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PLANE COULD JUST VANISH?
JOINING ME ON THE PHONE, JAMES,
YOU CONDUCTED THE CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION INTO TWA FLIGHT
800, WHICH EXPLODED SHORTLY
AFTER TAKEOFF FROM JFK IN 1996.
WALK US THROUGH.
WHAT ARE INVESTIGATORS DOING
RIGHT NOW?
>> WELL, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF
THINGS GOING ON, AT LEAST IT
WOULD BE IN IT WAS IN THE UNITED
STATES TERRITORY.
YOU CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT
HAPPENED.
THE FBI HAS TO ASSUME IT'S
TERRORISM AND DO THE TYPES OF
THINGS TO CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY
INVESTIGATION.
YOU CAN'T GO BACK LATER AND TALK
TO WITNESSES THAT MIGHT HAVE SAW
SOMETHING OR LOOK AT RADARS OR
LOOK AT OVERHEAD SATELLITES AND
ALL OF THESE THINGS.
IT'S VERY, VERY ACTIVE.
IT'S COMPLEX NOW.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO OR
THREE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE THE PLANE
IS.
THE RADAR COVERAGE IS SKETCHY,
AT BEST.
AND THEY ARE LOOKING IN THE
WATER BUT THEY SHOULD ALSO
PROBABLY LOOK ON LAND IN
VIETNAM.
THERE'S AREAS OF VIETNAM WHERE
PLANES GO IN AND PEOPLE WOULDN'T
EVEN KNOW IT.
SO IT'S A LIKE AS MUCH AS IT IS
IN A TRACK DEE DEE AND IT'S
LIKELY OVER WATER BUT THAT'S IT.
>> DO YOU SEE ANY SIMILARITIES
PER SE BETWEEN THIS CRASH AND
THE TWA 800 CRASH?
>> IF THEY SAW DEBRIS, YES.
BECAUSE OF THIS HUGE FIREBALL
THAT TOOK PLACE, SEEN BY OTHER
PLANES TRANSITING THE AREAS, WE
KNEW WITHIN FIVE MINUTES THAT
THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION AND THAT
IT HAD DROPPED OFF THE RADAR.
SO UNLIKE THIS SITUATION, WE
KNEW THAT RIGHT AWAY.
WITHIN 24 HOURS WE HAD A 10 TO
15-MILE DEBRIS FIELD FLOATING IN
ALL DIRECTIONS AND WE EVENTUALLY
FOUND DEBRIS AS FAR SOUTH AS
CAPE MAY AND UP IN THE NANTUCKET
AREA AND OTHER PLACES.
SO THEY ARE GOING TO BE VERY
CONCERNED ABOUT OTHER PLACES,
THE SHORELINES WHERE DEGRBRIS
COULD FLOAT IN FROM ANY
DIRECTION BECAUSE OF THE WINDS.
IF THEY FIND THE PLANE, THEY ARE
GOING TO WANT THE BLACK BOXES,
WHICH ARE ORANGE, BUT THEY CALL
THEM BLACK BOXES.
IN TWA, WE WERE LOOKING AT 120
FEET OF WATER.
IF THIS DID GO INTO THE OCEAN
AND IF THERE WAS A CATASTROPHIC
BREAK-UP AT ALTITUDE OR IF THE
PILOTS FLEW IT INTO THE OCEAN
THEMSELVES, DEPENDING ON THE
DEPTH OF THE WATER, YOU'RE GOING
TO HAVE A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT
TIME.
130 FEET WAS A BIG PROBLEM FOR
US.
WE HAD ALL OF THE RESOURCES OF
THE U.S. NAVY HELPING US.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'LL DO
OVER THERE IF IT'S 1,000 FEET
DEEP.
>> IT'S MIND BOGGLING THAT THEY
HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT IS, AT
LEAST FOR NOW.
OTHERS ARE COMPARING THIS
INCIDENT TO THE LAST PLANE TO
JUST VANISH, AIR FRANCE FLIGHT
447 HEADED FROM PARIS BACK TO
RIO DE JANEIRO BACK IN 2009.
BLACK BOXES WEREN'T FOUND IN
THAT DISASTER ABOUT TWO YEARS
LATER.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE'LL HAVE
THAT KIND OF TIME GO BY OR EVEN
LONGER?
>> I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE.
THE BLACK BOXES ARE GOING TO BE
TRANSMITTING SIGNALS BUT THEY
DON'T LAST FOREVER.
I THINK THEY LAST FOR ABOUT 30
DAYS.
IT'S MYSTERIOUS TO ME -- I'M NOT
AN AIRCRAFT ENGINEER, BUT IT'S
MYSTERIOUS TO ME THAT ALL OF THE
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS ON THE
PLANE, WHICH IS RELATIVELY NEW
AND IT'S IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
WITH THE PLANE TALKING TO BOEING
AND THE AIRLINE COMPANY ATHE AIR