posted on October 6, 2001 10:21:19 AM
\> Subject: FW: Strangers
>
> > > We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North
> >
> >
> > >Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled
> > >rest break. All of a sudden the curtains parted violently and I
> > >was told to go to the cockpit, right now, to see the captain.
> > >As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had one of those
> > >"All Business" looks on their faces.
> > >
> > >The captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the
> > >message and realized the importance of it. The message was
> > >from Atlanta, addressed to our flight, and simply said, "All airways
> > >over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at the nearest
> > >airport, advise your destination."
> > >
> > >Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without
> > >suggesting which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher
> > >has reluctantly given up control of the flight to the captain.
> > >We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra
> > >firma quickly. It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was
> > >400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in Gander, on the island
> > >of New Foundland.
> > >
> > >A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a
> > >right turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately. We found
> > >out later why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller
> > >approving our request.
> > >
> > >We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for an
> > >immediate landing. While this was going on another message arrived
> > >from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York
> area.
> >
> > >We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went
> > >about our business 'closing down' the airplane for a landing. A few
> > >minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some
airplanes
> > >had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over the US.
> > >
> > >We decided to make an announcement and LIE to the passengers for
> > >the time being. We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on
> > >the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked.
> > >We promised to give more information after landing in Gander.
> > >There were many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course.
> > >
> > >We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode.
> > >There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all
> > >over the world. 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. But the reality is that we are here for a good reason." Then he
> > >went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the
US.
> > >There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. Local time at Gander was
> > >12:30 pm. (11:00 AM EST) Gander control told us to stay put. No one
> > >was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed
> > >to come near the aircrafts.
> > >
> > >Only a car from the airport police would come around once in a while,
> > >look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so all
> > >the airways over the North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended
> > >up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, out of which 27 were
> > >flying US flags. We were told that each and every plane was to be
> > offloaded,
> > >one at a time, with the foreign carriers given the priority. We were
> No.14
> > in
> > >the US category. We were further told that we would be given a
tentative
> > >time to deplane at 6 pm. 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 US were either blocked or jammed and to try
again.
> > >Some time late 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.
> > >
> > >Now the passengers were totally bewildered and emotionally exhausted
> > >but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look around to see that we
> > >were not the only ones in this predicament. There were 52 other planes
> > >with people on them in the same situation. We also told them that the
> > >Canadian Government was in charge and we were at their mercy. True
> > >to their word, at 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane
> > >would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That took the last wind out of
> > >the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news without
> > >much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the night
on
> > >the airplane.
> > >
> > >Gander had promised us any and all medical attention if needed;
> > >medicine, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their
> > >word. Fortunately we had no medical situation during the night. We
> > >did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We
> > >took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without any further
> > >complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping
> > >arrangements. About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told
> > >to get ready to leave the aircraft.
> > >
> > >A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of the airplane, the
> > >stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken to the
> > >terminal for "processing" We, the crew, were taken to the same
> > >terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were
> > >processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register
> > >with the Red Cross. After that we were isolated from our passengers
> > >and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town
> > >of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going.
> > >
> > >The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross
> > >told us that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from
> > >all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just
> relax
> > >at the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, 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 enjoyed ourselves going around town
> > >discovering things and enjoying the hospitality. The people were so
> > >friendly and they just knew that we were the "Plane people". We all had
> > >a great time until we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7AM.
We
> > >made it to the airport by 8:30AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM
> arriving
> > >in Atlanta at about 4:30PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of
> > >EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.) But that's not what I wanted to tell
> > you.
> > >What passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible and the timing
> > >couldn't have been better.
> > >
> > >We found out that Gander and the surrounding small communities, within
> > >a 75 Kilometer radius, had closed all the high schools, meeting halls,
> > >lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these
> > >facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats
> > >with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students HAD
> > >to volunteer taking care of the "GUESTS".
> > >Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45
> > >Kilometers from Gander. There they were put 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 given no
> > >choice and 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 type facility. There were DDS on call and
> > >they had both male and female nurses available and stayed with the
> > >crowd for the duration. Phone calls and emails to US and Europe were
> > >available for every one once a day.
> > >
> > >During the days the passengers were given a choice of "Excursion"
trips.
> > >Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went
> > >to see 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
> > >school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the
> eatery
> > >of their choice and fed. They were given tokens to go to the local
> > >Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the
> > >aircraft. In other words every single need was met for those
unfortunate
> > >travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. After
> all
> >
> > >that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a
> > >single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the
> > >information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group
> > >needed to leave for the airport at what time. Absolutely incredible.
> > >
> > >When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a
> > >cruise. Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were
> > >swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had
> > >the better time. It was mind boggling. Our flight back to Atlanta
looked
> > >like a party flight. We simply stayed out of their way. The passengers
> > >had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first
names,
> > >exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. And then
> > >a strange thing happened.
> > >
> > >One of our business class passengers approached me and asked if he
> > >could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never,
> > >allow that. But something told me to get out of his way. I said "of
> > course".
> > >The gentleman 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
further
> > >stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks
of
> t
> >
> > >he town 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 a scholarship for high school student(s) of
> > >Lewisporte to help them go to college. 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,
> > >it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian. The gentleman who
> > >started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He 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.
> > >
> > >Why, all of this? Just because some people in far away places were
> > >kind to some strangers, who happened to literally drop in among them?
> > >
> > >WHY NOT?
> >
>
posted on October 6, 2001 10:35:08 AM
Nice story but why did they lie to their passengers?
The man should get a job in government since he lies automatically before thinking of a reason.
posted on October 6, 2001 12:22:27 PM
Yea Canada! What an incredible story! I remember hearing about that airport, and how they were having to contend with all those passengers. I had no idea that they came through so beautifully. I can only imagine what a finacial hardship that might have created for the small towns, and it warms my soul to know that they weren't taken for granted. It sure is nice to have great neighbors, isn't it?
As for lying to the passengers, what were they supposed to do, create mass panic in the air? Obviosly, they made the right choice in doing what they did. Why question that which works?
posted on October 6, 2001 12:45:31 PM
I bet more planes were landed that day with the LIE of mechanical problems then by telling the passengers the truth.
Newfoundland and Newfoundlanders are famous for their hospitality--friends and strangers alike are welcome into their kitchens for a mug and a song.
posted on October 6, 2001 02:25:58 PM
The hospitality of the Canadians is wonderful and commendable.
The fact that you folks expect to be lied to and approve of it is sad. I understood it was not the point of the story but it surprised me the flight officer would admit it with no embarrassment at all. Now I find that everyone seems to agree that everyone needed to be treated like children or they would have dissolved into hysterical "mass panic".
I guess I am odd man out for expecting to be treated with respect as an adult.
You know yourselves better than me I guess.
posted on October 6, 2001 02:37:31 PM
Actually they were probably scared that some gung ho bad ass would freak out at Middle Eastern looking passengers, knock them to the ground and kick them senseless, just in case. Jess
posted on October 6, 2001 02:37:49 PM
Gravid, did the flight crew know there were no potential terrorists on their flight? Perhaps they wanted the plane to appear to have problems that required it to be checked. How do you think young children travelling alone would feel if the pilot told the truth?
posted on October 6, 2001 02:38:05 PM
Actually Gravid--you are the one acting like a child. Once the plane was safely on the ground, everyone was told the truth, but while any plane was in the air --all planes were potentially a threat and a hazard to people below and to everyone on board.
Yes--you may be an calm adult and maybe able to handle the truth without any panic, but others on the plane dould have had problems and the last thing the flight crew needed was paniced passengers.
Why not start another thread about this and leave this thread to the intent it was started.
added note-----Two days after the last passenger left Newfoundland--Tropical Storm Gabrielle hit Newfoundland and caused major flooding.
