've been flying these crews in and out of that very narrow ravine via helicopters

just like this. we look at mountainous terrain and any wind condition below 30 kilometers per hour, it just naturally flows over the mountains. when we look at winds in excess of 30 kilometers per hour, what we have in the forecast, we start to see some incredibly challenging flying conditions, especially for those helicopter pilots. basically you want to think of air flow over mountains like basically a river of water. as it moves up and over mountains and through very narrow ravines, the air or the water really starts to accelerate or decelerate, and that causes what is known as wind eddys. that's circulation patterns around the ravines. obviously, these helicopters have been designed to withstand strong wind gusts and the pilots are well trained for these weather conditions. it's just that they have challenging conditions, especially when they take off,

land, and hover, considering that these crews are being winched into the ravine to access the downed plane. they have to hover at a certain location. when you have wind gusts like this, in excess of 70 kilometers per hour, you can imagine how difficult it is for those pilots to maintain a neutral position overhead. george, back to you. >> derek, thank you so much. now let's turn to the victims of that flight. the passengers and crew on germanwings 9525 were from 18 different countries around the world. the list includes exchange students, opera singers, an architect and a nurse. and as we bring this hour to a close, we take time to remember them after their lives were cut so tragically short. ♪

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♪ >> thank you for watching cnn newsroom. i'm george howell. my colleague natalie allen is next with another hour of news. you are watching cnn, the world's news leader. ♪ [epic music]

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♪ prosecutor gives chilling details of what happened in the germanwings cockpit. saudi arabia defends its air campaign against rebels in yemen. and dramatic scenes in new york when a building is engulfed in flames and then collapses. hello. i'm natalie allen. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." it is 7:00 a.m. in the french alps and we begin this hour with a major development in the crash of germanwings