On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic . All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination." No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander , New Foundland. He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately -- no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request. While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings. We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander , New Foundland, to have it checked out. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander . There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander . Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM! .... that's 11:00 AM EST. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the U.S. After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the U.S. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put. The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air craft’s. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were U.S. commercial jets. Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada . Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed. Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm. We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament. We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning. Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane. Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross. After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander ! We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted when the U.S. airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while. We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started. Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the "plane people." We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time. Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days. What we found out was incredible. Gander and all the surrounding communities (within MATCH about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students were required to volunteer their time to take care of the "guests." Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes. Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility. There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. Finally, when they were told that U.S. airports had reopened, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single passenger missing or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about the whereabouts of each and every passenger and knew which plane they needed to be on and when all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything beautifully. It was absolutely incredible. When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling. Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. And then a very unusual thing happened. One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said "of course" and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte. "He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, the total was for more than $14,000! "The gentleman, a MD from Virginia , promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well. As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has assisted 134 students in college education. "I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a faraway place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them. It reminds me how much good there is in the world." "In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today’s world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good and Godly people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward. "God Bless America ... and God Bless the Canadians." The write up in Snopes is also a good read and worth the effort: http://www.snopes.com/rumors/gander.asp
Tac, there are tears in my eyes, for my family saw 9-11 up close and personal. My sister had to walk home covered in dust from the twin towers, and my brother got to watch his protege die in flames live on a sat feed. And yet it seems to take a tragedy to bring people together with open hands and kind hearts. why is that? My neighbors may make too much noise, but if attacked, they know I'd come running if called. It seems people show their best metal, when the odds are the worst.
Tears in my eyes too. We're NOT your friends to the north.... We're your NEIGHBORS. North Bay received many planes too. I was working for Verizon (outsourced to London Ontario) when 9/11 happened and some of my tech support coworkers received calls from people in the towers when they couldn't get through to 911 - they called tech support. 9/11 was an inside job and 12 years later ya'll have done NOTHING to make the true people responsible accountable and continue to use it as an excuse to take away your own peoples rights and export tyranny to Canada aswell. The war on "terror" is as fake as the war on "drugs". It's ALL A SCAM. WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP. PLEASE! 5+ hours - The Toronto Hearings on 9/11. If you need help again...be sure we'll be the first in line to step up.
I have neither the time nor patience to watch this entire video. I do believe 3 planes were flown into 3 buildings and a 4th plowed into the ground in Pennsylvania. The twin towers came down as a result, and the Pentagon was seriously damaged. I believe the terrorists responsible were arabs conducting unholy Islamic jihad. . I do not believe anything but the planes and their fuel caused the damages. . Conspiracy BS !!! . I do believe first the Republican Party and now the Democratic parties have forwarded their agendas to stem the freedoms we have enjoyed for centuries, and gain as much tyrannical power for the federal government as they could milk out of this incident.
What was the flight number that hit building 7? is to art and culture as jet fuel is to melting reinforced steel and buildings naturally crashing into their own footprint at free-fall speed. To stay on topic... You're welcome. Please stop attacking yourself. k?thx!bye.
Jet fuel can start other things burning like the aluminum from the plane. Aluminumburning can melt steel or cause thermiting. Also you don't have to melt the steel in orderto lower its strength enough to have it fail.
I will not disagree that the War on Terror and the War on Drugs are fake wars but I will not go into that, as that is a whole discussion topic on it's own. Whether 9/11 was an inside job or not, is debatable as there are some inconsistencies that happened that day. However, some conspiracy theorists have no clue what they are talking about and do nothing but cloud the issue. What some people fail to note is that while steel melts at around 1,370°C (2500°F) it begins to lose its strength at a much lower temperature. The steel structure of the World Trade Center would not have to melt in order for the buildings to lose their structural integrity. Steel can be soft at 538°C (1,000°F) well below the burning temperature of jet fuel. Jumping on the bandwagon about how burning jet fuel can not bring a building down, is not a theory I can go along with. I have not viewed nor will view the video you posted, I've seen my fair share of similar video's already. I understand your frustration towards our government, as I am pretty frustrated myself. Now that I know you are not one of our friends and just a neighbor, Thanks for the heads up!
Now back on track..... That was the most wonderful story. Tac thank you so much for posting this. We often forget those parts of that tragic time. To receive such kindness from our Canadian neighbors and they asked for nothing in return. Bless them.
Would have been nice if your countrymen lent us a hand during the Calgary and Toronto floods this year....or the giant quebec ice storm/hydro outage a few years back.
Good. One picks their friends....but not often their neighbors. When your economy collapses and the world turns against you for all the crimes committed in your name with your dollars please stay within your borders....Kinda like the way you treat poor Mexicans. This looks very "natural" of weakened steel to me.....NOT. Please also enlighten me how jet fuel brought down building 7? No plane hit it and most of your people still only think 2 buildings came down on that day. *spits* Stay off mah lawn.
Are you being snarky with me? Most natural disasters are usually handled within and by the country itself. Hurricanes, ice storms and floods happen ever year. Unless the media tells us, the majority do not know what is happening in another country. I do know that the Canadians have been more then helpful. I recall Canadian hotshots and planes came to help with a fire here. They were greatly appreciated. Whether we would ever do the same probably depends who the leader is. I don't know if Obama knows who your prime minister is, he has probably never looked North. (actually Obama knows he's the guy that is always talking about keystone).
Not snarky with you in particular... Canadian response to Hurricane Katrina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Canada's first response to the disaster inflicted by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf of Mexico coastline of the United States was the deployment of a Vancouver heavy urban search and rescue team, which arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana on the evening of August 31, 2005, arriving on a WestJet Airlines aircraft. Due to security and logistics issues in the disaster area surrounding New Orleans, the team started operations on September 3, saving 30 people that day. They returned to Vancouver on September 6, reportedly saving over 110 people during their deployment. It has also accepted some evacuees to stay in Canada." Sandy Canadian Pacific - Canadian Pacific donates $1 Million to Hurricane Sandy Relief My brother works for CPR. Canadians help storm relief efforts | CTV News It's very one sided. We help you all we can....you exploit us all you can. Good neighbors? Ya... One of the things you said that irks me is "Unless the media tells us, the majority do not know what is happening in another country. " America thinks it's the ONLY country in the world that matters....unless there is profit involved.
Let's see the US is the worlds largest provider of humanitarian aid to the world, the vast bulk of which comes from private charities primarily religious organizations. So I would hazard a guess that the American people contributed heavily to victims of those disasters. And by the way the Red Cross is a USA organization that albeit international in scope, the majority of funding comes from the American people. A few other differences between us; If you live in the US instead of Canada you; Earn approximately 20.83% more money The GDP per capita in The United States is $46,400 while in Canada it is $38,400 use 21.38% less electricity The per capita consumption of electricity in The United States is 12,484kWh while in Canada it is 15,880kWh. consume 6.11% less oil The United States consumes 2.6400 gallons of oil per day per capita while Canada consumes 2.8116 Taxes are much higher in Canada (but you get free health care) That health care is rationed and can have long waits, so many people come to the US if they want quicker and more up to date methods. Quoted from "Expat Forums" - "Actual health care for basic things (colds/flu/broken bones, etc) is good in either place. For more advanced treatment on most things, the US is better - which is why border towns see a fair number of Canadians come across for service. One service my step mom needed was hernia surgery. In Canada it was going to be 6 months to a year wait (the rationing only allows so many in a pay period) AND the method they were going to use was an older, cheaper (but still effective) one. By coming to the US she had her surgery in 2 weeks and using a less invasive, quicker healing method." People close to the border often shop in the US to avoid the high taxes and general higher cost of items. Also from Expat Forums-" Gun control laws are different in each country. If you want more open, less restrictive laws, pick the US. If you want less open, more restrictive laws pick Canada. Hunting is still legal in Canada, so rifles and the like are still around and used. There are no handguns and assault types of rifles allowed. If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. that said, they are still LEGAL in the US and not so in Canada." Canada is more; Liberal, Socialist, and controlling politically than the US. No thanks. You need not worry about me traipsing across your yard. You can have it.
Being my last posting was my first interaction with you, I'm at a loss as to what I might have said or done to have been a recipient of such an unfriendly gesture from. It appears you are trying to pick a fight or something with a person in their own house, whom has done nothing to you. What gives, last time I checked I did not piss in your corn flakes.
Before MG all of my dealings with Canadians had been positive. Since I lived in extreme upstate NY for years, I have many canadian friends both through work and sports. Most of them are from Quebec. Unfortunately, you have taken it as your mission to prove to the world that the old sterotype of the friendly and helpful Canadian is wrong. Its a shame really.
Hey Tac, sorry I got derailed with the rude hijack of your thread. I just got to read, and enjoy the OP. Great story, thanks for sharing it! Been waiting to post this, here seems like a good place for it....seems there are always some who don't care about the topic only the chance to force their own bias and opinion into the conversation.