undergoing surgery. the suspect has not been caught. his vehicle has been found in pacifica. we'll keep you posted on this tonight at 6:00. nbc nightly news is next. hope you can join us at 6:00. vanished. 239 people are feared dead after a jetliner bound for beijing disappears as anguished family members wait for answers, word that two of the passengers were traveling with stolen passports deepens the mystery over the fate of malaysia flight 370. tensions escalate. new confrontations break out between russian and ukrainian troops as the showdown in crimea throws an unwelcome shadow over what russia would rather the world focused on -- the paralympics. red-handed. why some cities are putting the brakes on those cameras that catch drivers running red lights and why others can't wait to install them. and epic battle. two finalists square off at a marathon spelling bee that

lasted so long, they ran out of words. tonight, the eight little letters that ended it all. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. it is now sunday in southeast asia where in the light of a new day, a massive, multi-national search is in full swing for a malaysian jetliner that vanished not quite 36 hours ago with 239 people on-board, including three americans. the malaysia airlines 777 was traveling from kuala lampur to beijing when all contact was lost over open water roughly half-way between malaysia and the southern tip of vietnam. the air and sea search now includes an american navy warship. the hunt for wreckage now centered on fuel slicks spotted on the surface of the sea while the hunt for a cause, including the possibility of foul play, is

now partly focused on two mystery passengers traveling on stolen passports. there are a lot of angles to cover here. we begin with tom costello in our washington newsroom. tom, what's the latest? >> malaysia airlines says this plane was last inspected just ten days ago and it was in proper condition. their words. at this hour those naval units from several countries are listening for the pinging sound that should be coming from the plane's emergency transmitters in an area where the vietnamese military believes it has found an important clue. off the coast of vietnam, two fuel slicks on the water may provide the best hope for finding malaysia airlines flight 370. the plane left kuala lampur at 12:40 a.m. saturday, the red eye flight to beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board. two to two hours into the flight at 35,000 feet, air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane somewhere over the

gulf of thailand. veteran crash investigators say it all points to an abrupt end to a you routine flight. >> whatever happened was catastrophic and it incapacitated the airplane such that the crew couldn't get a mayday call off. >> reporter: the plane, a boeing 777 200 series, nearly 12 years old. middle aged for planes. in august 2012 it lost the tip of a wing after clipping another plane on the ground in shanghai. the wing was fixed, but did that contribute to the accident? nbc news aviation analyst captain john cox. >> one of the early things that is already under way is a thorough review of all of the maintenance records of the airplane. and if the airplane has sustained damage, as it did in this ground incident, that is something that certainly the investigators are going to look at. >> reporter: we do know the captain was experienced. he was 53 years old with 18,000 hours of flying time. when he wasn't in a real cockpit, you could find him in the advanced simulator he built at home.

on a website for simulator enthusiasts, he wrote, "time to take to the next level of simulation. motion. looking for buddies to share this passion." the 1st officer was 27-year-old fariq hamid, with 2800 hours of experience. to add to the mystery, two passengers on the manifest are actually safe and sound on the ground. both reported their passports stolen in thailand one to two years ago. u.s. and malaysian authorities are now looking into who used those stolen passports to board the plane and what were they up to. >> to have two people traveling on false passports when a plane disappears from radar really gets people's attention, as it should. >> reporter: the plane itself has a very strong safety record. the crash of asiana 214 in san francisco last july was the 777's first fatal accident. investigators believed that was pilot error now. the immediate challenge now finding the wreckage of malaysia 370 off the waters of vietnam.

this is eerily similar to the crash of air france flight 447 which disappeared, you may recall, over the atlantic in 2009. it took two years to find the wreckage at the bottom of the ocean. while search teams will be looking for those black boxes we hear so much about, they're also going to be examining the size of the debris field, if they find one. if it is wide, that would suggest the plane broke up in flight. if it is more condensed, that could mean the plane remained intact until it impacted the water, or perhaps the ground. lester? two-thirds on-board the missing plane are from china. tonight in beijing distraught families and friends have gathered at a hotel to wait for answers. cnbc's eunice uhn is there. and joins us with more. >> reporter: patience here in beijing is wearing thin. 36 hours after flight mh 370 went missing, hundreds of family members and friends of the passengers have been holed up in

the hotel behind me where malaysia airlines has set up a makeshift crisis center. about 100 airline staffers have arrived to assist the families who are desperately waiting for any information about their loved ones. many here feel that they've been left in the dark and are demanding more frequent updates from the airlines. now people are starting to lose hope that they might not see their family members alive again. airline authorities have said that the rescue operation in the south china sea is still ongoing. the u.s. has dispatched a ship and aircraft to the area and china has also sent in naval vessels. and with the sun now rising, the air mission, which has been suspended overnight, has now resumed as government and people continue to hope to find any signs of the missing plane. lester? >> thank you. i'm joined now by nbc news aviation expert and former airline pilot john cox, and nbc news counterterrorism analyst michael leiter. is there anything short of the

the plane coming apart, an explosion, to explain a sudden and complete loss of communications? >> lester, there are several possibilities. something as simple as a major electrical problem could mean that the airplane could not transmit and couldn't be seen on radar. so it's very early at this stage to draw any conclusions. the debris field could very well tell us a lot, the size of the debris field and how it has interacted with the winds with the lighter components, papers and things, for example, in comparison to the heavier objects such as landing gear or engines. >> michael, i'm having trouble getting my head wrapped around the idea that in a post-9/11 world you can get on an airplane with a stolen passport, one stolen one, or even two years ago. but that said, what kind of alarm bells has that started ringing at intelligence agencies around the world? >> lester, it definitely changed how intelligence organizations in the u.s. and globally looked at this. prior to the stolen passport

issue this was a tragedy but folks mostly said, probably something mechanical with the plane. with this, there's at least one element which makes them very concerned. they know that people were on that plane who shouldn't have been using those papers. what they don't know is what they were up to. were they simply criminals who were using stolen passports or were they on that plane to do something nefarious. that's where the intelligence community are digging in now. >> john, this was an overnight flight. it is a pretty heavy traffic route up and down asia. 35,000 feet, presumably clear. wouldn't you expect that another crew would have seen some kind of a flash had there been an explosion? >> i think, lester, if there were an explosion, there would be debris that could be seen by potentially some long-range radar. there would be other reports of ships or other aircraft. so i'm not convinced at all that we've got an in-flight explosion here. i think we're going to learn more as the course of the day

goes on and the aerial search begins to put together this debris field. >> all right, john cox. michael leiter, thanks. we appreciate it. turning to the crisis in ukraine where tensions reached a new level today as russia sent even more troops into the crimean peninsula. nbc's ian williams with the latest from kiev. >> reporter: anger on kiev's independence square today demanding russia leave crimea. moscow appears to be reinforcing a marked convoys on the move. hours after russian soldiers briefly seize control of a ukrainian base. they're still blocking others. pro-moscow authorities ordering all remaining ukrainian soldiers in crimea to disarm and surrender, but many refuse. a european security monitors are being prevented from entering the peninsula. armed men firing warning shots into the air with automatic weapons. in russian speaking east ukraine, pro-moscow protesters

chanted "glory to russia." the fear is that russia is stirring up trouble to justify intervention in this region, too. the mood here is very volatile. there is a deep concern about events in kiev but that doesn't mean everybody would welcome intervention by moscow. on this trolley bus, there was plenty of fear and uncertainty. olga told me that everybody's worried. but she said we should stick together and there should be no bloodshed. alexander was plain angry at what he calls extremists seizing control in kiev. but he told me, we're an independent country. russia for now should stay away. people in the east watch russian television which depicts ukraine's revolution as a neo-fascist coup. they're still there. the flowers here are fresh but so are the tires.

while much of this barricade's been turned into a memorial, the fortifications aren't going to be taken away any time soon. petrol bombs remain at the ready and this leader of one far-right militia told me it is not over. on the barricades, few people appear to trust the interim government. vladimir, close to a spot visited by john kerry, said the barricades are going to stay. while this man methodically feeded eclectic works of lenin into his furnace, told me we ultimately control the government anyway. the interim government has real challenges ahead as it calls for unity in the face of russian aggression. ian williams, nbc news, kiev. president obama made phone calls today to a number of european leaders on the crisis in ukraine. nbc's kristen welker is traveling with the president in florida where the first family is spending the weekend. >> reporter: lester, with tensions mounding in ukraine,

the white house is taking great pains to show that president obama is still engaged in the diplomatic effort to get russian forces to retreat to their bases in crimea. late this afternoon the white house released a photo of president obama, who reached out to several of his counterparts overseas. among them, the prime minister of the uk, as well as leaders of france, italy and the baltics. mr. obama is trying to build a strong international coalition aimed at pressuring mr. putin to retreat, efforts which right now are falling on ears in russia. in a statement white house officials reiterated the president's insistence that russia allow international observers and human rights monitors into crimea. now veteran ambassador dennis ross says president obama is playing the long game here. he knows it is going to be tough to get putin to retreat in crimea, but the idea is to build up enough international pressure to prevent him from going into other parts of ukraine. lester? >> thanks. russia had hoped the world would be focused right now on the start of competition at the paralympics in sochi.

but the ugly business going on in ukraine and crimea has managed to cast a shadow on the event. our report kier simmons in sochi. >> reporter: it was a ceremony full of russian pride and defiance. president putin presided over the opening of the paralympics. there was mystical music and dance, mirroring the winter games' closing ceremony less than two weeks ago. but so much has changed in that short time. ukrainian teams sent one lone athlete to carry their flag, a solitary protest against russia's intervention in ukraine. the u.s. delegation made its point by not coming at all. u.s. athletes aren't here but their russian competitors arrive to music that included the lyrics, "good-bye usa." beyond the stadium where the

ceremony took place, ukraine is 300 miles across the black sea. but the politics of what is happening there is overshadowing everything here. in an emotional press conference, the head of the ukraine delegation said its athletes will stay unless russia invades. >> well, the worst case scenario, we would leave. >> reporter: never before have so many countries taken part and rarely with such a charged political atmosphere. already ukraine has won a bronze medal and dedicated it to freedom for her country. while the world's attention focuses on the crisis in ukraine, paralympians began competing today. today the pregnant south carolina mother who is accused of trying to kill her three children by driving them into the ocean in daytona beach, florida, made her first court appearance.

bail was set at $1.2 million. she's charged with three counts of attempted murder and child abuse. when "nbc nightly news" continues on this saturday, the raging debate over red light cameras. why more are going up in some places, while others are pulling the plug. and later, the word that finally ended a marathon spelling bee after nearly 100 rounds.

in towns, cities and states across america, a debate is now raging over those cameras that snap a picture when you run a red light. you then get a ticket in the mail, usually with a hefty fine. but while some places have decided to turn them off, others are buying more of them. our report from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: running a red light. nobody argues it isn't dangerous. but there is now a huge debate about whether cameras that catch offenders have a place in america's intersections. >> i want to get them out as quickly as possible. >> reporter: this town in new jersey, one of the first places to get the cameras, just banned them. police told the new mayor they weren't making intersections safer. >> t-bone crashes actually increased 400%. >> reporter: brick isn't alone. on thursday st. petersburg, florida pulled the plug on its cameras after three years saying they didn't make fiscal sense. on wednesday, ellisville, missouri, voted to terminate its contract after public outcry. critics say the cameras are unconstitutional and create a driving hazard.

>> it puts people in a really tough spot between making a choice to perhaps get into a rear-end accident or force themselves to run that intersection and get a ticket. >> reporter: nationwide the number of communities using red light cameras is down about 6% since 2012. and while 24 states and washington, d.c. allow them, nine states have banned them. >> we're coming up to this first one right now. >> reporter: st. louis police chief sam dodson, says in his city he's noticed no increase in crashes. his officers sort through some 500 violations a day. >> there we have another violation. no stop. >> no stop. >> reporter: dodson says without the cameras, his force would be stretched too thin. >> it would take over 200 police officers to do what the cameras are doing today. >> reporter: he agrees with the camera provider's statistics that say citations are working. >> more than 90% of the people that run red lights don't get another ticket. they don't do it again. >> reporter: driver reaction is mixed. >> i mean they ain't there for public safety.

>> it is a simple honest to god money grab. >> reporter: so the debate, like these drivers, isn't likely to stop. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, st. louis, missouri. frightening moments aboard an indian jetliner as a rear wheel caught fire after landing in nepal. all 176 passengers and six crew members on the flight from new delhi were evacuated through emergency doors and are safe. no injuries reported. the cause of the fire is under investigation. coming up, a war hero receives an honor that's long overdue.

ralph? you are not going home. you're going to stay here and

face the fella. >> he starred on broadway and in films but was best known for playing alice cramden opposite jackie gleason's ralph on "honeymooners." her family confirmed she died thursday at 92 years old. carmen berra has died. she was the wife of yogi berra. they just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in january and their marriage was central to the broadway play "bronx bombers" that just closed. they had three sons, 11 grandchildren and a great grandson. carmen berra was 85 years old. an 89-year-old world war ii veteran from upstate new york finally received the medal he deserved. today richard faulkner was awarded the purple heart 70 years after being wounded in battle. he was the lone survivor when his b-17 bomber collided in mid-air with another allied plane and crashed in nazi occupied france. after 29 days behind enemy lines, he made it to safety and

was offered the purple heart but he declined it at the time saying he felt awkward receiving an award when others had had died. now he says he wants his grandchildren to have something to remember his military service. and this reminder to spring forward. make sure you turn your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed tonight. daylight saving time officially begins at 2:00 a.m. still ahead, after a marathon spelloff, a champion is finally crowned.

finally tonight, it lasted two weeks and took nearly 100 rounds. but we finally have a winner. it all went down at a regional spelling bee in kansas city. now that winner goes on to the national spelling bee. our ron mott has the final showdown. >> reporter: in kansas city, missouri, it took 95 rounds and 261 words to finally spell w-i-n-n-e-r. >> beachhead. this year's county spelling bee

became a heavyweight showdown. >> icicle. >> reporter: overflow crowd on hand, between fifth-grader sophia hoffman and seventh-grader kush sharma. they battled back and forth word for word. the duel started two weeks ago, went 66 rounds and had to be postponed because officials ran out of approved words to challenge them, prompting calls to just send them both to nationals. the rules don't allow. >> last year we had had 21 rounds in the championship. so this is way more than we anticipated. >> reporter: their legend, despite their stature and their friendship, quickly grew. and unlike p-o-t-u-s, the president of the united states. >> when aretha first told us what r-e-s-p-e-c-t. meant to her -- >> reporter: they breezed through increasingly harder words.

like i knee gneous. not to be confused with sounds heard on the farm. but then came a stumble. >> s-t-e-i-f-l-e-i-n. >> which describes the heat of the moment. with the championship and a trip to washington, d.c. now his for the taking -- 13-year-old kush sized up the test and then aced it. >> definition. >> i was getting pretty sad when she got that word incorrect. it is sort of messed up that it came to that. but i mean it was going to come to that either way. >> i'm just truly excited that i've gotten this far and every kid that's participated in the bee has done an amazing job. >> reporter: a fierce competition where victory was earned and defeat accepted. >> being friends is better than trash talking each other. >> reporter: with tears and grace. ron mott, nbc, n-e-w-s.

>> that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today." from all of us at nbc news, have a good night. good evening, diane dwyer is off tonight. an intense search for a gunman after officer was shot in san francisco. he's undergoing surgery. the shooting happened near the intersection of 25th street and florida in the city's mission

district. kimberly tere live at san francisco general and that's where the officer is undergoing surgery. what do we know? >> reporter: we know that this man is a 28-year-old veteran of the force. he's been on san francisco police force for six years now. and i can show you right here outside of the emergency room there are police officers here. really waiting for any update on his condition. as you mentioned, he is in surgery now after being shot in the left shoulder and is in serious but stable condition. now, this all started at about 3:45 this afternoon. police say two police officers were responding to a malicious mischief call on the 1300 block of florida between 25th and 26th streets and that's in the mission district. they saw a car matching the vehicle scprips and pudescripti it over. one officer got out and according to the witness shots were then fired from the suspect's car. they said the other officer saw the car backing up and at that point he opened fire hitting the