Ample proof that most people are inherently good is in this story of how people respond in need. Left to their own devices and without government mandate the people in the Gander area responded to the need of fellow humans during the time just after the 9-11 events. This is a story about people helping people and being what they were intended to be.
Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11:
Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11:
"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 crafts. 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
for 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
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 li ke 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 far away 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 the Canadians."
The fund is today know as the Gander Flight 15 Fund and has about $25 million in assets. I believe they started off awarding 15 scholarships annually to Lewisporte students.
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