[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Anchor:] Three o'clock Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We begin with breaking news. This just into CNN. The very first photo of a very grim scene where a Russian jet crashed killing everyone onboard. You can see the absolute devastation there. You are looking at images from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, chunks of debris strewn across the ground the Russian metro jet carrying 224 people slammed into that rocky terrain earlier today. Right now, the victims' remains are being rushed to a more grieving families are waiting in anguish. Authorities have recovered at 130 remains thus far. Russia state media reporting most passengers were returning from vacation. Of course, they were in the resort, part of the Sinai Peninsula, Sharm el-Sheikh filled with resorts, 17 children onboard that flight. Also just into us here at CNN, I can tell you that both of the data recorders, both of those so-called black boxes have been retrieved. That is according to Egypt's civil aviation minister in Cairo. Let's go straight to CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He is in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ian Lee is on the ground there in Cairo. Ian, to you first. Look, you've covered this area extensively. What can you tell us at this point about the developments of this early stage of the investigation?
[Ian Lee, Cnn International Correspondent:] So, we are getting a lot of new information here, Poppy. I will to go over with you. We do know that the search area has the diameter of about five miles. When you look at these pictures that are coming in now, they were from the Egyptian government, a lot of them are what they show is really the terrain that they are dealing with. Earlier today, we were told by the government that it was a mountainous terrain. And as we can see there, there really aren't many mountains in the nearby facility which will make it easier for rescue crews, really, to go through and try to pick a part what exactly happened and get those bodies. We're hearing from the prime minister that 129 bodies have been recovered so far. They are being brought here to Cairo. And we're learning from the civil aviation minister about the final moments before the crash. He said which contradicted earlier reports that a distress call was issued. He said no distress call was issued by the pilot. That the plane was there one minute and then it disappeared. Now the Egyptian government is saying that no foul play is expected or suspected, rather, at this moment. We're also hearing that this plane underwent a routine check before taking off. And that nothing abnormal from radar as they can see. But those two black boxes very crucial have been recovered, they're on the way to Cairo where analysts will go over them, as well as we're hearing that a team from airbus is going to be coming to Cairo, as well from Russia. So a lot of different people coming in to really try to figure out what caused this tragedy Poppy.
[Harlow:] Ian Lee live in Cairo for us tonight. Ian, stay with me. Nic Robertson in St. Petersburg. Nic, I know you just arrived on the scene. You have got these family members of 224 people they thought would be landing in St. Petersburg. What are you seeing around you?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Yes, Poppy. This is where they were arriving through these doors just a few hours ago. They were collecting inside the airport. Now, it's a much more somber picture here now. These flowers are being laid here in tribute while we have been standing here the last few hours. You see the toys at the end there, a man came and laid that white and gray toy the a the end, the flowers people coming in and laying the carnations, the roses here, president Putin has declared a day of national mourning on Sunday. But already those families who gathered in here a little earlier waiting for their loved ones to arrive. They've been taken away to a nearby hotel. The authorities have already sent in 65 psychologists to help work with them. We're told that 100 people, 100 of those family members have met with a psychologist, already getting medical help. Also, the Russian authorities have taken DNA samples from 115 people already. They'll continue that process Sunday morning. And in two- hour's time, the first Russian aircraft will take off on its way to Cairo. We're told it's from the emergency ministry. And it'll be going to Cairo to pick up the first of the bodies and bring them back. So already, the analysis, the early work and beginning to identify the bodies is happening with the families. The grieving process, that is beginning with the families, the government giving psychologists to help them there. And then, of course, the retrieval of the bodies back to Russia here, 214 of the 224 people onboard were Russian. This is being felt deeply here. And this is a small expression of it so far, Poppy.
[Harlow:] Nic Robertson in St. Petersburg for us tonight. Thank you very much. More now from our aviation panel. Boeing 777 captain Les Abend is with me. Also with us former FAA safety inspector David Soucie. Thank you, gentlemen, both for being here. I want to get Les, to you first. The civilian aviation minister saying that no distress call is made, and saying quote "there was nothing abnormal before the plane crash. It suddenly disappeared from the radar." As a pilot, what does that tell you?
[Les Abend, Cnn Aviation Analyst:] Well, you know, I was looking, Poppy, at the flight 24, the radar, the Internet site. And it is very disturbing to me what I found was that the airplane made it all the way up to 33,500 feet, and it attained normal speeds for crews. However, it got to very low air speeds which would indicate a stall, a stall situation. So that says to me the airplane wasn't under control. If you look at the crash site itself, there were big fragments there which would indicate to me the airplane came down in a big piece or possibly broke up prior to hitting the
[Harlow:] So let's talk about this brand new video that we just got in from the Sanai peninsula. I mean, absolute devastation. Almost no piece of even the body intact. David Soucie, to you. When you look at these pictures, what does this tell you?
[David Soucie, Cnn Safety Analyst:] Well, I'm not certain we're looking at the entire aircraft with these pictures to be honest with you. As Les said, the possibility that it hit in one piece and hit in several pieces. If it hits in more than one area, if there's more than one impact zone, then that means that there was some separation in flight. Too early to tell that right now. But from looking at the pictures, it doesn't look like a complete accident scene to me. There's no evidence of wings. Yet, there's no evidence of extreme burning from the wings either. So it appears to me as though preliminary, of course, that this is not the entire accident site. There are other places where there are pieces of this aircraft.
[Harlow:] Les, it is very rare for a plane to have an incident like this in midflight. Usually you've got takeoff and landing is the most, you know, when you see it the most, this is extraordinary rare. But now, Air France and Lufthansa, two major global carriers are coming out and saying they're avoiding flying around this area right now. Does that surprise you?
[Abend:] No, I applaud them. You know, they're exercising extreme caution. I mean, we are still at very preliminary stage of this investigation at this point. So, it's hard to say exactly what's happening. You know, Dave will back me up on this. You can't follow any particular path. I mean, we hear a lot. But at this point, you know, listen, if I was an airline like Lufthansa or Air France, I would do exactly what they were doing. I think it is
[Harlow:] But why are they doing that?
[Abend:] Well, it's possible that there was a missile strike. I doubt it very much from the preliminary reports we are getting. But, why wouldn't they
[Harlow:] At 30,000 feet?
[Abend:] Well, you know, we bring ourselves back MH17 whether that
[Harlow:] Was that that high?
[Abend:] Well, it was. I believe it was in the 30s.
[Harlow:] OK.
[Abend:] So this airplane, like I said, looked like it attained an altitude of 33,500 feet. So it's possible.
[Harlow:] David, as we talk about this investigation moving forward, it is in the early stages, but look, you've got the Egyptian government involved because that's where the crash took place. You got the Russian government involved because this is a Russian carrier. You've got France and Germany involve in terms of the BEA. But ultimately who decides what happened here?
[Soucie:] Well, at this point, the jurisdiction is being handled by the Egyptian government because IKEA rules said that it because it landed there and that immediate investigation is done by that country. However, because it's a Russian carrier, the Russian civil aviation authority is who will actually conduct that investigation. Now, you need to bring in France because the engine or because the airframe. You need to bring in the United States because of the engines, possibly. I'm not sure which engine this one had. But there is a lot of things to go together in an accident investigation. And that's the responsibility of the investigator in-charge who we don't know who that is at this yet at this point. But we will soon. Especially the fact that we have the two black boxes right now. Those need to be controlled, the custody, the chain of custody, where they go, who handles them. It all needs to be coordinated by the
[Iic. Harlow:] Absolutely. And as we just found out in the last few moments, both of those data recorders, the two so-called black boxes have been recovered. Those will provide certainly a lot of answers. Led Abend, David Soucie, thank you very much. Next to politics we go. Jeb Bush was once seen as the possible favorite of the Republican presidential nomination. Now, he is fighting the perception that his campaign is in jeopardy saying it's not on life support. But are his supporters and major donors worried? We will take you live to Iowa next.