. >> reporter: down the aisle, jim whittaker offers to protect the youngest passenger. >> i asked this very brave, courageous woman if i would hold her baby. because that was obviously the smallest passenger on board. and if anybody was going to survive, hopefully it was going to be this one. >> reporter: seconds later, the unthinkable. >> there is an airplane down in manhattan. >> the plane just bounced over the water. >> reporter: the aircraft splashing to a halted, narrowly missing the skyscrapers of midtown manhattan. but the nightmare was far from over. >> i cracked my sternum on impact. when i hit that water that was 36 degrees, i honestly thought maybe i wouldn't make it then. >> when the plane hit the water and the water rushed in the back of the plane, it was frigid cold, and that's how i knew i was still alive. >> the water was up to here, and it was 35 degree water, it was like needles. i survived the impact and now i'm going to drown. that was my worry. >> reporter: robin roberts witnessing the landing from her apartment. >> it was an amazing land beii n the fuselage never

jim comey violated department of justice procedures by drawing conclusions about hillary clinton and announcing this publicly when they decided not to actually bring charges. yet here is matthew whittaker of the justice department doing something similar, to comment publicly on an ongoing investigation when that is simply not done. the other potentially chilling effect saying we will review what mueller puts before us when we know the ongoing debate is whether the report that is ultimately produced, separate from indictments, whether it ever sees the light of day publicly. that's something the justice department would review, right now, matthew whittaker and ultimately likely be bill barr, presumed to be the incoming a.g., if he's confirmed in the senate. that's the ultimate question what ne justice department does with the information put forward. >> doesn't that stand to reason, laura, robert mueller, after all this work, after all these months he'll wait for an attorney general not to be acting anymore, to actually be installed, he'll wait for bill barr and won't release this report to matt whittaker? >> that's honestly been our thought given the timeline here. it's not clear matt w