typically over water or an unpopulated stretch of land, with the plane at least 8,000- 10,000 feet up. but flight 89 dropped fuel as low as 2,300 feet. >> i have never heard of this happening in 35 years. it's highly unusual. >> reporter: norah, you want that extra altitude so the fuel has time to dissipate before it gets to the ground. that didn't happen here. delta tells us they're still working to fully understand what did happen here. pilots are given a lot of leeway in responding to an emergency. the focus here, was getting the 165 people on that plane on the ground safely. >> o'donnell: all right, thank you. a 19-year-old man accused of being part of a nationwide ring of white supremacists appeared in federal court in virginia today. he is charged in a wave of swatting attacks. that's making false 911 calls prompting swat teams to move in on unsuspecting victims. here's jeff pegues. >> reporter: john kelly was charged with being part a right wing group that engaged in