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The Situation Room

Investigation Underway After Deadly Miami Cargo Plane Crash; 2 Hurt As Armed Man Charges At Ohio Dem Gubernatorial Nominee; Americans Expected To Struggle With High Gas Prices Through Fall. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired September 07, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, deadly plane emergency. We're learning new details after an Amazon cargo plane overruns a runway in Miami, killing five people.

And later, fighting for change. How one family turned grief into action and is now raising awareness of brain injuries in the Coast Guard.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off. And you're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, investigators are working to uncover what caused this Amazon cargo airplane to crash just moments after it's seen in this social media video barreling off a runway at Miami International Airport at nearly 130 miles per hour, according to flight data. Another eyewitness captured this terrifying moment.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. Oh.

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SANDOVAL: As the plane slams into several vehicles and bursts into flames, killing five people and injuring five others. Joining us now is CNN safety analyst David Soucie. David, you have investigated numerous accidents. What role could wind conditions play in this crash? What do you make of all of this?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: There's going to be a lot for the investigators to look at in this accident because there's so many variables. But you can see in that video that you showed earlier that just after that truck passes by, you can see that's about the middle of the runway and the left truck or the left landing gear still isn't touching the ground at that point.

Now, there's a lot to be able to slow down an aircraft. You have speed brakes which are on top of the wing. You have wheel brakes and you have thrust reversers, but none of those work until the aircraft is firmly on the ground. So you can see that halfway down the runway, it's still going by my calculations, 153 knots at that point. And as you mentioned before, it was over 100 miles an hour when it went off the end of the runway. So there's a lot to investigate, including whether a lot of changes happen very quickly on this accident.

BROWN: And the pilots, we should note, did not declare an emergency before that landing, according to a CNN review of air traffic control audio. What does that tell you?

SOUCIE: That's an incredible clue at that point because what that tells me is that they were probably working off of the previous weather report which showed that there was only three knots of wind at that airport. However, I have a friend that was on the flight just prior to that, maybe four minutes before this. And when they came in to land, he said it was jostled everywhere. He called it a sporty landing, which is pretty scary for even this experienced pilot. He said he was jostled left and jostled right and then they landed the aircraft.

Now, here's my question is because that happened, did those pilots give a pilot report, they call it a PIREP to say, hey, there's some problems with this airport, we're having some weird wind shear at low levels. And did that get communicated back to them? The fact that they did not declare an emergency or make an immediate go round tells me that they probably didn't have that information.

BROWN: And help us better understand what the reason would be why the plane wouldn't be able to slow down after landing.

SOUCIE: OK, so that's a really good question. And the -- it appears that the speeds coming into the airport, coming into land were appropriate. I think that they were at the right speeds. Now what you expect when you land is that you're flying into the wind and so that wind is coming at your nose so you can predict exactly where it's going to take to get down on the ground.

Now in this case, what appears to have happened is the wind changed and it went to 190 degrees, which is almost parallel but behind the airplane. So at that point it changes from a nose forward wind to a tailwind which accelerates the aircraft. It literally tries to push it forward. And so at that point the airplane can't get down on the ground.

So that's appears to be what happened here is that wind shift at the last minute caused a tailwind which lifts the airplane. So it was really hard to predict without having that information about a wind shear on the ground.

BROWN: And what about the maintenance history of the plane? How important is that? Especially given the fact that it has had a history of foreign ownership in the past?

[11:05:04] SOUCIE: Well, I don't think from what we can see here, I wouldn't relate this to maintenance especially at this early stage of the investigation. But of course, the investigators will be looking at that. But what I know about the trucks are that they have to be down below 1 degree, both left and right. And the nose gear has to touch to allow the aircraft to use the thrust reversers and the wing spot -- the spoilers. So at this point, there's nothing that indicates to me any kind of a maintenance discrepancy at all. But again, the investigators will have to make that determination.

BROWN: David Soucie, thank you. We appreciate it.

SOUCIE: Well, thank you.

BROWN: And new this morning, a disturbing incident at an Ohio campaign event. An armed man is now in custody facing assault charges after authorities say he lunged a Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Amy Acton. Police say the 38-year-old suspect pushed through the crowd, knocking over some elderly attendees as Acton was speaking at a county fair. He was confronted by her security detail, according to the sheriff, and they found several weapons on him, including two firearms and a set of brass knuckles.

So let's go live now to CNN correspondent Gloria Pazmino for the very latest. What more are you learning about the suspect, Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela, you know, this was a really scary moment yesterday when we first found out about it. Amy Acton was scheduled to deliver remarks at this county fair in Ohio where this took place. And what we're seeing here is that this appears to be yet another incident of political violence that we have been seeing these types of events on the rise here in our country.

Thankfully, there were no major injuries, but it was certainly a very scary event, both for Acton, who was in the middle of delivering a speech, and for those who were there in attendance. The Mahoning County sheriff has identified the suspect as 38-year-old Patrick Havaz. And he was apprehended on site. And as you said, he is alleged to have entered the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent, which was at this county fair where the candidate was speaking. He pushed through the crowd.

He appeared to be recording while doing so. And as he lunched towards Amy Acton, her security detail was able to stop him. And it was during that scuffle that people were knocked down to the ground and injured. As you said, he has been charged with two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct. And when he was taken into custody, police found two firearms and a pair of brass knuckles.

Now, Amy Acton, as you know, is the former health director in Ohio. She's also the Democratic nominee in the very closely watched race for governor in Ohio. She's facing off against Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. We got a statement from Acton -- from the Acton campaign I should say. They thank law enforcement for their response and said, "That while attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people. Dr. Acton and Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured."

I should say that Ramaswamy, who was scheduled to attend this fair and also speak at this fair, also issued a statement condemning this incident. We don't know much yet about what, if any, apparent motivation this individual had. But as I said at the beginning, Pam, a really concerning instance of what appears to be more political violence, unfortunately, apparently on the rise here in our country. Pam?

BROWN: Very disturbing. Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

And still ahead, new CNN reporting on high gas prices. Is relief coming anytime soon?

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And later, saving lifesavers, the push to understand and address brain injuries in the Coast Guard. You're in The Situation Room. And we'll be right back.

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BROWN: Happening now, AAA says that the national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $4.15. That's up more than 10 cents since last month and more than $1.17 since the start of the war. Experts say the pain will likely continue this fall. So let's go live now to CNN business writer Samantha Delouya. Samantha, let's talk about Labor Day gas prices. They have never been so expensive. Is there any relief in sight?

SAMANTHA DELOUYA, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Pam, unfortunately, what we're hearing from experts is that at least through the fall, like you said, we're going to be seeing these elevated gas prices unless there's some big break in the fighting between the U.S. and Iran that would reopen that critical Strait of Hormuz channel that had seen a huge bulk of the global oil supply passing through prior to the war.

But still, even if oil prices did drop and there was a break in fighting, we don't often see gas prices fall immediately. It usually takes some time. Now, Americans have dealt with multiple oil price shocks in the last few years that have really weighed on the economy and weighed on their finances. Recall in 2022, there was a big spike in oil prices after Russia began the war with Ukraine.

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Now that fighting hasn't stopped on top of the war with Iran. It has just compounded the upward pressure on oil prices. So in August, we saw the average gas price was $4.07. That's a record high for that month. And so all of this means that summer travel has been incredibly expensive for Americans. But Americans told my colleagues, average people told my colleagues at CNN that it's just making their life in general more expensive.

You know, some people told my colleagues that they have stopped visiting family members as a result of these high gas prices. Others have said they're struggling to pay off some of their debts as a result. One person said that he has tried to sit home and, "do nothing this summer" to save money because of how expensive gas has gotten.

BROWN: Tells you a lot. Samantha Delouya, thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate it.

And up next, Fetterman lashes out. Why the Pennsylvania senator is now taking on former aides and accusing them of pushing, "smears."

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BROWN: We have exclusive new details about Senator John Fetterman. In a statement to CNN, the Pennsylvania Democrat is responding to a "Wall Street Journal" article in which his former aides claim he shows little interest in his work as a senator and routinely skips constituent meetings. Senator Fetterman called the article a, "Hit piece from disgruntled staffers who are pushing to tarnish his reputation." CNN senior reporter Annie Grayer is here with us in The Situation Room. So tell us more about this controversy surrounding Fetterman and how he's responding, Annie?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So Fetterman is coming out swinging, completely denying this report from the "Wall Street Journal" and gave us an exclusive statement where he really goes line by line to try and dismantle what his former staffers told the "Wall Street Journal." So in one example, the former staffers are trying to get Fetterman to meet with some officials from the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania. And Fetterman in text messages says, you know, the first is staffers are saying, you know, they're concerned about Medicaid cuts and stuff.

And Fetterman says, "Well, I'm not." And after this article came out, in his statement to CNN, Fetterman says that was a bad joke taken out of context and that he has met with those officials, that many times he has a working relationship with them and showed some examples on social media of how he's met with those individuals. And then in a second example that the former staffers provided to the "Wall Street Journal," the staffers were trying to get Fetterman to go to a funeral for three police officers who had died in his state.

And in these text messages, Fetterman is pushing back on the length of this funeral service, writing three hours, as you can see on your screen, with a bunch of question marks. And in a statement to CNN following this reporting, in this exclusive statement, Fetterman says that he delivered flowers to those families on the day of, he's met with the families affected and that he has been for been there for that community in other ways.

And in a third example in the "Wall Street Journal" reporting, former staffers say that Fetterman blew off a meeting with disabled veterans and his veterans from his state that was supposed to be meeting with him in his office and had staff conduct that meeting only to later come in and then do a "Fox News" interview. And in his statement to CNN, Fetterman says that he was throwing up at the time of that meeting and that felt better later in the day to then resume his daily schedule.

So in total, Fetterman is really just trying to dismantle this entire the argument from his former staffers. He says in part of his statement, "Per usual lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous." And he later adds, "No matter how many smears or stories, I'm proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania." But these former staffers have also made an account on X and they claim that they have more examples that they want to share.

This is not the first time that Fetterman has come under fire from some of his former staffers. And he really is a polarizing figure in the Democratic Party, particularly for his views on Israel where he said that if the party starts to develop a more anti-Israel approach, that he would leave the Democratic Party. So there is a lot swirling around Fetterman right now, whose term is not up until 2028. But these former staffers say they have a lot more to share about their former boss's behavior.

BROWN: So do we expect them to drop more then, are they just sort of taunting him right now with this or what? Do we know?

GRAYER: I think we're waiting to see. I mean, Fetterman had not responded to this story until he provided this exclusive statement to CNN. So this is the new development that we'll see how these former staffers respond to. But Fetterman is very strong in denouncing and denying all of the claims that these former staffers are making.

BROWN: All right, Annie Grayer, thank you so much.

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Well, just ahead, invisible injuries, we're going to bring you one family's fight to raise awareness about brain injuries among elite rescuers in the Coast Guard. We'll be back.

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BROWN: Happening now a national day of mourning in Nepal, after more than 1,300 people have died in the devastating floods. Almost 5,000 people are still missing. And over the weekend, two survivors were rescued after being trapped for 10 days.

Plus, Rob Reiner received a Posthumous Emmy for his role in "The Bear." It was his final T.V. role before he was killed. The actor and director, along with his wife were stabbed to death in December of last year. Their son Nick has been charged in their deaths and he has pleaded not guilty.

And an investigation is underway after 10 people were killed during a fireworks explosion in Mexico, another 64 people were injured. The fireworks exploded right next to a church during a religious festival.

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Happening now, a dedicated push to understand and address brain injuries and the U.S. Coast Guard. This right here is Brett Bonner, a surfman. He was an elite rescuer driving lifeboats through powerful waves some 25 feet high.