Friends Defend Captain of Missing Flight
BLACKWELL: Well, remember this investigation into what happened to 370 is multi-fronted. I mean, you've got the teams scouring the Indian Ocean for the pieces, hoping to find debris. But also, the FBI is combing through evidence from the captain's personal flight simulator.</s>PAUL: Since Flight 370 vanished three weeks ago, I mean, experts have speculated about pilot suicide. And they've questioned whether the crew deliberately took down this plane. That's been one of the big questions.</s>BLACKWELL: Yes, but despite a media storm -- a firestorm, rather, of media attention, friends and family say that Shah, the captain, built the simulator for one reason. Because he loved to fly. CNN's Pamela Brown has more. Pamela, good morning.</s>PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Victor, sources say the FBI is close to wrapping up mining the data from the hard drive to Captain Zaharie Shah's flight simulator. So far, it has offered few clues about whether Shah deliberately diverted the plane, but those who knew him are speaking to CNN and shedding new light on the captain.</s>BROWN (voice-over): The man who helped Captain Zaharie Shah build his home flight simulator now also offering CNN a glimpse into the mind of a better pilot who sources say remains a mysterious key figure in the investigation of Flight 370.</s>HADOS CANTAGLIANAS (PH), KNEW SHAH: It's not unusual to have a simulator at home. He's just very passionate for his hobby. He wanted to make it as close to real as it can be.</s>BROWN: Hados Cantaglianas (ph) sold Shah some of the parts he used to build his simulator. He tells CNN the 53-year-old father was so interested in making the simulator feel real, he wanted a robotic seat like the one seen here that would mimic what it would feel in the cockpit.</s>ZAHARIE SHAH, CAPTAIN OF FLIGHT 370: It comes in the form of an ejector.</s>BROWN: Cantaglianas (ph) says he doesn't believe Shah could have been involved.</s>CANTAGLIANAS (PH): He was very a very serious down-to-earth guy. Even if he was flying, he's a pilot. But I wouldn't think that you would go that far, you know, to turn a plane around and fly for hours just to do something stupid.</s>BROWN: Overnight, those who knew Shah and his co-pilot, Fariq Hamid, told "The Wall Street Journal" both men lived ordinary lives. One longtime colleague described Shah as, quote, "The ideal pilot, an invisible pilot." An acquaintance said he was "patient and efficient and far from a political fanatic." Neighbors of Hamdi said the 27-year-old first officer was friendly and well-mannered and seldom socialized within the community. Still, investigators are focusing on both men, especially Shah, if for no reason than he was in charge in the cockpit.</s>SETH JONES, RAND CORPORATION: They're interested in his state of his marriage; his views of Malaysian Airlines, which he apparently was unhappy with what he perceived as mismanagement and corruption. They're looking at his views of his son. He was unhappy with his son for his recent unemployment.</s>BROWN: So far, sources haven't confirmed those concerns to CNN and say interviews with Shah's family, searches of his home and a forensic examination of his hard drive haven't turned up anything that would explain the plane's disappearance. Though investigators also say a lack of evidence indicating premeditation also doesn't rule out the theory that one of the pilots could have snapped in the cockpit.</s>PAT MORSEY, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Just because there's no previous history does not mean that the individual couldn't have an episode that led them to do something that they would not normally otherwise do. That happens all the time. Unfortunately.</s>BROWN: And we want to stress again that there is no evidence on any of the pilots whatsoever, according to the sources, though the investigation is ongoing. The CEO of Malaysia Airlines spoke Friday. He did not speak specifically about the co-pilot and pilot, but did say that all new pilots of the airline go through a thorough psychological examination and have follow-up exams depending on certain conditions, such as their age -- Christi and Victor.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Pamela Brown, thank you very much, Pamela. Still to come on NEW DAY, this is a question that, now that the first lawsuit has been filed, that some will ask.</s>PAUL: It's an abrupt question.</s>BLACKWELL: It is. It is. What is your life worth to an airline? Seriously, believe it or not, courts, lawyers, airlines, they put a dollar value on a life after death. And not everyone is equal.</s>PAUL: And also, for some of you waking up to some shaking this morning, quake in Los Angeles. Look at this. A rock slide flipped over this car in one of the city's famed canyons. We're getting in some new video here of what happened inside a Home Depot store, as well. We're going to show you everything next.