New Questions About A Security Vulnerability on MH370
BOLDUAN: Breaking news on the search for Malaysian Airlines flight 370. Tonight, new evidence that the piece of debris discovered off the Coast of Africa could be from MH370. A source telling CNN that a second code found on the debris is consistent with Boeing's 777 and MH370 is the only unaccounted for 777 in the world. U.S. intelligence suggests a deliberate act from the cockpit took the flight off course. But tonight, there are new questions about a security breach that could have taken place on that flight. Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The washed up debris still brings pilots no closer to a consensus on the greatest mystery of their profession.</s>RET. CAPTAIN ROSS AIMER, CEO, AERO CONSULTING EXPERTS: There's all kinds of theories. Everybody has a different theory.</s>LAH: U.S. intelligence agencies believe it's likely the plane was deliberately steered by someone in the cockpit. But retired united airlines pilot Ross Aimer flew the 777 and trained pilots on the jet at Boeing. He says the debris launched a new round of speculation among his fellow pilots. Among the theories, a section of the aircraft known as the EE Bay or the electronic's bay may have been breached. (on camera): What's in the electronics bay?</s>AIMER: This was basically the brain and heart of an aircraft. In case of a 777 which is a very highly electronic aircraft, all the electronics that control the entire airplane are in that electronic bay. So, this is the most important part of this aircraft. Other than the engines. So, every pilot that flies a 777 knows how to get down there.</s>LAH: It's designed for maintenance access. But here, you can manage all flight systems taking total control of the plane. We're not going to show you where the access is on the aircraft. But we will show you what's widely available on the internet. In this aviation video viewed tens of thousands of times online, you can see in the bay various electronics, wires and green tanks. The concern floated by some pilots, they say Boeing manufactures and delivers a 777 with an unsecured access door. Most of the airlines add a lock and the access is hidden. So, only crew and perhaps some aviation enthusiasts would know how to get in. That's why a breach aboard MH370 is something the pilot says is possible but unlikely. Investigators around the world found no immediate red flags from anyone on board. More likely believes Aimer a catastrophic fire or even that one of the crew, perhaps Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah or co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid were somehow involved.</s>AIMER: One of the things that investigators do, they never leave any stone unturned. They look at just about any possibility.</s>LAH: And pilots say, they want to know, they need to know what happened to MH370, not just to solve this mystery but for the field of aviation, because Kate it is after the accident investigation is over that aviation learns and is better able to prevent the next one -- Kate.</s>BOLDUAN: It's an excellent point. Kyung, thank you. OUTFRONT for us tonight, Chris Swecker, he's the former assistant director of the FBI's criminal investigative division and CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien. Miles, as Kyung was pointing out in her report, you brought up the possibility that someone could have broken into the electronics and equipment bay in your PBS documentary. Now, we're not going to show the video of the entrance to that hatch. But is this security vulnerability a real threat on all 777s?</s>MILES O'BRIEN, PBS "NEWSHOUR" SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, here is the thing. The 777 ships from Boeing with an unlocked door to that E and E bay, which is the brains of the aircraft. It's a computer fly by -- aircraft. So, if you can get in there, you essentially own that aircraft, as it were. That door is located in the cabin area and it ships to customers unsecured. There's no regulation by the FAA or any of the other agencies that have jurisdiction over aviation requiring that door to be locked. Now, some airlines have unilaterally ordered lock kits from Boeing to do that. But we shouldn't have to rely on airlines to unilaterally make this decision. This should be a locked door, period. It's a tremendous security Achilles heel on my view.</s>BOLDUAN: It sure seems like it. And Chris, it seems like this hatch provides access to every major system on the plane. How serious should folks be taking this?</s>CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER ASSISTANT FBI DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION: Well, Kate, if this is, in fact, true, it's an unacceptable vulnerability. And I would be shocked if the intelligence services out there, especially the FBI and others, weren't aware of this vulnerability. And let's hope that if it exists, they're quietly working on the fix immediately.</s>BOLDUAN: Immediately. Well, that's a big question. So, Miles, does this theory in any way rule out the possibility that one of the pilots was responsible -- is responsible? Because as you said, it's not in the cockpit. It's outside of it.</s>O'BRIEN: Well, certainly, if you are a pilot in the cockpit already, you don't need the E and E bay to control the airplane. You have all the controls you need right there in front of you. But we know by looking at this, it's almost guaranteed to be some sort of deliberate action. Human hand involved. So on your suspect list, you would you look at the crew. The captain and first officer, the most likely people to do something like this.</s>BOLDUAN: Because Miles, someone can't just walk in there and come upon that hatch and even if they got in there, you need expertise to know what to do. Right?</s>O'BRIEN: You do. You want to have somebody who has experience as an aircraft and power plant mechanic, for example, who had worked on jet airplanes. But this is a big enough room where you could stow away in it. It also has a door unlock as well which goes into the forward cargo hold. So, there's all kinds of possibilities for a stowaway scenario. I'm not saying that's what happened and MH370. But I do know this is a vulnerability and in this aircraft. And it needs to be addressed.</s>BOLDUAN: It sure does. Chris, U.S. intelligence has said as we've been reporting someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the plane to fly off course. It doesn't necessarily mean for nefarious reasons. But you think that one of the pilots is responsible. Why?</s>SWECKER: Well, we don't know when that assessment was done. But I agree with it, because in any investigation, you have to anchor it with what you know. Theories are interesting. But what you know is what you work with. And you work out from there. And what we know is that the plane communication systems were deliberately disabled. We know that the plane changed course dramatically and headed off in several different course changes. And there's a general consensus from what I have seen in general source reporting that that had to be done deliberately. That points to one of two people really at this point, the pilot or co-pilot.</s>BOLDUAN: They are still a long way from establishing that as they only have possibly likely found one piece of debris from that plane so far. Miles, Chris, thank you both so much. And tonight, CNN investigates the mystery of MH370. Don't miss our special report vanished, that's tonight at 9:00 Eastern. And OUTFRONT next, Donald Trump accused of being incoherent talking tough on immigration one minute then saying this to CNN.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would get people out and I would have an expedited way of getting them back into the country so they can be legal.