world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news." reporting tonight lester holt. good evening. the force of the impact of that plane crash in the french alps was so strong that even the rugged container that held the voice recorder designed to withstand over 3,000 gs was left twisted. yet tonight officials are saying they have managed to recover the critical information it carried. sounds and voices from the cockpit which could help explain why the plane flew into a remote mountainside. tonight, it's the focus of a perilous search and recovery operation. also today we learned more about some of the 150 people who perished including three americans. we have two reports beginning with bill neely at the staging area in the french alps. bill, what's the latest from there? >> reporter: good evening, lester. investigators are confident they will find the cause of this crash after hearing those final sounds from the cockpit. the victims of this tragedy were from 18 countries including the u.s. their grieving relatives are beginning to arrive here in the alps, close to a site that is a picture of horror. it's difficult and dangerous to get to the wreckage. searchers are wenched in, helicopters can't land, the debris smoldering. this is a mass grave. the plane is barely identifiable. some windows here, a tire there. the wings and cockpit in a thousand pieces. the voices recorded in the cockpit on a damaged black box have been analyzed, but investigators say they still don't know what caused the crash. the second flight recorder's casing has been found, but not the contents. the names of many onboard have emerged. three americans died. two of them identified as emily selke, a drexel university graduate. and her mother yvonne from virginia. friends said they would always remember emily with a smile on her face. >> there will definitely be a hole in our church community and the community at large. >> reporter: at the german school that lost 16 teenage students and two teachers, numb shock. hundreds of troops and police are ready to join the search, but as we discovered access to the remote site miles from any roads is almost impossible. as well as the snow and ice these mountainsides aren't stable, for searchers, for anyone, this is dangerous. this operation to first find and then recover bodies and debris won't just take days. it will take weeks. there were moments of silence today from colleagues of the flight crew at dusseldorf and barcelona airports. from the leaders of france, germany and spain who flew over the crashed site, and from stunned locals. silence interrupted only by the harrowing search of the helicopters. bill neely, nbc news, seynes-les-alps, france. >> reporter: this is tom costello. the fact that flight 9525 crashed into a mountain at 440 miles per hour could be compelling evidence that the crew was incapacitated. like all modern aircraft the a320 is equipped with a ground proximity warning system that tells pilots to pull up if a plane is headed for ground collision. >> terrain ahead. pull up! >> reporter: but the germanwings plane never attempted to avoid the mountain. captain cox spent more than 20 years in safety and crash investigations. >> it's a loud warning and one pilots take seriously. that adds a little bit of additional evidence to the crew being incapacitated. >> reporter: french investigators are now analyzing the sounds and voices recovered from the cockpit voice recorder. but they need the flight data recorder to unravel what happened to the plane and in the cockpit, a process that could take weeks. >> translator: we're not in a position to give the slightest explanation as to why this plane began to descend, unfortunately, until it slammed into the mountainside. >> reporter: we still don't know if the crew programmed the plane to descend from 38,000 feet. if so, why didn't they program an end to the descent? and why did the crew fail to respond to radio calls from callers concerned about the descent. both pilots were trained by lufthansa. were checked on monday and another captain who flew the plane on monday said it performed perfectly. also today clarification on a 30-minute delay that flight took just before departure out of barcelona. the airline says that was at the request of air traffic controllers because of air congestion issues and not maintenance related. lester. >> tom costello, thank you. another story that broke here at home involving bowe bergdahl the u.s. army sergeant vanished from his post in afghanistan and held captive by the taliban for five years before being rescued in a controversial prisoner swap. our pe correspondent jim miklaszewski was the first to report in january that bergdahl would be charged with desertion. and tonight those charges are official. >> reporter: nearly six years ago then-private first class bowe bergdahl walked off his outpost in eastern afghanistan and into the hands of the taliban. today, he was charged with desertion. >> desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty. >> reporter: by leaving his post in a war zone bergdahl also faces a second more serious charge of endangering his fellow soldiers. maximum penalty life in prison. josh corder served with bowe bergdahl i afghanistan. >> i think he's very lucky they'r talking abou squad and death penalty for him. >> reporter: during his five years in captivity bergdahl appeared in several hostage videos, forced apparently to condemn the war in afghanistan. >> you are not fighting stupid humans. you are fighting very smart people who know exactly how to kill. >> reporter: in may of last year bergdahl was released in a controversial prisoner swap. the obama administration agreed to release five high-valued taliban prisoners from guantanamo bay in exchange for bergdahl. later one of the taliban prisoners tried to re-engage in the fight in afghanistan but was stopped. upon his release bergdahl's parents appeared in the rose garden with president obama. little comfort to sandra and andy andrews who lost their son darren in afghanistan and claim he was killed while searching for bergdahl. >> he's not a hero. he's a traitor. you know, he's a deserter. he left his post in war. >> reporter: officials here tell nbc news it's likely bergdahl will be offered a plea deal to avoid jail time. tonight, bergdahl's attorney would not discuss that but did ask all americans to withhold their judgment about bergdahl until all the facts emerge, lester. >> jim, thanks. now to another story we've been closely following. conflicting accounts tonight whether the president of yemen has fled his country as shiite rebels advance on the government forces still loyal to him. the rebels claim today they overtook a key airport as well as a military base that american troops evacuated just days ago. yemen's government has been an important u.s. ally in fighting al qaeda in that country. back here in this country a michigan man accusing police of excessive force after a traffic stop in january quickly escalated into a beating from several officers who are now under investigation. it was captured on a police dashcam minus the sound. nbc station wdiv in detroit first broke this story. and our anne thompson picks it up tonight. >> reporter: how did this traffic stop on this suburban detroit street become so violent so fast? dashcam video from a police car shows two officers approaching 57-year-old floyd dent's vehicle. the first officer has his gun drawn. as dent opens the door. quickly he is on the ground. and that first officer appears to put him in a chokehold. then that officer starts punching dent in the head, 16 times according to dent's attorney as the second officer tries to handcuff dent. a third officer tasers dent twice in the stomach and once in the leg. all three officers are white. dent is african-american. >> i heard somebody in the background say, officer, tase him. i told him i can't breathe. and he just kept choking me. >> reporter: dent, who has no criminal record, suffered a fractured eye socket that january night. today he told reporters he was not resisting arrest. >> when someone's beating you in your face, you have to protect yourself. >> reporter: the police report says the officers stopped dent after seeing him run a stop sign in an area known for drug activity. when dent failed to stop immediately, police thought he was fleeing and eluding them. when he opened the door cops say dent said to them "i'll kill you." there's no audio on the tape. the officers mics were either turned off or not working. a judge dismissed all the charges brought against dent from that night except one, possession of cocaine. police say they found a baggie of coke under the passenger seat. the cop who found it years ago was accused and acquitted of planting evidence. >> i saw him plant it in my car. >> you saw him do it? >> yes. >> reporter: police are investigating that allegation and the behavior of their own. >> i was notified that night of the prisoner going to the hospital. and the investigation was ordered immediately. and it's ongoing at this time. >> reporter: as does the question, why did this traffic stop become so violent? anne thompson, nbc news, new york. late today one of the two former university of oklahoma fraternity members expelled over a racist chant caught on video broke his silence. levi pettite stood by african-american civic leaders. while he refused to say how and where he learned that chant, he did offer an apology. >> there are no excuses for my behavior. i never thought of myself as a racist. i never considered it a possibility. but the bottom line is that the words that were said in that chant were mean, hateful and racist. i will be deeply sorry and deeply ashamed of what i've done for the rest of my life. >> the investigation into this incident continues. and the university says more students could be disciplined. millions keeping a close eye on the skies tonight. severe storms firing up on the radar across parts of the midwest and the south. large hail likely and tornadoes possible. oklahoma city, tulsa and fayetteville just some of the large population centers bracing for a dangerous night ahead. we turn now to a story you won't see anywhere else tonight. a look inside the thrilling dangerous world of bull riding where eight seconds can feel like a lifetime. and many of the riders are awfully young. kids with a ton of guts and talent and parents who know that extreme risk is part of the tradition. nbc's senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden shows us. >> reporter: meet some of the toughest kids in the world. show me the provision. that's it? that's pretty impressive. at texas youth bull riders rodeo in ft. worth the kids start young. and it's a family affair. >> you know, t we're rodeo dads. >> reporter: 6-year-old w.k. seymour rides sheep. 7-year-old ryder rutledge is updated a calf. by 9 they'll both be on junior mini bulls. by 15 on the real deal. no question about it, bull riding is one of the most dangerous sports of the world. of the 18 people who have died in two decades, seven were children. but that doesn't stop these kids. >> it's not a matter of when you get hurt, but it's a matter of how bad you get hurt. >> reporter: rodeo founder mike vergari pushed for texas law that requires every kid to wear a steel cage helmet and a protective vest. >> they buckle it up real tight and then their head is nice and secure. don't worry about losing teeth or messing up that pretty face. >> reporter: but a vest and a helmet can't always save a life. in 2009, 12-year-old wade hammer died within minutes of getting bucked off and trampled at a colorado rodeo. two years later in florida 16-year-old brooke coats was kicked in the side and died. both were wearing helmets and protective vests. in the 16 years this texas youth rodeo has been around, no child has lost a life but there has been plenty of pain. so the people who say are you kidding, you're going to put your little kid on one of these great big mean animals, you say? >> he wants to ride. that's fine. if he don't want to ride, we'll go play baseball. >> you know, there's kids that get hurt and killed playing motocross or playing football take a weird shot or a line drive to the head. you know, accidents happen. >> reporter: but rodeo accidents are becoming ever more frequent. over the last three years of one noted study, the rate of catastrophic injury and death increased by more than 100%. that spike may have more to do with the animal than the rider since breeding bulls that kick, spin and buck has become a high-tech multi-million-dollar industry. the goal is to produce bulls for the pros, as seen here in this professional bull riders association video. but sometimes those so-called ranked bulls end up with the kids. >> it was way too big. >> reporter: this 10-year-old ended up on a steer vergari admits should not have been there. your goal is not to get ranked bulls in the ring with those kids? >> not at all. not at all. do they come in there? yes. do i cut them out? yes. do i tell the stock don't bring them back again. because that's not what i want. >> reporter: but parents and kids are willing to take the risk. even ones who limped off today. their passion for the sport bigger than their fear. cynthia mcfadden, nbc news, ft. worth, texas. there's a lot more news ahead tonight. if your teen has the keys to the car, what you're about to see in just a moment may warrant a frank conversation with them about the danger of distractions. wait until you see what happens in the seconds before crash cameras capture every moment in the car. and big news tonight about so many of the foods we love. moment in the car. thank you for being a sailor, and my daddy. thank you mom, for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are thankful for many things. the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. our world-class service earned usaa the top spot in a study of the most recommended large companies in america. if you're current or former military or their family, see if you're eligible to get an auto insurance quote. sunday dinners at my house... it's a full day for me, and i love it. but when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. i don't like asking for help. i took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. so my daughter brought over some aleve. it's just two pills, all day! and now, i'm back! aleve. two pills. all day strong, all day long. and for a good night's rest, try aleve pm for a better am. ♪ ♪ you know i tried one of those bargain paper towels but i had to use so many sheets per spill... the roll just disappeared. i knew i should've bought bounty. bounty is 2x more absorbent and strong when wet. just look how much longer bounty lasts versus one of those bargain brand towels. and that's a good deal. bounty. the long lasting quicker picker upper and now try new bounty with dawn. available in the paper towel aisle. an alarming new report out tonight from aaa that every parent is going to want to hear. it concerns teenage drivers and how often they get distracted in the car and how often it can lead to disaster. nbc's peter alexander takes a look. >> reporter: it's a generation driven by distraction. teenagers juggling music, makeup, cell phones. hands off the wheel, eyes off the road. spinning out, nearly rear ending a pickup, barely missing this semi. lexi is one of thousands of teen who is had two cameras mounted on their car in exchange for a discount on auto insurance. watch what happened when she was 16 looking down at an ipod. her eyes off the road for six seconds, almost barrelling through a road sign. >> if a car would have been coming, i would have hit them straight on. and who knows what condition my car or i would have been in after that. >> reporter: the wisconsin teen wasn't hurt, but it could have been much worse. >> she could have been killed, could have totalled the car. and she wouldn't have even known what hit her because it happened so fast. >> reporter: aaa found distractions contributed to 58% of studied. cell phones a factor 12% of the time. >> over 50% of the teen drivers that were on a cell phone took no evasive action. they didn't steer and they didn't brake until they hit the vehicle in front of them. that's scary. >> reporter: and friends can be fatal too, with each additional teen passenger in the car the risk of a deadly crash increases dramatically. >> teen drivers many times feel like they're invincible, but they also are not great at assessing risk. >> reporter: today's teens addicted to their devices putting their safety and yours in jeopardy. peter alexander, nbc news, new york. still ahead, our visit to the country's newest giant roller coaster, one of the tallest and fastest in the world. our daredevil correspondent getting a 95-mile-an-hour ride of his life. correspondent getting a 95-mile-an-hour ride claritin-d presents two allergy sufferers. one had allergies with nasal congestion so he tried the newest allergy spray, which could take several days to feel the full effect of relief. the other went straight to the pharmacy counter for the fast, powerful relief of claritin-d. it's tough on allergies with nasal congestion and starts to work in just 30 minutes. the moral? 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the general manager has been coaster crazy all his life. you never stop smiling. >> i never stop smiling. if you can't have fun working at an amusement park, you can't have fun. >> reporter: to counteract the g forces of the fury. >> blasting off. >> reporter: settle in on snoopy's spaceship and catch some z-forces. tara firma never felt better. kevin tibbles, nbc news, charlotte, north carolina. >> not in a million years. but good job, kevin. that's going to do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. night. this is a really big opportunity for me. so i'm working on that. ready for another wedding? and another baby? i'm billy bush. how does her conservatorship af