we are joined by cnn aviation analyst mary schiavo right now. mary, good morning to you. this, of course, such a difficult situation. can you help us understand a little bit about how something like this could have happened, and also what we're seeing unfold behind us right now? >> sure. well, you know, dca reagan national is a tremendously busy airspace. the runway, one of the runways, is the most active runway in the u.s. there is a lot of aviation here. and on top of the commercial airport, of course, you've got military aviation, vip aviation, et cetera.. so we have put an awful lot of aviation in a very small airspace. and that's the problem. when reagan, when dulles first opened decades ago, this was supposed to actually close because of the proximity to dc, the crowding, the airspace issues. et cetera. so the fact that, you know, fortunately, dc has been very lucky that they haven't had major tragedies and there's just a lot of aviation, a small airspace now bringing it down to to this particular one. we now have a lot of clues that have come out. air traffic contr

joining us now to discuss is mary schiavo, cnn aviation analyst, former inspector general at the u.s. department of transportation. mary, good morning. good morning. it's nice to see you again. so what have we learned so far about how this happened? i mean, obviously, the times is reporting these new details about the helicopter. >> and the new details are very helpful, as is this new video. but it does reinforce a lot of the details that we had yesterday. so first of all, we do know that the airplane, the psa flight was on air traffic control, an approved route. it was where it was supposed to be in the sky, and it was landing. it had priority and it was being completely advised by air traffic control. and that's what has to happen with commercial passenger service aircraft. they must be under positive aircraft air traffic control. we've now learned, of course, as some of the things that we had looked at on radar and had had thought about yesterday, but that the helicopter was on the path where the helicopters usually fly in washington, d.c., but it may have been too high. it may not

mary schiavo is with us. she's a cnn transportation analyst. mary, so much to ask you about this. but one of the things about the d.c. area is just how incredibly tightly controlled this airspace is. you know, the post 911 world for dc is such that really very few aircrafts can be in the air that are not explicitly not no aircrafts can be in the air that are not explicitly authorized. it's incredibly tightly controlled, but it's also incredibly congested. so when you have a military aircraft like this in the same area as commercial flights, what are some of the problems that can arise from that? >> well, yeah, and you have said it very correctly, you know, the d.c. reagan national airport, you must be under air traffic control. it is all instrument controlled planes can't traverse on what they call visual aircraft rules. but also everyone knows that. i mean, everyone knows the routes to the d.c. airport, the runways, and that it is entirely controlled by air traffic control. so to traverse that airspace legally and correctly, obviously they would have to have clearance. they would

thank you mary schiavo as well. and as well, pete's going to stay with us because coming up, we're going to discuss how the president of the united states took this moment of tragedy and grief and turned it into a political discussion about diversity, hiring a fact check on that just ahead. and later. the skating community is mourning tonight. what we know about some of the young athletes, their parents, their coaches aboard that american airlines flight. we'll be right back. >> this part changed my life. >> superman crazy. just that simple little thing over the horse. >> she came flying in and she just yelled, i love you. >> superman was in a wheelchair and was willing to go public with. it was huge. >> i told him i would do whatever i could to make him proud. chris wanted to change the world. >> people are literally. >> walking because of him. >> superman the christopher reeve story sunday at eight on cnn. >> hi grandma, i played baseball today. >> oh that's great. >> what position. >> did you play? >> first base.

mary schiavo, really appreciate the time perspective. thanks for. >> thank you. >> as we've been talking about, temperatures in the potomac river are currently hovering around 35°f, just above one degree celsius, according to the national weather service. and at that temperature in the water, a person might lose their physical abilities in as little as three minutes and become unconscious within 15 to 30 minutes, not to mention hypothermia and other dangers that usually increase with prolonged exposure. as we're learning, u.s. figure skating confirms that several members of the skating community were on board american airlines flight 5342. the group says in a statement. these athletes, coaches and family members were returning home from the national development camp in wichita, kansas. we are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims families closely in our hearts. we will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available. and the russian news agency tass cites a source who says

joining us right now is mary schiavo. she's a former inspector general at the department of transportation. and captain dennis tager, a spokesperson for the allied pilots association, which represents the pilots of american airlines. an important note on this, given the horrific circumstances, this plane that went down is american owned but is a regional plane. the pilots involved are represented by a different union. thank you both for being here. mary. what do you see in this crash so far? what are your first questions about all this? i know you've been watching this from late last night as well. >> well, my first questions concern, of course. clearances. who was cleared to be in the airspace? and also my question centers around altitudes. what altitude was the helicopter supposed to be operating at? and then the third question is equipment. you know, the collision avoidance equipment was certainly on the aircraft. it's required by law. what equipment did the helicopter have? and if they had any equipment at all for col

joining me now are cnn aviation analyst and former transportation department inspector general, mary schiavo and les abend, a retired american airlines captain. this black hawk helicopter pete was in a special corridor. um, i mean, that's normal that there's a lot of blackhawks and military craft in that corridor. >> it's very close. >> is the only issue to the final approach here for runway three three, the secondary runway that is used here at reagan national airport when things are quite busy and was in use last night, one big change that has taken place since last night's awful fatal incident is runway three. three is now, at least temporarily closed, probably the first of many major changes that we will see stemming from this accident. and airline pilots i've been talking to are wondering why that helicopter corridor, that special corridor known as route four, is so close to planes arriving and departing here. >> mary, obviously very early in the investigation, a black box has been recovered. one, what stands out to you? i mean, it's too early to say anything, really, but what stands ou

cnn transportation analyst and former inspector general for the department of transportation, mary schiavo. thank you so much for being here. i guess the first question is, how does this happen for us passengers? we know that pilots have to do all these checks before takeoff. and if there's one tiny thing wrong, we get stuck at the gate. so are there inspections outside of the plane to check to see if there's any problem? for example, in the landing gear. >> absolutely. >> before the first flight of the day, of course, the pilots are due to do the walk around from the aircraft and before every flight they're supposed to, you know, do a a shorter check of their aircraft. and of course, all of the checklists within the cockpit as well. and the bigger question is, of course, you know, the the reports say we're supposed to be on high alert for potential terrorism. aviation is often the the attack target of terrorist attacks. and yet the airport on the tarmac is supposed to be covered by surveillance. we're supposed to have camera coverage, and everyone on that tarmac is supposed to have a back

. >> joining us now here on the scene, mary schiavo. she is a cnn aviation analyst, former inspector general for the u.s. department of transportation. we also have cedric leighton. he's a cnn military analyst, retired air force colonel. thank you both for being here with us on this morning as we cover this unfolding tragedy. and i do just want to reset for anyone, everyone who's waking up here on the east coast. mary, help us understand what happened here. we know these two planes collided. it's not something. thank the lord that we see very often in this country. what happened last night? >> what happened last night is american airlines being flown by psa airlines. canadair regional jet 700 holds up to a 70 people with 64 on board. it was coming in to land, as you know, happens, you know, every few minutes, all the time. there were several planes in the air. it was a busy airport. i landed here myself at 730. it was very dark, very cold, a little bit bumpy wind. but weather wasn't really a factor in the accident. also operating in the

let's dig deeper now with mary schiavo. a former inspector general for the department of transportation. and david soucie is with us. he's a former faa safety inspector. thank you both for sharing part of your afternoon with us. mary, when you watch the video of the collision, what stands out to you? >> well, the first thing that stood out to me is that there were two aircraft lights and a helicopter light. >> and the interesting thing about flying at night, it's beautiful. it's wonderful. it's part of the best part of my training is the first light you notice is the lights that are moving. and if a plane is coming at you, it's not moving. it's getting brighter. and so i noticed when i looked at the video, the other plane first, because i noticed the movement. and i think what, what leaps out at me is when the busiest, one of the busiest runways in america and the busiest air traffic corridor in america, one of the busiest. asking a pilot wearing night goggles, hey, do you have that aircraft in sight is not a very good way t

i want to bring in cnn aviation analyst mary schiavo, along with retired rear admiral for the u.s. navy, mark montgomery. i appreciate both of you being with us. mary, just in terms of this investigation, what stands out to you at this hour? >> well, at this hour, what stands out are the number of things that they have already accomplished. obviously, they have a lot more work to do, but as the operations on the water continue, what's happening behind the scenes as the ntsb moves into position to start this massive investigation, along with the defense department, will be starting an investigation. and remember, they're going to be looking for not just the facts, which they will uncover. and they've made great strides to that already, but they will be looking for what they can do to make change, because the ntsb always makes recommendations, not just findings. and that will be very important, because we've all seen a lot of things here that need to change. >> mark, for you, what are the biggest questions you have? >> so when you. >> look at what the. >> causal factors are, something

i also am being joined by mary schiavo, who is the former ig for the u.s.epartment of transportation. can you just walk us through? obviously, as pete was noting, we have not seen a passenger plane crash in the united states in quite some time. tell us what you're seeing in these images and what your questions are right now. well. >> and i just flew into washington, dc myself, not two hours ago there, you know, there there was some some not, you know, the winds that would shut the airport, but there was some pretty significant wind. and of course, also local coverage in dc and, and feeds from dc. there was shown not long ago of of actual footage of the mid-air and there was quite an explosion in the air. and then the response at the airport is massive. so there hasn't been a. confirmation of exactly what flight, what plane. but you could see in local footage and local video in washington, d.c., the actual moment of the collision and the explosion in the air. so clearly what they're reporting does appear to have happened. and the response at the airport is q

mary schiavo, i want to begin with you. pete's reporting there was. >> an air. >> traffic controller working two tower. >> positions, not. >> completely unusual. >> but in your. >> view, would that. >> create the conditions. >> for the accident we saw yesterday? >> well, it could create the conditions for being overworked, having too many places to look at one time. too many things on your plate. but you know, pete was right. it's not abnormal. the faa has done that many towers, many situations where they have assigned two people to do. our, one person to do two posts if they're not particularly busy, and it's up to the supervisor. and unfortunately that goes on quite a bit. so it's not abnormal, but it's not ideal. >> okay. >> lisa bender, you're retired. >> american airlines. >> captain. we're going to play. >> again the moment. >> of impact. >> always with the caution that this is a difficult moment to watch. >> as you. >> see this moment less as a pilot. what do you see here? and again, it's. >> early, but. but can. >>

i also have mary schiavo with me. she's the former inspector general of the watchdog for the u.s. department of transportation. it's great to have you back here, mary. we last spoke about three hours ago, right when this a little over three hours ago. is this a crash had first happened. you just heard there, miles o'brien, talking about, you know, you got to read the fine print on your plane ticket because, yes, it is, it is american airlines, but it is operated by psa. how does that factor into the plane? the aircraft itself, as far as standards go. >> well, uh, many years ago, in fact, when i was inspector general, the department of transportation and the federal aviation went through basically a regulation overhaul, and it was a one standard for all airlines. so it used to be regional carriers and local, you know, all different kinds of carriers. and there were different standards of safety. but back in the 90s, it was one standard of safety for all. and so the same requirements for safety regulations, training, et cetera. are to apply to all commercial passenger service airline

we have with us mary schiavo, former inspector general of the u.s. department of transportation. also joining us, michael mccormick, former faa control tower operator. mike, let me start with you. cnn is now reporting that the helicopter was flying 100ft higher than the maximum allowable height, 300ft, when the max is 200. we're also told that it veered off its prescribed route. how does that happen? is that unusual? >> no, that's. not that unusual. there are all variances that happens. >> such. >> as wind that will direct an aircraft, perhaps go a little bit further. right. a little bit further, left a little bit higher or a little bit lower. >> mary. >> that's not unusual. >> not unusual. okay. good to know. mary i want to roll some of the exclusive video showing the collision from new angles. yesterday, you told the kansas city star that you believe the army helicopter likely caused this crash. you're seeing the video now. is that still your assessment after. after stealing this, seeing this new video and why? >> well, yes. >> because and as. >> the ntsb will do. >> there will

mary schiavo is here, as is sean lutnick, a former commercial pilot and accident investigator. i want to start with you here at the table. uh, can you just kind of give us your broad look at this? and if you were still in the job, what you would be looking at first, second and third right now? sure. >> uh. >> and condolences to the families. >> so first of. >> all. >> in terms of sorting out the facts, the national transportation safety board and the military investigation board, there will be two on this one. and they will both, you know, do their investigations. >> the ntsb. >> will have precedence. and i have worked in aviation since 1974 to reassure people. >> the ntsb is not. >> political. >> that, in. >> fact, the board is chosen that way intentionally. >> it's their their. >> two chosen. >> by each side. and then the the chairman is is. >> chosen and was reappointed. and these accident. >> investigations are not political. i mean, i have participated in in. >> many including. >> in private practice. >> and you have to. >> sort through wreckage. you literally, in some cas