'Nothing happens here. You're safe': 9/11 survivors, responders recall attack aftermath

'Nothing happens here. You're safe': 9/11 survivors, responders recall attack aftermath

Nearly 7,000 bewildered and scared passengers were stranded in Gander in the aftermath

David Collenette was addressing an audience in Montreal on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

At the time, the veteran Ontario politician was the federal minister of transport in the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien.

He began noticing some unusual rumblings in the audience, and then an aide walked up to him while he was speaking and presented him with a blunt note: "Wind up your speech. There's been a tragedy."

Passenger jets had been hijacked and were slamming into the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, and a field in Pennsylvania.

As he scrambled back to Ottawa, Collenette was forced to make decisions that will forever be remembered in aviation history, including ordering 229 passenger jets bound for the United States to land immediately at Canadian airports, including those in Gander, St. John's, Stephenville and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Then, he ordered everyone to remain on the planes for hours until officials could be sure there were no more security threats.

"I think we made the right decisions," Collenette said during an event at Gander International Airport Thursday evening called "Untold Stories — Reconnected."

Hundreds of people gathered there to hear Collenette and others reflect on their experiences of the Sept. 11 attacks on the eve of the 25th anniversary of one of the most defining and catastrophic events in modern history. Just under 3,000 people were killed.

On that day, 38 commercial airliners touched down in Gander after North American airspace was closed in response to the attacks — delivering nearly 7,000 bewildered and scared passengers and crew to the central Newfoundland town, and effectively doubling Gander's population in a matter of hours.

The sudden arrival sparked a humanitarian response by area towns that inspired the hit musical Come From Away, and forged a unique and lasting bond between the stranded passengers and those who cared for them.

Thursday night's guest speakers included three of the pilots who landed their planes in Gander. One of them, Guy Gullick, was at the controls of US Airways Flight 3 from Rome to Philadelphia — the last plane to land in Gander that day.

'What kindness, compassion and humanity looks like'

After landing, Gullick wondered why there wasn't any security around the planes, an issue he raised when an airport employee boarded his jet.

Gullick said he'll never forget the answer to a very serious question: "He said, 'nothing happens here. You're safe."

It set the tone for the next several days, as passengers and air crews say they were treated to a level of hospitality and support that shocked and heartened those whose travel plans were upended by the attacks.

Gullick made special mention of hospitality worker Susan Scharpegge, who worked long hours and "slept on the floor" at the hotel "while we had rooms."

"You showed the world what kindness, compassion and humanity looks like," said Gullick. "You're an example for the world, and the world needs that right now."

Salvation Army officer Marlene George was among the responders and recalled encountering a worried and confused passenger.

George told the passenger that, "if you have to be stranded anywhere in the world, you landed in the right place."

She said area residents responded with "genuine love" to the so-called "plane people."

Striking school bus driver and Gambo resident, Frazer Lush, was among those who abandoned their picket lines to land a hand.

"It's not about a strike or a job. It's about helping people who needed us," said Lush, who also helped clean schools that had become emergency shelters.

Collenette, meanwhile, recalled the urgency he faced that day, with a plane entering Canadian airspace every 90 seconds and worries that one, or more, of them may pose a threat.

"We all had a job to do, and we reacted instinctively," he said. "Let's hope it doesn't happen again."

Terry Roberts is a reporter with CBC Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John’s. He previously worked for the Telegram, the Compass and the Northern Pen newspapers during a career that began in 1991. He can be reached by email at Terry.Roberts@cbc.ca.