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Quest Means Business
Far-Right AfD Scores Landslide Win in Germany's Saxony-Anhalt; Oil Prices Hover Near Highest Levels in Six Weeks; NTSB Holds First New Briefing on Amazon Cargo Plane Crash; Bown: United States Needs Its Neighbors To Counter China. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 07, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:37]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So U.S. markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday, but as you can see there in Europe, stocks ended the day
relatively flat and that was despite a political earthquake in the region's largest economy, and we will have much more on that in just a moment. Those
are the markets and these are the main events.
Moments from now, investigators will give an update on the deadly Miami cargo plane crash that killed five people.
Germany's government is on shaky ground after a far-right surge in regional elections, and President Trump is calling for a U.S. boycott of plane
maker, Bombardier. The latest salvo in his trade war with Canada.
Live from New York. It is Monday, September 7th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening.
Tonight, a political shock wave in Europe and around the world. In fact, after a far-right party's victory in the region of Saxony-Anhalt in
Germany. The Alternative for Germany carried about 44 percent of that vote, far more than any other party. The win delivered the AfD 39 of 83 seats in
Parliament, which is in fact just short of the 42 it needed for an absolute majority.
Now, the AfD campaigned hard on a so-called re-migration platform to send non-Germans back to their native nations. The party is also openly pro-
Russian. The AfD has plans to push schools and cultural institutions toward more conservative values.
Ulrich Siegmund, the party's leading candidate, vowed not to let voters down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ULRICH SIEGMUND, LEAD CANDIDATE ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY (through translator): This election victory is a vote of confidence from the people
of this country, and we will live up to that trust. We will not give up on ourselves. We will never become like those who have rightly been punished
this evening.
We are Alternative for Germany.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: So Fred Pleitgen now explains to us what the AfD actually represents.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, they stand for being anti the political establishment here in Germany.
One of the things that Friedrich Merz said is that the election results in Saxony-Anhalt, which is actually a very small state, nevertheless, of
course, the world was watching this election that he was surprised at how bad the election results were for his governing party for the Christian
Democratic Union and that clearly meant that there were many people in Germany and in the state specifically, who felt that they were being left
behind by those reforms, and who felt that they weren't being heard.
Now, if we look at the AfD and some of its programs, some of it is actually highly controversial among many people here in Germany. First and foremost,
the terminology that went around one of these policies, which is called re- migration, which essentially means the mass deportation which the AfD wants of undocumented immigrants and of immigrants who had been accused of
crimes.
And the Chairwoman for the AfD, Alice Weidel, she told me right after the election results came in, that re-migration is very much part of their
policy and that she was in favor of mass deportations as fast as possible. On the other hand, also the AfD also very much for improving relations with
Russia, aside from some MAGA figures; also some senior Russian figures who congratulated the Alternative for Germany as well and they do believe that
they have a mandate to govern.
The main candidate of the AfD, Ulrich Siegmund, he said exactly that earlier today. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIEGMUND (through translator): This is the best result any party has achieved in Saxony-Anhalt since 1990. You really have to stop and
appreciate that fact. So this result is, of course, a mandate to govern, but, and we emphasized this yesterday too, only on the condition that we
remain true to ourselves, that we don't compromise our principles and that we don't become like those who are heavily punished by the voters in
Saxony-Anhalt yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: And so some of those main principles indeed are being tough on migration. Also, good relations with the Russian federation and cutting
both military and financial aid to Ukraine. And, you know, we've been talking about the fact that this is a very small state, only about 2.1
million people live here.
[16:05:10]
But certainly the top brass of the Alternative for Germany does believe that this could be a stepping stone for them to take power in the entire
country in the not too distant future.
NEWTON: Thanks, Fred Pleitgen there.
Now, rising economic discontent is fueling the far-right's popularity in Europe, at least in some part.
In Germany, economic growth has largely stagnated in recent years. That's combined with inflation that remains elevated above two percent. For
example, according to Volkswagen's future Plan 2030, the carmaker plans to cut a total of 100,000 jobs and halve its range of models. It cites
pressures from Chinese competitors and U.S. tariffs.
However, VW has announced a deal with an Israel investment firm to turn a car plant in Northwestern Germany into a defense production facility.
Anna Stewart is in London, and she has been following all of this for us. Anna, look, we don't want to describe this in totality as an economic
problem. Certainly, Fred reviewed the cultural issues, the issues about immigration, but the economy plays a huge role in this, doesn't it?
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: And it has been really struggling in recent years. It barely grew last year. It was in decline the two years before
that. This year though, I mean, it is looking like it might be making some recovery. I think they were expecting growth of 1.2 percent in terms of
GDP, which is slightly outperforming the E.U., but there are lots of course, pride in certain industrial powerhouses in Germany that have always
been, you know, heart of the German economy and cars is one of them.
And this is an industry that has been in decline now for a few years, and actually not just in Germany. I think you can broaden it out. It is not
really a German problem. This is a European issue. Part of it is the shift to electric cars, and much of Europe has been behind on that, and the big
competitor, of is China and Chinese automakers, many of them make their own batteries.
You know, they have control over the raw materials that make many of these batteries. And as a result, it is incredibly hard or maybe even impossible
to really compete with Chinese automakers, even if they are making cars in Europe like BYD, which has a big factory in Hungary, because they are
buying the batteries from themselves at cost. Everyone else is having to import them for a lot more money.
So you have the structural issue there with the competition with China and, you know, lack of subsidies, perhaps in Europe compared to somewhere like
China. There is also for this company, particularly massive issue in terms of U.S. tariffs costing it billions of dollars a year if it continues.
Tariffs from the U.S. were set at 25 percent until President Trump reduced it to 10 percent, so there are all of these little issues that have been
really hurting a car company like Volkswagen. But also today we had Jaguar Land Rover announcing job cuts of 4,000.
What is particularly interesting, though, Paula, about this Volkswagen story is the fact that they are currently managing a restructuring, big job
losses, factory closures. But they are doing so in talks with union stakeholders, local governments, and you can see here that one of the
factories that is going to be mothballed is actually going to be transformed into something that can make defense components, and that leads
you to where Germany's economy is going.
The government is clearly very keen to repurpose the skilled workforce, repurpose the industrial heartland, and make it into something that is
useful for Germany right now, and defense is certainly where it is trying to invest heavily. I believe this year it is expecting to increase spending
by a third. Sorry, that's next year, $127 billion.
So all of this kind of feeds into that.
NEWTON: Feeds into that, and yet you can see where German voters feeling a little bit insecure about the economy, would then turn to what they believe
would be a solution with this party, at least in that region.
Anna Stewart, thanks for laying it out for us. Appreciate it.
Gregoire Roos is the Director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Programs at Chatham House, and he joins us now.
Thanks for being with us. So I just want to pick it up where Anna left off there on the economics of it all. Now, look, you say that politically, this
is a tremor and not an earthquake. I am wondering, though, how much more seismic activity could a declining German economy really give to this kind
of a party?
GREGOIRE ROOS, DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPE, RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAMS AT CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you, Paula, for having me. I think you're right. I
tend to go against the current of the reactions we've heard since yesterday evening. I am not sure it is an earthquake, given the fact that most of the
time an earthquake is followed by massive destructions.
And as I can see, the only casualty for now is will likely be the head of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt. The chancellor is still there, the coalition is
still there. And by the way, the victory of yesterday was to be expected, you know, so I am not sure it is a massive moment insofar as we could
expect it and there will be no major implication for Berlin in the immediate run.
[16:10:01]
But you're right, there will be upcoming local elections in the next few weeks and that is actually why the chancellor this morning in his address,
said that he had to wait for the next upcoming elections before drawing any conclusions in terms of how he should adjust his strategy.
So I think it is a significant tectonic shift. It is not seismic in its nature, but it might well be in the next few weeks if we see that
yesterday's win is confirmed by further wins throughout the country, that would put a very different complexion in the rising success of the AfD.
NEWTON: And I am wondering about the chancellor's reaction here and what he does next, especially if we lean on the economics, which perhaps might be a
better way to start than the cultural issues for the chancellor.
What can he do? Because clearly German voters have said loudly that they are not happy with the fact that he has not delivered on the promises of
making things better when he came to office.
ROOS: Well, it very much depends on the sort of boundaries he said to himself. If he were to play the demagogical card, I mean, sky is the limit,
within of course the boundaries that his party has set historically that is the debt and the debt is already a problem in itself has been a problem for
him.
Ever since last year, he very courageously -- so one has -- very courageously -- so one has to give him that, broken the debt brake to
enable significant and historically high spending on defense. So I think it would be very difficult for him. It is the sort of message of signaling
that he shared this morning in his address, simply because it will take time before the policy changes. They've been pushing together with his
economy minister bear fruits.
And it is true that for now, economic prices have been going up in Germany. This is heightened pressure on hard to abate sectors and I think Saxony is
a good example because it is a region that has suffered from industrial demotion for the past 30 years and the pharmaceutical industry is one of
the few remaining leaders in the state that has suffered from skyrocketing energy prices.
So it will be difficult to and I think the chancellor is very much aware of it. So he will have to count on the support of his SPD, the Social
Democratic Party, to find a way of crafting a new narrative.
NEWTON: We've focused on Germany. I don't have a lot of time yet. Do you think there are lessons here for the U.K. where you are or France in any
way, shape or form?
ROOS: Yes, very much so. I mean, the first one is that the AfD has walked a long way since its creation in 2013, and its moved from a party that was
actually catching votes of rejection of the mainstream parties to votes that are now votes of support to the AfD, and this is mostly due to the
fact that its leaders, and especially Ulrich Siegmund that that you have mentioned has managed to lead a very successful campaign appealing to new
voters.
And I checked the figures this morning. It is quite impressive to see that they managed to convince nearly 200, 000 unconvinced voters. So Germans who
had planned not to cast their ballot. It says a lot about how appealing the AfD has managed to emerge and how appealing they've managed to make their
agenda look.
So for anyone across Europe, including in the U.K. that really wants to combat the far-right, it will be important to understand that voters expect
politicians that appeal to their emotions, and I think that's also a lesson for Chancellor Merz that he recognized in his address this morning.
NEWTON: Yes, again, you point to in your writing this issue of mobilization of voters, and you'd think many would have learned their lesson from here
in the United States, because President Trump, in two elections now has done an impressive job of getting people to vote where they were not
motivated to vote before.
We have to leave it there for now. Gregoire Roos, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
ROOS: Pleasure, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, a Nigerian oil refinery has signed the papers to go public. The CEO of Dangote Group says its set to be the largest IPO in Africa's
history. We will have much more on that after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:16:04]
NEWTON: Fresh strikes reportedly hit Saudi Aramco's oil refinery in Jizan on Monday. It is just six weeks after a Houthi attack partially wiped out
production at that facility. This, plus more exchanges over the weekend between the U.S. and Iran is driving up oil prices. You see them there.
Also, you see that Brent crude briefly touched its highest level in weeks.
Robert McNally is the President of consulting firm, Rapidan Energy Group. He also served as a White House energy adviser to President George W. Bush.
Thanks for being with us as we continue here on this Labor Day holiday, to all think about these oil prices. Can you give us a status report? Where
are we? What are the most pernicious risks right now in the energy market? And I might add that, you know, this includes not just the conflict in
Iran, but significantly, what Ukraine has done to wipe out some of Russia's energy infrastructure as well.
ROBERT MCNALLY, PRESIDENT, RAPIDAN ENERGY GROUP: Hi, Paula. Good to be with you.
We are in a pickle as the summer comes to an end and we look to the fall. At this point, we really have to as consumers, we have to hope for no
storms, no hurricanes that disrupt refining capacity. Because as we end the summer, what we are learning is the calm, the relative calm that had
descended over crude oil markets this summer is starting to go away.
As you said, we are now pressing against $100.00 a barrel and that is because while the U.S. Military has been very successful at restoring about
half the flows through Hormuz, that's a half we still don't have and there still is this deficit in the market.
But the bigger issue, Paula, is for what you and I put in our tanks, right? We don't consume crude, you and I, we consume heating oil or distillate.
The whole economy really uses that -- transportation, mining, et cetera.
And the margin for turning crude oil into distillate is at record highs above $100.00 a barrel. So the fuel that actually we use that matters is
quite tight. So the risk here going forward is that if we see any interruption in these flows, if the war gets hotter with Iran, and as you
mentioned, Ukraine has been very successful at hitting Russian refineries.
Russia was the second largest exporter of distillate fuel to the world after the United States, but they've had to ban their sales. So from a
consumer perspective, the worst case would be bad weather, a prolonged Hormuz disruption, and tightness in these fuels that are so important for
modern life and the economy.
NEWTON: Given the U.S.' continued, I would say, stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz with varying results and what Secretary Bessent says that is, oh,
forgive me, forgive me, Mr. McNally -- we are about to go to the NTC presser and they will discuss the crash in Miami Airport. Let's listen in.
[16:20:00]
JENNIFER HOMENDY, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD CHAIR: -- if you are not familiar with the National Transportation Safety Board or NTSB, we are
an independent federal agency that's charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events,
accidents and incidents in all other modes of transportation.
We are here with a pretty large team, and I will talk about the team and our process in a second. But we are here at Miami International Airport to
investigate an accident that occurred yesterday at 1:53 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time involving Amazon Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767-33 Alpha,
which was operated by 21 Air LLC, based in Miami.
I want to pause for a moment before I continue on and talk about the investigation and extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost
loved ones in this terrible tragedy, and to the families of those who were -- who suffered serious or minor injuries. We can only imagine all that
you're going through.
Please know that our hearts go out to all of you and know that we are deeply, deeply committed to our duty, our responsibilities as an
investigative agency to determine how this accident occurred, why it happened with one goal in mind, safety, and that is to prevent it from
happening again. We do that by issuing safety recommendations in our final report at the end of the investigation, along with probable cause and
findings. Those safety recommendations are aimed at preventing the next tragedy and then we work diligently to make sure those recommendations are
implemented and lives are saved.
Speaking of saving lives, I want to thank the work of all the first responders on scene and those who continue to be on scene, specifically in
Miami Airport, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Department, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the local FBI. Now the local FBI who many of you may have seen, is a force
multiplier for the NTSB. We have a Memorandum of Agreement with them. They have been extremely supportive over the years in helping us collect
evidence in investigations. So, they are here.
I also want to thank the numerous federal, state and local officials, including the mayor, Mayor Cava, who offered support, significant support,
you know, for the NTSB. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Commissioner, and to others, Deputy Mayor -- for offering your support. Certainly we could never
do what we do at the NTSB without your help, and so thank you for that.
What we know so far is the flight was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, with two crew members on board. This was the third flight for the aircraft
-- that aircraft yesterday. It went from Cincinnati to Miami, Miami to San Juan and San Juan back to Miami.
It overran Runway three-zero on landing; struck navigational aids and equipment then impacted a 2012 white Ford Econoline van that was owned by
Professional Ocean Service Corporation, which is a contract cleaning company for the airlines. In the van were seven persons on board.
The aircraft then traveled through a perimeter fence and impacted a Toyota Corolla Cross LE, which was traveling on Northwest 67th Avenue and then
continued into the grass and impacted another fence line, which separated an area where Tesla robo taxis were stationed.
[16:25:18]
In total, it was about 1,300 feet past the paved surface.
Now, I want to set expectations for providing investigative information tonight. I'm really only going to talk about our process, what we did
today, what we're going to do tomorrow, and there's a reason for that. We have a very large team. We have a team of 32 people here that includes us.
We began arriving on scene at 6:00 P.M. last night. That continued through the night with many of our personnel going to Fort Lauderdale and driving
here.
And then we had personnel arriving throughout the day, really through the last half hour, so our team is all -- was all en route today. I arrived
this morning and went straight to the scene.
We have begun collecting investigative information. We do have data and information, but we are a very thorough, fact-based agency, and we don't
release that information until we have verified it and are able to provide that verified information to the public, which we hope to do with much of
the information tomorrow.
Now, as I said, we did go to the -- we went to the accident command post today and we're on scene. Certainly, I walked the path from the runway,
past the vehicles and to where the aircraft came to rest. We had to be somewhat cautious today because first and foremost is our concern for the
safety of our personnel. We are a safety agency.
There's fuel everywhere that will have to be remediated, but then they are also removing fuel from the aircraft, so we have to allow that to occur.
And as we speak, recovery operations continue.
The recovery of victims is most important. The investigation and access to the aircraft, as well as evidence, can wait while that goes for that -- the
recovery operations go forward. That is most important, reuniting families with their loved ones is most important.
And so we want to respect that process and do what we can to begin our investigative duties, but allow what's most important to go forward.
Tomorrow, let me talk a little bit about tomorrow. Wait, before I go to tomorrow, we were able to recover the flight data and the cockpit voice
recorder that is going back to the NTSB tonight in just a couple of hours and we'll be at headquarters where it can be evaluated and downloaded.
Tomorrow, you know, so the entire team of 32 personnel, our investigators break up into specific areas to look at areas of an investigation and
collect information.
We'll have a group of investigators focused on operations and human performance. They will look at the history of the accident flight, look at
the flight crew experience, training, 21 Air LLC policies and procedures, their relationship, the contractual relationship with Amazon.
We'll also look at FAA oversight of all involved operators. We'll look at air traffic control, a team will look at that; air traffic services, radar
data and we will look at controller pilot transmissions.
We'll look at aircraft performance, we have a specialist here focused on that. We have a team focused on structures, so they'll go in and begin
documenting the scene and look at the aircraft wreckage; airframe wreckage, sorry.
We have a team looking at airplane systems. They'll examine the components of the airplane's hydraulic, electrical, navigational, pneumatic and
associated systems that includes instruments and the flight controls. We have a team focused on power plants, that's the engines. And then we have a
meteorologist, a specialist here that will begin looking at forecast and weather conditions on landing and we have a team that will look at airport
survival factors and emergency response.
They will look at notices to -- any notices to airmen that were issued, runway design. They'll look at fire and rescue, and they will look at the
lack thereof of an Engineered Materials Arresting System or EMAS. And I'm sure that you all have been looking at that for those watching that are not
familiar, what this is, is crushable lightweight material that's at the end of a runway that safely stops an aircraft.
[16:31:03]
So, we will look at that. It's not at every airport across the nation. FAA data, we still have to confirm and look at that, is about 72 airports
across the U.S.
And then, we have a team, our transportation disaster assistance team. They work with the families of -- and we have a very broad definition of
families. So, the -- those that were -- who -- were tragically killed, and then, also those who were seriously injured or minor injuries.
We'll be here for at least a week. We will not be determining probable cause while we are on scene. We are here to document the scene and to
collect the perishable evidence.
One thing the public could really help us with is if you think you have photos or videos or information that is relevant to this investigation, we
would ask that you send those in to witness@ntsb.gov. That's witness@NTSB.gov.
Please only send information that is relevant to this investigation. I have been part of investigations where people have sent fake photos. That really
does impact our ability as to get through those -- that information, because our team has to track down each of those photos and that
information coming in.
But the public has been very helpful in the past by providing photos and videos that were really helpful in our investigation and giving us great
information.
With that, I -- do you have anything you want to add?
With that, I will ask if you have questions, please raise your hand. Please state your name and your affiliation. I will call on you. Please limit it
to one question. If we have to do multiple rounds, we will. We'll go right here.
With that, I -- do you have anything you want to add. With that, I will ask the questions. Please raise your hand. Please state your name and your
affiliation. I will call on you. Please limit it to one question. If we have to do multiple rounds, we will. We'll go right here.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: NTSB, the question is the status -- the health status of the flight crew, the pilot, co-pilot --
HOMENDY: The NTSB, does not comment the status of -- health status of individuals that we move to the authority. So, we would encourage you to
contact the authorities for that information.
Come back to that. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) now. It was -- NTSB's recommendation 1984 that led to development of EMAS technology in the first place. But is only
require when the runway area is under a thousand feet.
For both of you, I guess my question is: do you believe in EMAS would have made a difference yesterday, and should they be installed everywhere?
HOMENDY: Those are excellent questions. The questions are on EMAS, and whether that would have help to prevent this tragedy, and should the EMAS
be everywhere at every airport? That will be a key part of our investigation. Thank you for asking,
Pete.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Pete Muntean with CNN.
Can you just describe the scene for us? It sounds like a pretty long trail of destruction, and can you just lay it out for us?
HOMENDY: Yes, it's -- I would describe it in word -- one word of devastating, utter devastation.
[16:35:03]
I mean, you can see in the -- on the paved surface tire marks that continues through the grass. There is debris everywhere. The Econoline van
is torn apart. It is, you know, certainly must have been devastating.
And then, the vehicle itself, the SUV. You can see airbags, the surrounding airbags. You can see components from vehicles, both passenger vehicles and
the aircraft itself.
Certainly, navigate -- components of navigational aids, some of debris from the airport, and then, certainly fencing everywhere. It's pretty extensive.
MUNTEAN: Hard to see.
HOMENDY: Hard to see and I'm sure it must have been very difficult for the responders as well.
Yes, and then, we'll go over here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), The New York Times. Any sense of the speed of the aircraft descending and why they chose not to go around again?
HOMENDY: Yes. So, the question is on the speed of the aircraft on landing and why they wouldn't have gone around again. A couple of things, we do
want to interview the crew -- we'll have to interview the crew, we'll have to interview others. We are going to want to talk to crew members of
flights that may have landed prior to this flight, and then -- what was your first question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: why then -- the speed.
HOMENDY: Oh, their speed. We do have information on speed. We do have data, but it's from various sources, and we want to confirm that data with the
flight data recorder. So, we are going to hold on that for now. But I hope that we can provide that tomorrow.
Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), NBC. Have we been able to speak with the pilot, or co-pilot, or any of the survivors of the crash at this time?
HOMENDY: Have we been able to speak with the pilot, co-pilot, or survivor - - survivors of the crash at this time. Our transportation disaster assistance team is out and about. I have not connected with them to see who
they have communicated with. We have not conducted interviews yet, but those are being scheduled.
Here and then here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeff, with the (INAUDIBLE). Any sense of (INAUDIBLE) history of the pilot and co-pilot? How long they have been, been in the
airport? How many hours -- fly. Can you tell us anything about the pilot?
HOMENDY: Question is on pilot experience. Again, you know, we have some information, but we need to be very accurate on the information that we can
provide, and we hope to have that tomorrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) experience -- the pilot?
HOMENDY: We'll get back to you tomorrow on that. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. David (INAUDIBLE) of (INAUDIBLE).
Any indication that the (INAUDIBLE) information like, weather information or runway information or anything like that, that maybe they were not
received or were able to received?
HOMENDY: Any indication that the pilots were not able to receive, or didn't receive, or were not able to receive some information like weather
information, or --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) numbers, something like that.
HOMENDY: That will be something that we look at. We look at that as part of any investigation, but we don't have evidence to that yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, we are covering runway excursions with incredible regularity for EMAS days in the last year, there was a runway excursion, I
think, like in Chattanooga just last month.
What goes through -- are these happening too often? I mean, what goes through your head when you see this incident and consider it sort of zoomed
out in the grand scheme of all these other incidents of life?
HOMENDY: Well, zoomed out, I mean, first let me let me say that we have an incredibly safe aviation system here in the United States.
With that said, when a tragedy occurs, it's very -- it's devastating. So, saying we have an incredibly safe aviation system to somebody who just lost
a loved one is not something that they want to hear, because they are suffering.
With that said, that's why we are here to prevent the next tragedy. I will say this though. We have investigated many runway excursions, and I looked
at the numbers. I think, it was over 3,000 investigations since 2008, and we can only work to prevent the next one if our recommendations, at the end
of an investigation are implemented.
[16:40:04]
If we are in the business of repeatedly investigating an accident or tragedy, and our recommendations are not implemented, then, we are here
again and again and again. Our whole goal as a safety agency is one thing: its safety is to save lives, and that means our recommendations must be
implemented, or we are going to be here again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, they are happening too often?
HOMENDY: I won't say that. There -- the question is, are they happening too often. One is too often for the NTSB. Just one.
So, you know, here we have people who died, and other ones we have not had fatalities. But just one is a tragedy. We will go here. Go here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounds like two of the runways are still closed here at (INAUDIBLE). When will the plane likely be removed? and what would that
process look like?
HOMENDY: The question is when will the -- two runways are operational two are closed. What will the process look like for getting those operational
again and removing the aircraft.
First of all, we need to document the scene, and we need to get access to the aircraft itself. We do not have that yet.
Again, recovery operations are continuing. It is not a completely safe scene for our team as well. We have to ensure that before we even begin our
investigative work on the aircraft side. Certainly, we can -- we are already documenting tire marks, other investigative marks along the path of
the flight, but it's going to take time.
We hope that we can move through it swiftly because we know it is impacting flight operations here. But we have to make sure that we are able to get
access to the aircraft first.
Here and then here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any concern about the age or the ownership history of the plane? Is that something you guys are going to look into?
HOMENDY: Any concern about the age or ownership of the plane? That is something we always look into. I believe it was manufactured in 1994. We
will always -- we always look at that as part of any investigation. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) from (INAUDIBLE) you mentioned just now you all investigated more than 3,000 of these airport runway excursions since
(INAUDIBLE). Any clue or idea what recommendations you all could be presenting, or I guess, give this idea of recommendations you all presented
in the past.
HOMENDY: Yes. So, I have looked at our -- the question is, what -- are there any recommendations in the past that might be applicable here, or
have we looked at potential recommendations now? It's too early.
Right now, we are in the fact-finding phase of the investigation. Then, we move into analysis once we have all the facts complete.
Certainly, we have looked at -- we have a list of what those past recommendations are and the status of those recommendations, but it's too
early to say whether they were a factor here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last question.
HOMENDY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were the victims in the van was the victim -- was there a victim limited to those two vehicles?
HOMENDY: The question is were the victims limited to those two vehicles? Yes, it was the Econoline van transporting the workers with the cleaning
company. And the passenger vehicle, the Toyota Corolla Cross.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That van was -- the van was on the inside of the --
HOMENDY: Van was on the inside of the airport. The small SUV was on the outside. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you said -- you said that part of the investigation, looking at the relationship between (INAUDIBLE) and Amazon. What are you --
what are you looking for exactly?
HOMENDY: What does that -- what does it mean, as part of the investigation when we are looking at the relationship or contractual relationship between
Amazon and 21 Air. So, this is an Amazon operation or operation for transporting cargo, but it's actually contracted to 21 Air.
So, we are going to want to see what that relationship is, who does what, what safety provisions might be in any sort of contracts or any sort of
policies, and then, we will see from there we might even have additional information that we seek.
[16:45:07]
Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you.
HOMENDY: And just please keep an eye on our X feed for the next press briefing, which will be tomorrow. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And you have been listening to Jennifer Homendy. She is the chair of the NTSB, giving really what are the parameters of the investigation.
Not willing to give up too much information right now, as she says they need to clarify exactly what they have and make sure it's accurate.
I want to bring in our Mary Schiavo, who is a CNN aviation analyst, who is listening in with us.
I mean, she did provide information, Mary, and the fact that, that van with seven people on board, and then, the one vehicle that was outside the
perimeter that -- that's where the fatalities occurred. Five people are dead, five others injured, three critically, and that is an important piece
of information because she had just said that, that van was actually inside the perimeter.
But Mary, I want to get to the heart of the matter immediately. It has been said that perhaps some kind of an arresting system at this airport would
have been helpful, and she went on to say that she looked at the data, 3,000 investigations since 2008, and then, underscored again that if people
follow the recommendations, that it can save lives.
What does all of this tell you? And again, I want to point out, she is saying, wait until tomorrow they will have much more to tell us.
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes. Well, I -- you know, I can -- I can understand her frustration, because even back when I was inspector
general, what we found is the NTSB would make so many wonderful life-saving recommendations, and the FAA would just say oh, we'll study it. But they
wouldn't adopt them, or they say we disagree.
And then, a few years later we would have another accident and another accident. And I am sure that she is going to do her best to make sure some
changes are made in getting more arrestor beds, because 20 -- at least, 26 aircraft have been saved since the first one was installed in 1996.
And about 500 people's lives were saved. And yet, the FAA says you don't need them unless, you know, unless you don't have thousand feet beyond the
end of the runway. Well, guess what? This plane, she said, went over 1,300 feet, maybe 1,500 feet beyond the end of the runway. So, you need them
wherever the airport is, completely surrounded by population, businesses, roads, et cetera.
So, that was a pretty good clue as to one of the things that the NTSB is really going to be looking at. She also said the ownership and operation of
this airline, because Amazon has had prior accidents. One -- a fatal one in Texas in 2019, for example.
And she is going to be look at the training, anything related to, you know, the flight qualifications, backgrounds, training, you name it.
And they have several teams. They are looking at the weather, which is important, see what effect that had. The airport, in addition to just these
arrestor beds, the conditions of the runway. So, they are bringing a pretty full team. And these are work teams that they put together specifically for
this accident.
So, we know this is going to be a very robust investigation. And she did say they have a lot of information already, but she is asking the public
for any videos and films because they are extremely helpful in any accident.
In some cases, in cases I've worked, accidents I've worked, public videos and pictures have been the crucial evidence have made the difference in
some of the factual findings and actually finding out what happened.
So, that was a very important plea, and I hope people do respond.
NEWTON: Mary, to just follow up on that point, I mean, CNN's reporting is that the pilot, the co-pilot, did not say that there was anything wrong
before this incident.
What does that tell you in terms of what more we heard from her just moments ago? And again, I bring up things like she gave the parameters of
the investigation, whether it was training or the weather. What does that tell you about the fact that there was no warning that this plane was in
trouble?
SCHIAVO: Yes, but she closed that loop, I think, my opinion. She closed that loop by saying, but the NTSB already has the black boxes, including
the flight data recorder and the cognitive voice recorder, and there already winging their way to Washington, D.C. to the lab.
Now, if there are any problems indicated in that aircraft before the landing, they should be on the flight data recorder. Although, there is a
caveat here, because this is a 1992 or '94 plane. And back then, the flight data recorders only recorded like 17 or 18 different parameters.
Now, by law, they must record over 88 airspeed, all instrument settings, engine settings, flight control settings. You get a wealth of data.
[16:50:02]
So, they will have, you know, kind of data light, but they will have it. And of course, she mentioned they haven't gotten to interview the pilots
yet. That that's going to be hugely important, because of all the video and the black boxes, they'll have a great idea of what happened.
What they don't know now is why. Why was this such an unstable approach to land?
NEWTON: Yes, as you point out, Mary, so significant that she had pointed out they did not speak to the pilots yet.
I only have about a minute left here. She did say that she would speak again tomorrow. How much more information do you expect us to have
tomorrow, given that they are giving a briefing?
SCHIAVO: Well, I think, they will probably try to interview the pilots while the information is still fresh. That's one of the, you know, that's
one of the things that they really try to do. They don't want to wait too long, and the pilots are supposed, you know, are of course supposed to
cooperate, and you know, almost always do. But they are in the hospital, and then, while as soon as they get this data in these black boxes in the
lab, they can download the data. The flight data recorder has to be interpreted. It's you know basically computer printouts.
The cockpit voice recorder is never released. Only a transcript is. So, they will have to prepare a transcript. It's considered that the pilots
have privacy rights in their actual voices.
So, it will be a transcript. But the -- but the NTSB gets to hear the actual voices.
NEWTON: Mary Schiavo, for us. Always so grateful to you to explain all of this to us. Is again of great interest to anyone flying today or other days
in the weeks and months to come.
SCHIAVO: Sure.
NEWTON: Mary Schiavo for us, thanks so much.
Now the clock is ticking --
(CROSSTALK)
SCHIAVO: Thank you.
NEWTON: The clock is ticking down on Canada's tit-for-tat tariffs. And just hours from now, levies of up to 50 percent on hundreds of U.S. goods are
set to take effect. In a sign of the growing tensions between the two countries, Trump has now threatened to boycott Canadian airline maker,
Bombardier, unless they move manufacturing to the United States.
I will fact check that they already have manufacturing in the United States.
Speaking on Truth Social, Trump declared, "No more selling Bombardier in the United States. Their products are not good enough."
He went on to say, "If they want the U.S. market, they must build here and stop treating the U.S. like a piggy bank.
Now, according to my next guest, China may be the biggest winner in this growing trade war between the U.S. and Canada. The economist Chad Bown
argues that Trump's tariffs are weakening North America's collective power. The more the neighbors fight amongst themselves, the less able they are to
compete with China's growing economic power.
Chad Bown is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and he has served as the chief economist at the U.S. State
Department, as he continues his work to try and figure out what is going on here.
You join us now from Washington. You know, you warn that the Trump administration may think they are hitting out at Canada with these tariffs,
but as we just outlined, they are actually strengthening China's global economic strategy.
Can you spell it out, though, for us, because of course the Trump administration is basically equating China with Canada, saying, both are
unfair traders.
CHAD BOWN, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIST, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE: Yes, that's the bit of the puzzle. So, essentially, the Trump administration's
strategy at the moment is to impose or threaten to impose a lot of tariffs on Canada, and it's essentially the president wants to do more
manufacturing in the United States.
So, if you take a sector like automobiles, for example, he wants more of the plants, more of the auto part companies, all of that stuff to be
located in the United States, and essentially to take it away, what's already there from Canada.
And the concern with that is, if you were to do that, well, by using tariffs, unfortunately, the Canadian market by itself is not going to be
large enough to support a Canadian automobile industry that's for Canada only. For these sectors to be viable, they have to achieve scale. Combined,
they can achieve scale.
And the challenge is, if Canada is not allowed to have a significant enough share of the North American automobile industry, the jobs, the parts, all
that kind of stuff that goes with it, then, Canadian consumers are going to make a different choice. They are essentially going to say, you know what?
If we don't have the jobs, if we don't have the manufacturing here, then, we are just going to buy the cheapest cars, the cheapest cars out there.
And you know where the cheapest cars out there are today? They are coming from China. And so, the really big worry is that President Trump may be
shooting North American automobile manufacturing in the foot with this trade war with Canada and giving the great advantage at the end of the day
to China.
NEWTON: You know, in fact, Canada is the largest consumer of American cars outside of the United States. So, why do you believe that U.S. auto
manufacturers, specifically, but corporate America in general, hasn't really spoken out all that forcefully.
I mean, let's face the facts. Right. This is an indulgent distraction for the Trump administration when you look at what's happening with China in
general.
[16:55:04]
BOWN: Yes, it's not only in the U.S.-Canada trade fight. I think, corporate America has largely been silent over the last year and a half. When
President Trump has done lots and lots of tariffs on lots of different countries and lots of different sector, their voice has largely been absent
from the debate, and that's really a concern, because they are the ones that, at the end of the day are the -- are the ones fighting the trade war,
right?
They are the ones that have to realign their supply chains. That have to make products that are viable.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: But why? Do you think it's just fear? Do -- but do -- pardon me for interrupting. But do you think it's just fear? It is as plain as we think
it is. They are afraid to speak to the Trump administration because there will be retaliation.
BOWN: I think that's part of it. And the administration has called out companies when they have done things that the administration disagrees
with, and they have, you know, called out companies and CEOs. So, no CEO wants to be a target of any American president, certainly.
So, I do think that is a big part of it.
NEWTON: I only have about a minute left, but China is no doubt watching all of this carefully. Not least of the fact that Canada did relent, and they
are allowing almost 50,000 cars into that country. What happens next, though, given the fact that, look, there is supposed to be a summit with
China later this month.
Do you believe that the U.S. will turn its attention to what we have even seen from the German election. Right? The fact that China is really the
issue going forward, not necessarily Canada, the E.U., or any other trading bloc.
BOWN: Yes, and I think it's important to articulate why Canada or why China is really the big issue here, and to do so, just look back to what China
did in in the summer of 2025. When President Trump put 145 percent tariffs on China, China retaliated. Not -- you know, they did some tariffs of their
own. But the really hurtful thing for the U.S. economy, the North American economy, was a whole raft of export restrictions that they imposed.
So, they didn't allow American automakers, Canadian automakers, to get access to something called rare earth permanent magnets, and those are
essential inputs that all car makers need to be able to make a vehicle. Without those, you had to shut down production, and we saw announcements in
North America last year of car makers having to do that.
And it's not only those rare earth and permanent magnets that China has market dominance in. It's a lot of other essential inputs as well. But
that's the fight that not only the Trump administration, but that the United States needs Canada and Mexico and all of its other partners on
board with to push back against China.
And unfortunately, I'm not sure that's going to be a huge topic of conversation when presidents Trump and Xi meet later on this month.
Hopefully, it will be to make sure that Americans get access to those essential inputs.
NEWTON: Right.
BOWN: But we'll have to wait and see.
NEWTON: And Chad, we will leave it there for now as we continue to follow this developing trade war. Chad Bown for us. Appreciate it.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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