Simulator shows what pilot may have experienced before bridge crash

This morning we're watching new traffic camera video showing the moments leading up to the

bridge

collapse in Baltimore. If you take a look, you can see on the right side of the screen the lights flashing there. Those are the construction vehicles flashing on the

bridge

. And you can also see down on the right, the lights of that huge cargo ship. The video cuts just before the bridge falls into the water. Video like this will, of course, help investigators as they try to uncover all the details of how exactly this happened. CNN used a ship

simulator

to recreate the moments before the collision.

Here's Miguel Marquez from CNN. So we're on a cargo ship about the same size as the dolly, but in this case we're sailing through the port of San Francisco. This is all a simulation, but we

have

a real captain, Captain Morgan McManus, who will explain to us

what

could possibly

have

happened in a total blackout situation, as you call it, aboard the dolly. Yes. Thus we have the cadet simulating the act of service. We have another cadet in command. Go left. 15 please. And the dolly would have lost both propulsion and steering in the event of a complete blackout.

They would have lost everything. Total blackout, as you call it. Good. So we could execute the blackout right now, from the control room. So here we go. Alarms will start ringing on the bridge. The alarms begin to ring. The metal clock will try to find out

what

the alarm is. The engine room is calling us to tell us what is happening. British media surveillance. And in this situation where you can see the pylon coming and you know it's a disaster, can you let go of the anchor? What are you trained for in these scenarios? We'll try to do everything we can to avoid hitting it, whether that's running the engine in reverse to slow it down.

We have already descended, almost standing in the water from time to time you will drop the anchors. If we were unable to slow the boat, you can lower both anchors and have them trail or shield along the bottom to create drag and slow the boat. But for that to work, it takes time and distance. The captain will man the engine room, talk on the phone and find out what's going on so he can find a room. Good. I would think that's where the real chaos is. That is the real chaos. So now if they call again and say we have power, the first thing we're going to do is go into emergency reverse to try to stop because it seems like they set power right before they hit the

pilot

and hit the bridge. smoke comes out from underneath.

They start trying to go backwards. Slow down. This must have been very anxiety-inducing at this point on the bridge trying to deal with this and incredibly stressful. Watching that first video clip. When I saw the power completely cut off on the boat, I knew there was a major problem. One of the things we wanted to show you was what it would look like. At night, we filmed the simulation during the day so we could see everything. But this is much closer to what it would have looked like for the Dolly in Baltimore. Port. Complicates things at night, I guess?

She does it. You need the bridge to be dark so you can see the lights outside. But you also have ambient light coming from the horizon or the terminal. And also in the dark, you lose some depth perception, which also makes it a little difficult to judge your distances. Which makes it difficult to move across the bridge at night. And this is what you teach at the State University, New York Maritime College. I suppose what happened in Baltimore Harbor will be studied for decades. Going to. It will become one of those tragic accidents from which we learn lessons.

And then we apply them to what we're teaching students about what to do in an emergency on the bridge of a ship. And Miguel is with us now, that was very instructive to be able to see him from the captain's perspective and anxiety-provoking. It was stressful for me to be there when he was trying to lead these cadets. And that information from the engineering room is what they were trying to get more than anything they'll look for in the black boxes. But the most important thing is that all the metrics of the different systems of the ships and, as they said in the press conference, like last night, they may not have a lot of information, but what systems were working, what systems were failing.

When they were and why it is what they will do, they will study for decades to come. The timing of all this, it was interesting to hear the captain say that the timing was crucial because they could have dropped anchor and slowly crawled to try to get out of the way. If they had an extra half mile to try to stop, that might have made the difference. If they had been a quarter mile ahead and could have gotten over the bridge, they would have been in the Chesapeake, and that would have been a different story. It was just a horrendous moment.

Miguel Márquez, thank you very much. It's a really good piece. CNN's Gabe Cohen is live from Baltimore. For us. Gabe, what are researchers learning about the final moments before the collapse? And now they have the black box in their hands. Yes, that's right, Sara. And they have analyzed that data logger, that black box that you refer to. And they put together a much better chronology of how this whole thing, this catastrophe, unfolded. And we've learned that the problems really began just 45 minutes after that ship left the terminal. And that's when alarms started ringing on the ship as the

pilot

was experiencing a total blackout.

They were losing power and drivability. And the pilot started asking for help, asking the tugs for help, dropping anchor on the port side, trying to slow the ship down because they just couldn't steer it. In the end they sent that request for help, which told the police that they should close traffic to the bridge and keep cars away. But two minutes before they could reach the eight construction workers on top of the bridge, the ship collided with the bridge column, causing it to collapse. The big question now, Sarah, as investigators continue their work today, interviewing those pilots again, is what caused those problems, what caused the problems and that power outage?

Some of the questions that arose were the possibility of contaminated fuel on the boat or perhaps some type of electrical problem. But right now the NTSB has rejected that, saying they want to continue their investigation, which could take a couple of weeks. Gabe Cohen, thank you very much for your report. Let me ask you this, as you're looking at this to give you some kind of timeline for how difficult it is, for example, to get some of these details. Yes, they have data recorders, but you're also looking at this mangled mess sitting in 50 feet of water.

What are they telling you about that? Well, Sara, it's going to take a long time. They're bringing in big equipment, cranes and barges to take out all that debris, cut the steel and remove it. And officials have said that once that is done, they will go there and find the four remaining construction workers and bring closure to their families. But it could take time. And I want to clarify that the NTSB has said that the full investigation could take a couple of years, but they hope to have preliminary information in the coming weeks. Sarah. Alright. Gabe Cohen, thank you very much for your reporting.

CNN's Maria Santana has been speaking with the victims' families in Baltimore this morning. Maria, what are you listening to? Yes, hello. How are you Juan? Well, it's been incredibly heartbreaking to talk to these families through every stage of this first initial shock of what happened and then to those who were clinging to hope, waiting for a miracle to happen. And of course, realizing that as the hours and days passed, that seemed less and less possible. What we know is that two bodies were recovered. Authorities have identified one of them as Dorian Castillo Cabrera. He is a 26-year-old young man from Guatemala.

CNN has been able to speak with his family. They say that he had been working at this construction company for three years and that he absolutely loved his job. He was one of two Guatemalans killed in this incident. The other body recovered was that of Alejandro Hernández de Fuentes. He is 35 years old and Mexican, one of the two Mexicans murdered. We don't have that much information about him. Yesterday we spoke with the press secretary of the United States embassy here in Washington and he said that these families have asked for privacy and they are trying to respect those wishes.

The other immigrant worker who was murdered is Miguel Luna. He is from El Salvador. He is the father of three children, but his family also told us that he has three stepchildren, one a minor, Swalwell Sandoval. He is a 38-year-old Honduran. He has two children. And we were able to talk to his family. He was a construction worker, but also an entrepreneur who had established several businesses here and in Honduras. And we talked to his brother, Carlos, about how everyone in Sandoval was yesterday. And he told us why it was so important to these families that recovery efforts continue.

Let's listen. They have found cars, but they have not moved them yet because there are many steel structures. And they must be careful because they are human beings, even if they are lifeless. We, their relatives, need them to rescue the bodies, at least to see them and to give them to my family, to their entire family, a little for that. He was the breadwinner for his children at this time. God will also provide for us, so that we can come together as a family and see how we can help each other. Because right now his wife is staying with his girl and everything and John.

Most of these families have been meeting at what has been established as a family support and reunification center. They have been receiving updates. I was able to walk in yesterday and I can tell you that you can feel the pain and sadness to the point that it overwhelms you as a mere observer. So I can't even imagine what these families are going through, John. Do these families receive any financial aid, Maria? Well, as we have heard, many of them are the breadwinners for their families. We have heard from state and federal officials that they will do everything they can to support these families.

That will mean financial assistance. At some point, many immigrants like you know, John, not only support their families here, but also in their home countries. Dalton Castillo Cabrera, his dream when coming to the United States was to help his mother. So there are many people who are being affected by this. And as the days and hours pass, they have not thought about the economic repercussions. But this will be a very, very long road for many families, John.