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America Under Attack: Pentagon Have Made Official They've Found Black Box

Aired September 14, 2001 - 06:17   ET

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


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN ANCHOR: All through the last few hours and days, we've had live pictures from the Pentagon of the important recovery work that's going on there. Right now some very important work, oddly enough though, no pictures. There's bad weather moving into the area and our live images are not available, but we can tell you about the news -- the news that they have found in the rubble there the black boxes of the jet that crashed on Tuesday.

CNN's Bob Franken joins us now with more -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jonathan, the Pentagon is going to be putting out an announcement about that shortly. The sources say that they'll be announcing that about 4:00 this morning, which was just a little over two hours ago, the boxes were located. They're flight data and voice recorders that were on the American Airlines 757 which was crashed into the building on Tuesday morning. The search for the boxes, the ones that can have such important information, the search was hampered by the fact that there was such a clutter of rubble, as you can imagine, after the huge plane crashed into the Pentagon.

We've seen time and time again the gash, the concerns about a collapse, the difficulties in searching, all of that type of thing, but there have been tell-tell things. We have been told by officials that they had been briefed and told that on Wednesday and Thursday the identifying pings, as they're called, had been heard by searchers but they just were not able to get to the area where they felt they were located. They were able to do that at 4:00 this morning.

Meanwhile, they continue to go through the rubble. They're trying to make sure that every bit of it is in a position where it will not collapse. There was a small fire that re-erupted overnight -- very small fire about 10:30 last night. It was quickly put out. One of the problems they have is that there are still blowing embers. Right now there shouldn't be too much of a problem with what we're seeing here. That is what occurred last night. There shouldn't be much of a problem now, Jon, because, as you reported, it is raining so that should not be the problem.

Meanwhile, research goes on for casualties. The Pentagon officials are now estimating that there could be 190 who were killed in this, that would include the 64 people who were on that American Airlines plane. In addition to which there is planning that's going on here. Probably the most notable thing we should mention is that a Pentagon source tells CNN that there are plans to call up as many as 50,000 reservists around the country to supplement the military planning and action and protection that is going on in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and, of course, here at the Pentagon.

And one other thing, the national day of prayer will include services here at the Pentagon this morning. Services that are very close to home, of course, because of the attack on this building -- Jonathan.

MANN: Bob, a question for you. There are ships at sea on both coasts of the Untied States and now this call for reservists or consideration of this call, how real is this? How symbolic? How much saber rattling is going on or is the Pentagon really preparing for something?

FRANKEN: Well, it's very, very little -- very few people who suggest that this is saber rattling. There's almost a belief in the United States that there is a necessity, at the very least, to retaliate for these attacks -- these catastrophic attacks on the United States. And there are many people saying that this is really going to be a longer range matter than that. That there is a military reality now that the United States for the foreseeable future is going to have to be on what amounts to a war footing.

MANN: Bob Franken at the Pentagon, thanks very much.

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