Bush listens to CNN account of crew departure from Hainan

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush learned of the takeoff of the charter plane carrying the U.S. crew members detained in China as he was having dinner on Air Force One in the plane's conference room.

He was listening to CNN audio on Air Force One, according to a U.S. official, and monitoring the Continental plane's progress as he returned to Washington from a trip to North Carolina.

When it was announced on CNN that the plane took off, he turned to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and said, "You did a fine job. Congratulations. Our team didn't turn the first incident into a crisis."

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