and captain sully sullenberger takes us inside of a flight simulator., let's start with all of these near collisions. we are seeing far too many close calls on u. s. runways. near-collision incidents have been reported at multiple airports just this year. the hard numbers, though, they can be confusing. over the last two decades, the number of what the faa calls runway incursions has been climbing. but the really close calls have actually come down from a high in 2007. here is one reason, the faa's data for these types of incursions this year only go through january. yet the rate we are seeing this year is concerning. to understand what we are talking, about let's examine what they mean by near miss. on one hand there is the official, aviation definition, but on the other a near miss is already way too close for comfort for anyone. take what happened at new york's, jfk airport in january. an american airlines triple seven was getting ready to depart for landin. at the same time, a delta 7:37 was getting ready to take off for the dominican republic. keep

captain sully sullenberger is here. and norfolk southern ceo apologizes after that toxic train derailment in ohio. plus grilling from lawmakers , today, as the 11th hour gets underway on this thursday night. >> good evening once again. i'm stephanie ruhle. buckle up, boys, and girls, the new york times is reporting tonight the manhattan prosecutors are inching closer and closer to criminal charges against the former president, donald j trump, and the stormy daniels case. that, as you recall, is the one involving hush money payments made before the 2016 election to keep the former porn star, daniels, from talking about her apparent affair with trump, who still denies it. the times says that according to four sources, quote, the manhattan district attorney's office recently signaled to trump's lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money. prosecutors offered trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury. alvin bragg in his office declined to comment on this report, bu

we'll ask captain sully sullenberger what needs to be done to keep all passengers safe.

retired captain sully sullenberger. great to see you. famous miracle on the hudson landing. not too far from where i'm sitting over on hudson yards when he glided it into the hudson river. sullenberger is former u.s. ambassador to the u.s. civil aviation organization. mr. ambassador, great to see you. the boston incident isn't the only one. we've seen similar incidents at jfk, honolulu, burbank. what's going on with all of these close calls? seems to have been a rash of them in recent days. >> well, coming out of covid, which, you know, pretty devastated the economies of the world and caused a lot of aviation activities to be shut down, we had a lot of people who left the industry, some retired early, many of them were not flying as many hours as they had been and i think in every way we're still playing catchup from the quicker than expected recovery from covid. we're short staffed. they're hiring and training as fast as they can, but it takes many months to hire someone, train them to the proper professional standard and get them integ

we'll have captain sully sullenberger. join us live. >>> in the meantime, a search is intensifying this morning for four americans kidnapped in a mexican border city. the fbi now offering a reward for any information leading to their return. nbc's morgan chesky is in brownsville, texas, near the southern border. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. officials say this may be a horrific case of mistaken identity. officials say this group of four was going from here in brownsville, across the bridge, into matamoros so one of them could get a cosmetic procedure. instead they drove right into the middle of a gun fight that ended in a terrifying kidnapping, at least part of which was caught on camera. four americans kidnapped in a mexican border city, and this morning, a law enforcement official tells nbc news this video captures parts of the horrifying attack. in it you see a gunman dragging people to a white pick-up truck in matamoros, mexico, after authorities say the van carrying four u.s. citizens was

i want to go now to captain sully sullenberger.lso the ambassador to the civil aviation organization. i want to start with something tom was reporting on. this issue of climate change and the increased climate in the air. do you have a doubt that there's a link between climate change and turbulence? >> i think it makes sense that as there's more energy in the air, there's more potential for turbulence. >> it's scary because we hear about some of this, it's in clear air and there's no way to sense it. makes it very unsettling and scary. it's also in the context of the past six weeks, we've had six close calls at major airports, new york hawaii, and american, delta, jet blue, united, all the major airlines involved. we're talking about planes taking off and landing on the same runway at the same time. some people have phones and film it, but plenty are some people may not have known about in the moment. why do you think this is happening with such frequency? >> i think they're happening more often, and of course people with smart pho

so many close calls, the former captain on the miracle on the hudson flight captain sully sullenbergerells the "today" show this is getting very serious. >> they are the canaries in the coal mine, and they should concern us. >> reporter: now 14 years after the last fatal crash involving a major u.s. airliner, the acting faa chief has called an aviation safety summit for next week the question, has complacency become a problem in cockpits and control towers >> i want specific ideas about how to enhance our already robust safety net with concrete actions >> tom, as you know, air travel is back to pre-pandemic levels. is there any thought that that may be contributing to some of these close calls we're seeing >> most experts think it is a contributing factor. insist the system is very safe but running at full capacity with little room for error, so does that affect the safety margins that's going to be the focus of the faa summit next week, lester >> tom costello in our washington studio. thanks. >>> still no end in sight for those stranded by mountains of snow in southern california with

. >> reporter: captain sully sullenberger says his decades of training helped avert disaster. >> i just a big splash, the plane just bounced over the water. >> reporter: he and first officer jeff skils had 208 seconds to execute an emergency landing in the hudson river after a bird strike. >> you would have thought jeff and i had been working together like that for years, but in fact, we'd only known each other three days. we had to be interchangeable. we had a combined 50 years, half a century, of airline experience. so we were extraordinarily experienced that day. >> reporter: all 150 passengers and 5 crew members survived. >> got to give it to the pilot, man. a hell of a landing. >> reporter: now captain sellen berger is pushing to ensure every pilot has the crucial training to handle almost any emergency. >> pilots have an awesome responsibility to keep their passengers and crew safe. i am reminding everyone involved, faa, airlines, pilots, flight attendants, others -- that we must not be complacent. as safe as air travel has become, we must keep on working even harder to try to mak

miracle on the hudson pilot captain sully sullenberger. >> certainly during covid, the aviation industry was really affected greatly. so now we're short-staffed. we're playing catch-up. when the system is under pressure, we're seeing these kind of things pop up as warnings to not try to fly more than we should. >> reporter: the ntsb has made seven safety recommendations around preventing runway collisions dating back 23 years. so far none have been fully implemented. that includes an early warning system for air traffic controllers. it's been installed at about only 40 u.s. airports. norah? >> that's interesting. kris van cleave, thank you so much. >>> now to the biggest challenge to abortion rights since roe v. wade was overturned in june. a federal judge in amarillo, texas heard arguments today in a case that seeks to overturn the fda's approval of the widely used abortion pill mifepristone and remove it from the market. more than half of all abortions in the u.s. are medication abortions. cbs' kristina ruffini is at the courthouse. >> reporter: members of the public and press lined up

it's something we've heard about from pilots from labor unions from kevin kelly sullenberger during our primetime special and our safety earlier this month, and now we're hearing about it from the acting head of the faa, essentially saying that the pandemic rebound is happening faster than workers can handle. and that is why we're seeing these dramatic near misses on or near runways at major airports involving commercial airliners, which interesting here is that this is something that was echoed by transportation secretary pete buddha judge during my exclusive interview with him last month, and he attributed this to some kind of rust that is happening in the aviation system. listen. there would be one thing if we found a certain piece of technology in the cockpit or a certain control tower where there were there were a lot of issues, but instead what we're finding is that pilots, ground crews and controllers alike seem to be experiencing this uptick. some have described it as a kind of rust. but that that needs to turn into a very concrete diagnosis and specific action steps. we're not

i would like to point you to a copy of the chicago tribune piece from captain sullenberger. his voice carries a significant weight and his name is associated with a miracle on the hudson. but in the context of the 15 hour rule is worth highlighting 20000 and 208. it demonstrates why it is more a miracle and more why these skills are so important. captain sullenberger and the first officer had 208 seconds between losing thrust and landing in the hudson rive for the 155 passengers on board, the captain and more had accrued 2500 hours of flig time prior to that. the combined 45,000 hours of -- safety does not begin or end in the air. we also must make it a flight priority for flight attendants and other aviation workers. the number has come down from an all-time peak. there were -- united airlines flight -- they tried to stab him with a broken spoon. a year ago, a passenger was assaulted for -- arrested for assaulting a gate agent after they tried to force them back to the gate. the abuse is disgraceful and must end. i would like to ask that the cwa prepare for the searing into

the miracle on the hudson pilot captor sully sullenberger. >> certainly during covid, the aviation industry, and so now we are short staffed and playing catch up, and when the system is under pressure, we are seeing these kinds of incidents pop up as warnings to not try to fly more than we should. >> reporter: the ntsb has made seven safety recommendations around preventing runway collisions dating back 23 years. so far, none have been fully implemented. that includes an early warning system for air traffic controllers. it has been installed at only 40 u.s. airports. norah? >> norah: that is interesting, kris van cleave, thank you so much for your well, there is an update tonight on former president trump's legal troubles. former b25 star stormy daniels met with prosecutor's on alleged hush money payment she received on the behalf of the former president. daniels attorney said she is willing to testify in the case. michael cohen testify today. trump directed him to give daniels $130,000 in 2013 to cover up a sexual encounter with trump in 2006. trump says it never happened and the payment w

we'll ask captain sully sullenberger what needs to be done to keep all passengers

it's been something talked about my pilots by labor unions by captain sully sullenberger during her prime time special on air safety earlier this month, and now the acting head of the faa, essentially saying that the pandemic has created a type of rust among aviation workers, really trying to struggle to catch up. to this huge rebound in pandemic air travel. it was also something echoed by transportation secretary pete buddha judge during an exclusive interview i did with him earlier this month, and he said that the need is to find a cause here. but this might just simply be a contributing factor. listen there would be one thing if we found a certain piece of technology in the cockpit or a certain control tower where there were there were a lot of issues, but instead what we're finding is that pilots, ground crews and controllers alike seem to be experiencing this uptick. some have described it as a kind of rust. but that that needs to turn into a very concrete diagnosis and specific action steps. we're not going to wait for something worse to happen to act now. the other issue here. no o

airways pilot captain sully sullenberger, wh pulled off the miracle on th hudson in 2009, had this warning are indications that's as good as a job as we've done in this complex system, there's always improvements that can b made we still have work to do >> it's good to see captai sully joining us now with more nbc news correspondent coverin aviation, tom costello, who is live at reagan national airpor in washington. tom, good morning. >> a, will he. good morning captain sully call these incidences, or incidences, i should say, a canary in a coal mine we have now had six runway close calls. we have just learned of th six. we'll tell you more in a minute we've had mid air turbulence issues with people injured, on woman killed we've had the incurred exploding because it ingested bird emergency landing in cuba. all of this together has gotte buffet very concerned, calling this aviation summit to dril down on safety that is coming next week >> after months of high-profil close calls, the bird strike and engine fire on tha southwest flight over cuba has put a lot of people on edge. >> people wer

captain sully sullenberger is

and even the hero of the miracle on the hudson, captain sully sullenberger says this is a can nary inave to address it. here is what the faa chief says. >> i want to hear from the participants about what they are seeing in their own operations. and more important i want specific ideas about how to enhance our already robust safety net with concrete actions. >> let's be very clear. we had an incredible string of very safe skies. we haven't had a fatal accident in this country, thank god, a commercial airliner since 2009. the system is very safe. the concern is are we seeing complacency kind of seep into the system because it is now operating back at full throttle, full capacity, following covid. that's going to be the core issue that they're going to be addressing. potentially complacency in the cockpit, complacency in control towers as well. >> more, tom, than the other things i think you and i have talked about in the past, which is the concern that the systems have not come up, you know, kept up with the demand, have not kept up with the technology. >> i think that's right. concern

it's something we've heard about from pilots from labor groups from captain sully sullenberger duringr prime time special on aviation safety earlier this month, and now we're hearing about it from the acting head of the faa, he says , essentially, that the air travel rebound is happening faster than aviation workers can handle. billy nolan, the acting head of the faa, made these remarks during an internal faa meeting in baltimore just yesterday but was interesting here is that this was also echoed by transportation. asian secretary pete buddha judge during my exclusive interview with him earlier this month. there would be one thing if we found a certain piece of technology in the cockpit or a certain control tower where there were there were a lot of issues, but instead what we're finding is that pilots, ground crews and controllers alike seem to be experiencing this uptick. some have described it as a kind of rust. but that that needs to turn into a very concrete diagnosis and specific action steps. we're not going to wait for something worse to happen to act now. the other element h

. >> so, captain sully sullenberger who landed the plane in the hudson, miracle on the hudson, he was on the "today" show this morning and called this threat of incident canaries in the coal mine, is that what you're getting to here, these are symptoms of a larger problem that needs to be addressed? >> 100%. the faa is pulling together all stakeholders and government officials next week in a safety roundtable so we can get at some of these issues because there has been be too many, too often, and there seems to be a real problem here brewing. we have got to take this very seriously and get back to our number one job in aviation, for all stakeholders and government working together to make sure that safety is first. >> sarah nelson, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >>> still ahead, collapsed roofs, blocked roads and emergency rescurescues, dwindli supplies, inside the dire snow situation in california. >> people want to go to their homes. let them home. >> my husband can't even come home. he's stuck at the bottom of the hill. >> more from residents who are still stranded and the

hopefully folks like captain sully sullenberger -- >> just to bring that up, he wrote an op-ed in "theramount. you can't cheapen the pilot training and experience. what do the airlines say when you talk about this? you're mentioning what the faa says what about the airlines who say there's huge demand for flights, we need to get more up there >> thank goodness we've got captain sullenberger who has lived through an experience and knows what it takes. what the airlines is exactly what you expect them to say. oh, no, we're all about the safety margin and trained pilots and experience but behind closed doors they are lobbying to reduce the atp rule. that's that one that people call the 1500 it's really 750 hours to 1500. i have slide shows that we've gotten ahold of. they have shown pictures of basically a pc computer in someone's basement and giving credit for a pilot to gather hours. it's a -- they're going a back doorway and they're trying to utilize sem imulator credit. i can tell you there's a big difference when you're on a simulator and you're in the sky and real things are happeni

but as miracle on the hudson pilot captain sully sullenberger recently told savannah, air travel should never be taken for granted. >> do you think there is a sense of complacency that sets in when air travel has been thankfully so safe? >> yes we have become the victims of our own success. >> at today's summit, the ntsb plans to renew its call for longer cockpit voice recordings. right now the devices only capture two hours of audio and the ntsb says it wants 25 hours to better investigate these incidents. craig? >> gabe gutierrez for us there at reagan national thank you. >>> a lot of sports fans, it is the most wonderful time of the year the ncaa tournament tipping off last night, with a pair of games in the first four round. some call them the play-in games. so in the late matchup, pittsburgh took the lead over mississippi state, with 9 seconds to go. the bull dogs had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but oh, oh, 60-59. heartbreaker next up the panthers face iowa state on friday. >> the early game, it was texas a&m, corpus christi, beating southeast missouri state, the final there

demonstrate captain sullenberger's heroics were less a miracle and why hard earned pilot skills and experience is so important. on that fateful day in january his first officer had a 208 seconds between losing the thrust and landing in the hudson river. fortunately for the 155 passengers on board, both captain and first officer had an accrued 20000 hours of flight time prior to that extreme emergencycc each. their combined 40000 hours of actual flight time contributed to the swift and coordinated response. of course safety does not begin or end in the air. we must also make secure top party for flight attendants, gate agents and other frontline aviation workers. the number of unrulyn passenges reports came down in 2022 from all-time peak but they remain to hybrid there nearly 2500 unruly passenger reports last year alone. a few weeks ago passenger on board united airlines flight from los- angeles to boston trd to stab a flight attendant with that metal handle of a broken spoon. buy gear coats out the servants passenger was arrested for assaulting a gate agent in atlanta after his behavior aboa

retired captain sully sullenberger had this warning about the recent safety scares. >> they should concernive at reagan national airport in washington. good morning, tom. >> reporter: good morning. captain sully called these instances a canary in coal mine. we've had these midair turbulence issues with people injured, one woman killed. we've had the engine exploding because it ingested a bird, emergency landing in cuba. this all has the faa concerned, calling this aviation summit to drill down on safety that's coming next week. after months of high-profile close calls, the bird strike and engine fire on that southwest flight over cuba has put a lot of people on edge. >> people were screaming not knowing what to do. we kept trying to breathe. it was filling up with more smoke. >> reporter: thankfully, the plane landed safely back in havana. if you lose an engine or a computer system, you have multiple fail safes, right? >> absolutely. you've got two to three systems to back each other up for each system. >> reporter: mark weiss is a former american airlines captain. >> the airplanes are cer