Flown into the Arms of Angels: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Unsung Heroes of 9/11

By Mac Moss

This book is about Newfoundland and Labrador’s response following 9/11. For the first time, Mac Moss tells the stories of people across the entire province—from Stephenville to Gander, to Goose Bay and St. John's—who pitched in and helped approximately 13,000 stranded passengers in 2001 after terrorist attacks in the United States changed the world forever. He has interviewed municipal and service organization leaders of that time, former airport personnel, members of the RCMP and Canadian Red Cross, educators, clergy, and many others who volunteered to give the passengers shelter, food, laundry, and love. This book captures true accounts that, until now, have never been told. Read about professionalism, dedication, laughter, caring, and grief as told by those who made this remarkable story happen. All of these individuals are heroes who have not yet been recognized. This is their story.

"Let us say that all the folks of Newfoundland made at least 204 ambassadors out of all of us on US Airways Flight 27. We love all of you, and we will come up for more of your home-cooked love and affection.” ~ Justin and Christyl B., Pittsburgh

"The Lord took care of us throughout the entire journey. He brought us to one of the most beautiful places on earth, and He provided ‘angels’ to take care of us.” ~ Amy and Chris Prideaux, passengers hosted in St. John’s

“We had nothing, and they gave us everything!” ~ John Chips, passenger on US Air Flight 741

“They are the gold standard of humanity.” ~ David Korpan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flanker Press
• Release date: Sep 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781774570579

Mac Moss

"As a former administrator of the College of the North Atlantic, Gander campus, Mac Moss and his staff were responsible for 438 of the 6,700 passengers who landed in the Central Newfoundland community when a terrorist attack forced the closure of American airspace and brought 38 planes to Gander International Airport. Flown into the Arms of Angels, he tells the story of hundreds of volunteers. He interviewed municipal and service organization leaders of that time, former airport personnel, members of the RCMP, military, and the Canadian Red Cross, educators, clergy, and many more volunteers at the 80 or more places that provided the stranded passengers with shelter, food, laundry, and love. This book is about professionalism, dedication, grief, caring, and laughter, as told by the people who made this remarkable story happen. Mac Moss was born and raised in Eastport and has authored several books on the Moss family history of Newfoundland and Labrador. One thing he discovered was that the roots of volunteering and community service run deep in his family tree. Mac graduated from Holy Cross Central High School in Eastport in 1962. He graduated from the College of Trades and Technology (St. John’s) in 1964 with an electrical construction certificate and worked in the mining industry for 17 years. He obtained a diploma of vocational education from Memorial University in 1986, a degree in the same in 1988, and a master’s degree in adult education from the University of New Brunswick in 1995. Mac has devoted more than 55 years to volunteering for the Anglican Church. At the age of 26, he was appointed to the board of the Local Improvement District of Wabush, and six years later he became chair of that board. He served 11 years in that volunteer capacity. Mac has been a member of various chambers of commerce in each community he has lived in. He was a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy for 15 years until 1989. Also, he was a member of the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre’s board of directors from 1984 to 1989. In addition, Mac Moss was a member of various development associations. In Gander, he was a member of the Provisional Board of the Kittiwake Economic Development Corporation. In 2006, he was appointed to the board of the Central Northeast Health Foundation, the fundraising foundation for the central northeast part of the Central Health District. He founded a Health Foundation Boating Regatta, and 14 years later, that little regatta has raised over half a million dollars for health care in the region. In 2015, Mac Moss was awarded the Gordon Seabright Volunteer of the Year Award as the most outstanding volunteer in the province. Mac lives in Gander with his wife, Nellie. They have three adult daughters, three granddaughters, and four grandcats!"

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Preface

Unsung Heroes, Untold Stories

During the 9/11/2001 passenger stranding in Gander, I was the associate district administrator (campus principal) of the College of the North Atlantic, Gander campus. Our campus hosted 438 stranded passengers over five days.

For 19 years now I have been in awe of the way passenger hosting in Deer Lake, Gander, Happy Valley–Goose Bay, Stephenville, St. John’s, and the communities surrounding them came together. I knew, for example, that NAV CANADA Area Control Centre (ACC) in Gander safely managed the deployment of hundreds of planes inbound to the United States to airports in Atlantic Canada. Locally, I knew the Gander International Airport Authority and the NAV CANADA tower at the airport controlled the aircraft arrival, parking, deplaning, and screening of passengers as well as their orderly exit from the airport when their departure time came. I knew the town of Gander, through its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), controlled the initial process of transporting and accommodating the passengers and flight crews. I knew the towns around Gander quickly came on board and offered their facilities and people to help out. I knew that dozens of organizations and institutions came together to house, feed, and care for the passengers and aircrew. Also, I knew that these organizations and institutions were supported by hundreds of teams and individuals who put their lives on hold, their hearts on their sleeves, and worked around the clock to attend to the needs of their newly arrived guests. I knew this—I guess all of us knew this—but I didn’t know the full story. I guess I hadn’t asked the right questions as to how this amazing response happened.

In one sense, I was cautious not to delve too deeply, afraid I would find out it was just dumb, blind luck that led to our collective success. What I didn’t know, until I began writing this book, was exactly how all this came together.

I didn’t know the true nature of the organizational structures, staffed by incredibly efficient, passionate, and dedicated employees and volunteers, many flying by the seat of their pants. In the end, some of this information was still hard to tease out from the memories of individuals or organizations.

I began to think of the thousands of unsung heroes who supported this massive relief effort and went about the business of housing, feeding, and comforting the thousands of stranded passengers. Many people were operating on a wing and a prayer while giving from their hearts and to the best of their abilities. I felt these heroes should be recognized by telling just a few of their stories.

To capture all the stories would require volumes of script. This book is an attempt to capture some stories located in a geographically specific set of stories that, for the most part, have never been told. Stories are shared about the level of preparedness of the federal, provincial, and municipal government departments, the Salvation Army, Canadian Red Cross, the everyday church and service organizations, and the people who volunteer in them, as well as the thousands who brought blankets, sheets, pillows, casseroles, salads, and love. This book is about professionalism, dedication, love, laughter, caring, and grief as told by the people who made this remarkable story happen. All these people are heroes who have not been recognized, so this is their story.

… We’ve heard how the heat of battle can take mere soldiers and turn them into soulmates. Somehow, the fire of affliction fuses a bond between those who might, under ‘normal circumstances,’ overlook or even avoid each other. It seems the strongest and most enduring friendships are not necessarily the oldest ones. They’re often those forged in the furnace of adversity. Maybe this happens because emergencies heighten our senses and, at the same time, make us vulnerable. Tough challenges reduce our reserve. They ripen our hearts for relationship and lay our souls open to intimacy…. The Lord took care of us throughout the entire journey. He brought us to one of the most beautiful places on earth, and He provided ‘angels’ to take care of us. ~ Amy and Chris Prideaux, passengers hosted at St. David’s Presbyterian Church, St. John’s

Part I

A Remarkable Story

There is a remarkable 9/11 story to be told about the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that few people are aware of. Even the people involved and immersed in the situation didn’t truly appreciate the unfolding story at the time. Unknown to all involved in the province, the various services that came together on 9/11 to pull off the safe landing of 79 unexpected US-bound aircraft, and the hosting of upwards of 13,000 passengers, were better prepared than they knew to respond to such an event.

Bits and pieces of the story of Canadian hospitality and generosity that followed the events of 9/11 in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC, have been told over and over, with pieces of the story published in books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. Other bits and pieces have been committed to film and videotape or otherwise digitally captured and presented. Several plays and musicals have been written and staged, with the most enduring being the long-running Come From Away musical now in its third year playing on Broadway, a touring North American cast with shows playing in London, the UK, and Melbourne, Australia.

To place the story in context, following is a snapshot for those who do not know the details of September 11, 2001.

On the early morning of September 11, four large aircraft were hijacked shortly after takeoff in the United States. The September 11 attacks (commonly known as 9/11) were a series of four coordinated attacks on the United States conducted by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage and $3 trillion in total costs.

Four passenger airliners operated by two major carriers (United Airlines and American Airlines) all departed from airports on the northeastern United States bound for California and were hijacked by nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists. At 8:45 a.m. ADT, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Eighteen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. Within one hour and 42 minutes, both 110-storey towers collapsed with debris and the resulting fires causing partial collapse of all other buildings in the World Trade Center complex, including the 47-storey 7 World Trade Center tower, as well as significant damage to 10 other large surrounding structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia, leading to a partial collapse of the building’s western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, initially was steered toward Washington, DC, but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. In addition to the overall dead and injured toll, it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States as 343 firefighters and 72 police lost their lives.

For the first time in history, US airspace was completely shut down, stranding tens of thousands of passengers across the world. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed American airspace to all international flights, causing about 500 planes to be turned back or redirected to other countries. Canada followed suit by limiting access to its airspace within minutes. Transport Canada ordered NAV CANADA to land all aircraft in Canadian skies and to direct all incoming aircraft over the North Atlantic, the Arctic, and the North Pacific to return to their international airport of origin. If returning was not possible, they were instructed to land at a Canadian airport as directed by the NAV CANADA Area Control Centres.

Canada received 226 of the diverted US-bound flights as well as 16 domestic flights returning to Canada from overseas destinations. All flights that had yet to take off in Canada were grounded. However, unlike the US, Transport Canada granted permission for all flights already in the air to proceed to the nearest airport that could accommodate them within Canada. This provided minimum disruption to passengers already in the air. Transport Canada launched Operation Yellow Ribbon to deal with the large numbers of grounded planes and stranded passengers.

NAV CANADA, the Canadian air navigation control service, has its North Atlantic Area Control Centre (ACC) located in Gander, from where it controls all air navigation over the western half of the North Atlantic Ocean. About 1,300 transatlantic flights per day pass through Gander NAV CANADA–controlled airspace. Once the US closed its airspace, NAV CANADA had to contact all aircraft in its control area and divert them to the nearest airport that could accommodate them. For aircraft with enough fuel to return to their airport of origin, they had to turn back. As Transport Canada had directed, aircraft farther along in their flights were diverted to Canadian airports in Newfoundland and eastern Canada. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 38 commercial flights, including two large military transports, were diverted to Gander, 27 to St. John’s, eight to Stephenville, one to Deer Lake, and five to Happy Valley–Goose Bay.

Turning an aircraft around over the mid-Atlantic or mid-Pacific is not as simple as it sounds. In the Gander ACC area, for example, all aircraft approaching from Europe were flying in tracks established 12 hours earlier by the Shanwick ACC in Preswick, Scotland, and confirmed by the Gander ACC. These tracks established the time, height, speed, vertical and horizontal separation, and direction for each aircraft to fly in their own space. To turn an aircraft around in order to fly back to its airport of origin meant establishing a new west-east track that would not put it in a potential collision situation with aircraft still in their east-west track. Not to mention avoiding interference with a smaller but significant number of aircraft already heading east for Europe on their assigned tracks. With over 400 aircraft inbound on their course toward North America, to say that Gander and Shanwick Area Control Centres had their hands full would be an understatement.

Dealing with thousands of unexpected visitors proved to be a major challenge. With security concerns paramount, each US-destined airplane had to be searched and every passenger screened. Some passengers and aircrew were forced to remain on board on the tarmac at various airports for more than 24 hours. Once screened, documented by Canadian Customs and Immigration, and registered by the Canadian Red Cross, the passengers needed to be housed and fed. Local officials, charitable organizations, and volunteers scrambled to prepare churches, schools, and community halls. Their next task was to secure beds, blankets, pillows, and prepare food, tea, and coffee for thousands of stranded passengers.

Overall, 226 US-bound aircraft were diverted to Canadian airports, 130 of which were sent to airports in Canada’s Atlantic provinces. Seventy-nine of these aircraft diverted to airports in Newfoundland and Labrador. This number was in addition to hundreds of Canadian domestic aircraft that were in flight in Canadian airspace at the time and had to be directed to a nearby airport.

An Impressive Level of Preparedness

Each of the airports and their adjacent towns in Newfoundland and Labrador had Emergency Management Plans. Indeed, within each airport region there were often multiple agencies with their own plans. Each plan was generally tied to one or more of their neighbouring plans, depending on the nature of the emergency event. These agencies and organizations practised their emergency preparedness by organizing regular practice drills around simulated emergency events, many involving physical emergency events tied to the airports in their communities. In many cases, tabletop exercises declared a simulated emergency, and all relevant agencies and organizations were called to participate in the response. No one, absolutely no one, in their wildest dreams, ever thought of having to respond to the airline and passenger crisis caused by the hijackings and attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Because they were Emergency Management Plans, and not specific Disaster Response Plans, the plans and people were flexible enough to adapt.

I use the town of Gander’s preparedness as an example. I don’t apologize for this, because it is my hometown and I know many of the people directly involved in the federal, provincial, and municipal government departments, businesses, services, organizations, etc., that were active in the 9/11 plane diversions and subsequent passenger and aircrew hosting. I describe other airports and towns farther along in the book because, although they all had similar Emergency Management Plans, each town and airport handled the crisis differently. In the end, everything worked out for the benefit of the stranded passengers, aircrew, and airlines.

One of the reasons Gander Airport was created in 1936 was to serve as a launching and receiving point for the fast-evolving transatlantic passenger traffic. Within a few years, Gander was to serve as a staging point for ferrying fighter and bomber aircraft across the North Atlantic Ocean during World War II. Aircraft transiting the North Atlantic to Europe had to refuel before and after crossing the ocean. This was true of military and commercial aircraft right up to the late 1970s. Being the province’s only international airport up to 1987, Gander Airport and the town of Gander were used to accommodating international passengers.

I’ll go back in time to around 1978, where I see the first link in the Gander disaster response chain being forged.

The First Link

In the late 1970s many of the aircraft landing in Gander came from Soviet Bloc countries. With the Cold War existing between NATO allies and the Soviet Union, all Soviet Bloc flights bound to and from Cuba (which at the time was under Soviet influence) made refuelling stops at Gander en route to Cuba. Gander was the preferred stop, as aircraft from countries in the Soviet Bloc could expect to encounter any number of difficulties and delays if they landed in the United States.

Canadian visa requirements at the time were such that passengers on these flights could deplane and refresh themselves in the International Lounge at Gander International Airport. Passengers who wanted to escape the restrictions of living in a Soviet-controlled country could simply approach an airport security officer, or RCMP member, and ask for political asylum or claim refugee status. That asylum status was immediately granted, and the passengers would be taken under Canada’s protection until a hearing could be held. The passengers were then transferred to the care of the Newfoundland Department of Social Services (DSS), who would provide food, shelter, and living accommodations until their situation could be resolved.

Thirty-eight planes at Gander Airport. (DND photo 2001)

Initially, these people were given hotel accommodations in Gander. As time progressed from the 1970s into the 1980s, what started as a trickle of passengers turned into a stream, as more and more people sought refuge in Canada. By the early 1980s, dozens of passengers from each arriving Eastern Bloc aircraft were approaching RCMP officers asking for asylum status. Accommodations in Gander were becoming a problem. By 1986, whole planeloads of passengers were seeking asylum, and the flight crew were often the only people left on the plane! When you consider that upwards of 30 flights per week were bringing these passengers, it was quickly realized that the trickle had now become a flood and a major problem for both the federal and provincial governments.

Sensing that the Department of Social Services could be overwhelmed by these accommodation requests, the department initiated a scan of the entire Central Newfoundland area to identify potential organizations and buildings that could be used for sheltering and caring for these refugees. This scan was also conducted in the DSS regions of Eastern and Western Newfoundland and in Happy Valley–Goose Bay, Labrador. Every school, church, church hall, fraternal organization, public building, service organization, and fire hall was identified and recorded by the department. In Central Newfoundland, the area extended from Springdale, 200 kilometres west of Gander, to the Central South Coast of Newfoundland, 250 kilometres southwest of Gander, to Clar-enville and east, 150 kilometres east of Gander. Des Dillon, then department manager for Central Newfoundland, told me that at the height of the refugee flow, they even had refugee claimants staying in hotel accommodations as far east as Whitbourne, 250 kilometres away, and St. John’s, 330 kilometres east of Gander.

Fortunately for Canada, perhaps, but unfortunately for Gander Airport, in the late 1980s, Canada changed its visa requirements, preventing this type of unexpected immigration. The flow of refugee claimants through this source virtually dried up. The accommodation information collected through the environmental scan, however, was still on file.

The Second Link

The second link in our disaster response chain was forged in 1983 through recognition by the province that the one in 100-year cycle of disastrous, climate-induced events was now becoming more like one in a 10-year cycle, or even less. In 1983, a combination of a very heavy January rainfall and the rapid melting of a more than 40 centimetres (16 inches) of snowpack caused extensive flooding in the basin of the Exploits River in Central Newfoundland. The resultant flooding caused more than $33 million in damage to power dams, buildings, and infrastructure in the town of Bishop’s Falls. This was a powerful incentive to initiate Disaster Management Plans throughout the province.

Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Emergency Measures Organization (EMO), was encouraging towns and cities to develop and practise Emergency Response Plans to deal with forest fires, floods, and other locally catastrophic events. In 1999, this encouragement was reflected in legislation that gave major towns and cities three years to develop a comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and to put it in practice.

In the town of Gander, this task was assigned to Rod Clarke, then fire inspector for the town. Mr. Clarke, through his office with the Town of Gander, recruited persons in the upper management positions of various services, such as RCMP, hospital department heads, staff from the Town of Gander, town police, fire and emergency services, NewTel, Newfoundland Power, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the Department of Social Services. Heading up the implementation effort for Gander was a former resident of Happy Adventure, Jake Turner. Jake was the town manager. The Emergency Management Plan was developed and approved, and the group held regular exercises at the town Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to test and refine their emergency management skills. Similar Emergency Management Plans were developed and enacted in all major towns in the province.

The Third Link

Around the same time, the year 2000 became a major worry for a world now increasingly controlled by computers. Problems were anticipated because many computer programs represented four-digit dates with only the last two digits representing the year. The year 1989, for example, was generally represented as 89. This representation was embedded in an incalculable number of lines of computer code, built over the years to such an extent that it was almost impossible to predict what would happen when the computer clocks rolled over to 2000. How would the computer be able to distinguish between 2000 and 1900, or 1800, for that matter? The problem, or potential bug, was given the name the Y2K problem or Y2K bug.

In the aviation industry, Y2K gave rise to a serious discussion, since air navigation software, and the proliferation of computer-controlled devices in aircraft, contained the possibility of worldwide aviation disasters if this anticipated problem could not be resolved. Practically every country in the world had to initiate standards defining year 2000 conformity requirements.

As an example, in 1997, the British Standards Institute (BSI) developed standard DISC PD2000-1 defining Year 2000 Conformity requirements as four rules: (1) No valid date will cause any interruption in operations; (2) Calculation of durations between, or the sequence of, pairs of dates will be correct whether any dates are in different centuries; (3) In all interfaces and in all storage, the century must be unambiguous, either specified or calculable by algorithm; and (4) Year 2000 must be recognized as a leap year.

The BSI identified two problems that might exist in many computer programs. First, the practice of representing the year with two digits became problematic, with logical errors arising upon rollover from xx99 to xx00. This factor had caused some date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates and times on and after January 1, 2000, and on other critical dates that were billed as event horizons. Without corrective action, long-working systems would break down when the 97, 98, 99, 00 ascending numbering assumption suddenly became invalid.

Secondly, some programmers had misunderstood the Gregorian calendar rule that determines whether years that are exactly divisible by 100 are not leap years, and they assumed the year 2000 would not be a leap year. Years divisible by 100 are not leap years, except for years that are divisible by 400. Thus, the year 2000 was a leap year. (Source: British Standards Institute: BSI Standard on year 2000)

Companies and organizations worldwide checked, fixed, and upgraded their computer systems to address the anticipated problem, and few computer failures were reported when the clocks rolled over into 2000. (Source: Wikipedia)

Gander Airport, and other airports and navigation services worldwide, had to devise a plan to land every aircraft in its air control area and park them until the various computer clocks rolled over the 1999–2000 date to ensure that event horizon had safely passed. In 1998, Gander International Airport went through such an exercise and developed a plan to park up to 50 or more aircraft of varying sizes.

The Fourth Link

The Central Newfoundland area has always had a dedicated corps of Canadian Red Cross volunteers. In previous years, they had proven their mettle by responding to climate-initiated and other disasters, including forest fires and overland flooding. Many volunteers had received training at the Canadian Emergency Measures College in Arnprior, Ontario. Among them was Des Dillon and his wife, Jean. The couple had volunteered with the Red Cross for 35 years and had sufficient experience to be trusted to supervise major disaster management response efforts in places like Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Los Angeles, California. For example, in the aftermath of the Los Angeles earthquake of January 17, 1994, Des was put in charge of 1,000 volunteers. In the 1997 Manitoba flooding, the Red Cross was put in charge of registering 27,000 people who were displaced by floods. Des had also worked at registering and tracking thousands of people forced to flee forest fires in British Columbia. All of which he accomplished in his quiet, efficient way.

With this experience, Des, his family, and the 20 other Red Cross volunteers were well-prepared to handle any emergency. This cache of knowledge turned out to be invaluable as the 9/11 events unfolded.

In addition to his wife, Jean, Des’s sons Dave and Doug were volunteers. When the planes started landing in Gander, Des, who was in St. John’s at the time and about to return by car for Gander, called his son Dave, who was working with the provincial Department of Human Resources and Employment (HRE), and asked him to get in touch with the Gander International Airport Authority and offer the Red Cross for any service they could provide. Dave, being on the ground in Gander, called up a number of Red Cross volun teers, engaged the assistance of the local Salvation Army, and began the process of setting up tables and gathering supplies needed to register and document the thousands of passengers whom they knew would need relief from their confines in the 38 aircraft sitting in the hot sun on the airport tarmac. Des arrived in Gander around 4:00 p.m.

The Fifth Link

Gander and surrounding communities have been blessed for many years with the presence of several Salvation Army citadels and temples with very active Corps officers and congregations. Like the Red Cross, Salvation Army officers are trained in disaster relief, though sometimes in a markedly different way from the Red Cross volunteers. Many Salvation Army officers had received training at the Canadian Emergency Measures College in Arnprior, Ontario. Salvation Army Major Alf Richardson headed up the Gander Corps, and putting boots on the ground was Captain Ron Stuckless. When the Red Cross put out a call for volunteers to help with the registration of passengers at the airport, within an hour, 35–40 uniformed Salvation Army officers were behind the desks at the airport, ready to register passengers! And like every other church and organization in Gander and surrounding towns, they were amassing a small army of volunteers ready, willing, and able to meet the needs of the stranded passengers and aircrew.

The Sixth Link

James Paton Memorial Hospital (JPMH) was a regular participant in disaster exercises conducted by the Gander International Airport and the town of Gander. Being a large, full-service regional hospital, it had its own Emergency Management Plan and an Emergency Operations Centre structure as part of that plan. Initially, staffing issues complicated the response of JPMH, but their plan worked as well as any other, and their presence at the town of Gander EOC and their on-the-ground presence at the airport contributed greatly to the successful hosting of the 6,700 stranded passengers.

In a unique twist of fate, Health Canada had three emergency hospitals in storage since the early 1950s, each containing 200 field litters and necessary basic supplies to be deployed in an emergency. These field hospitals were stored in St. John’s, Gander, and Stephenville and were under the management of a designated hospital in each region. In the Gander hospital, Doug Ellsworth was the person charged with the maintenance and deployment of the field hospital stored there.

The Seventh Link

Gander has had a Royal Canadian Air Force presence since the 1940s. During the 9/11/2001 event, 9 Wing Gander RCAF was the first to activate its Emergency Command Centre and upgraded the base security to its highest level. As soon as Gander International Airport activated its Emergency Communications Centre (ECC), 9 Wing sent a person to sit at the table and be the liaison person to the base ECC.

103 Search and Rescue Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force is a search and rescue unit based at 9 Wing Gander. The squadron is responsible for a large area covering the offshore waters of Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Atlantic Ocean and inland areas in the Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador, and some parts of Eastern Quebec.

The 5th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (5 CRPG) is responsible for the area of Newfoundland and Labrador and reports to the 5th Canadian Division (5 Cdn Div). The group provides patrols for national security and public safety missions in sparsely populated northern, coastal, and isolated areas of the province that cannot conveniently or economically be covered by other parts of the Canadian Armed Forces. Canadian Rangers in 5 CRPG are involved in activities such as coastal patrols and aiding in emergency situations. There are 12 Canadian Ranger patrols located across Labrador and 20 located on the island portion of the province. The 91 Construction Engineers (RCAF Reserve Unit) are also based at 9 Wing.

The combined forces of these airmen and soldiers in Gander was an invaluable aid to the smooth operation of deplaning and screening passengers and providing assistance to them as they were sent to their host communities.

The Eighth Link

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has had a presence in Gander since the province’s Confederation with Canada in 1949. In the early 1980s, the RCMP presence at Gander International Airport kept increasing to handle the ever-increasing number of asylum seekers. The Airport Detachment, which had 22 members in 1989, was eventually stood down in the early 1990s, because very few, if any, persons were seeking asylum through that route. The local detachment, assisted by officers from four other nearby detachments, played a key role in the 9/11 event in Gander. The total strength of RCMP officers reached as high as 70 officers from all areas of the province within 18 hours of the first plane landing.

With all these resources and expertise in disaster/emergency response concentrated in a community of approximately 9,500 population, it is no wonder that the crisis was handled as efficiently as it was. But it took a crisis of this proportion to prove the concept of the Emergency Management Plans on a grand scale.

Where is the Emergency?

When the true nature of the events unfolding in the United States became clear, and US-bound aircraft were directed by Gander Area Control Centre (ACC) to land at Canadian airports, each receiving airport and town activated its version of its Emergency Response Plan. I say its version because there were so many names for basically the same service.

The airport in Goose Bay, Labrador, is under the control of Canadian Forces Base 5 Wing Goose Bay. The civilian airport operations are managed by the Goose Bay Airport Corporation (GBAC), and its subcontracts aircraft servicing and refuelling to Woodward Aviation. Airport maintenance of buildings, infrastructure, and airfield are conducted by Serco Facilities Management Inc. under contract to the Department of National Defence. GBAC pays an annual fee for services. Since the crisis was a civil aviation matter, the GBAC airport manager was in charge of the response to the crisis. However, because of the small GBAC staff and the lease/contract arrangement with 5 Wing Goose Bay, he had to formally request the assistance of DND in his response. The base commander opened the Military Control Centre (MCC) and summoned senior Canadian Forces personnel, the RCMP, and the senior British, Dutch, German, and Italian air force officers (all participating in NATO low-level flight training in Goose Bay), to attend the MCC and participate in handling the emergency. The airport manager also notified the town of Happy Valley–Goose Bay of the impending arrival of possibly dozens of aircraft and the assistance of the town. The manager also noted just about every building in the town might be required once the resources of the military base were exceeded.

Because the jet stream was quite a bit south of Goose Bay on September 11, 2001, only seven aircraft actually landed at that airport, bringing with them a total of 816 passengers and crew. The 5 Wing Canadian Forces base, in co-operation with the international air forces operating there, decided that all of the passengers and aircrew could be housed and fed at military quarters. While the assistance of the town of Happy Valley–Goose Bay for housing and feeding of passengers was not required, the resources of the town and some government agencies were key to the overall hosting success.

In Stephenville, which has a former US military airport, there was no airport military presence. The airport is operated by the Stephenville Airport Corporation. The town manager was alerted by the provincial Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) in St. John’s, while the airport manager was called by the Gander Area Control Centre (NAV CANADA). The RCMP officers saw what was happening in the United States on their televisions. All headed for the airport, where they were joined by the provincial Human Resources and Employment (HRE) regional director, Red Cross personnel, Salvation Army officers, a representative of the Sir Thomas Roddick Hospital, the College of the North Atlantic, a representative from C Company 2nd Battalion Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and eventually by Canadian Customs and Immigration officers and officers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. After some discussion, the various agencies divided the duties among themselves and prepared to receive 1,130 passengers and aircrew from the eight planes sitting on their tarmac. Due to group consensus on sharing responsibilities, the town of Stephenville never did open a fully-staffed Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).

College of the North Atlantic headquarters, dining hall, student residence. (L. Bentley photo)

The capital city of St. John’s is the seat of the provincial government and the provincial headquarters for many federal government departments. The provincial headquarters of the Emergency Measures Organization (a division of the Department of Municipal Affairs) was located on Parade Street. The EMO, under the direction of Acting Director Fred Hollett, opened the provincial EOC to provide assistance to any of the four towns handling the diverted aircraft and passengers. St. John’s International Airport activated its ECC and summoned all required partners, including the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC), the RCMP, and the Department of Human Resources and Employment. The Constabulary opened its own EOC in anticipation of having to deal with airport- and aircraft-related incidents, as well as the possibility of having thousands of passengers roaming the streets of the city. The RCMP activated its Divisional Emergency Operations Centre at its provincial headquarters in St. John’s. The Health Care Corporation of St. John’s, the provider of health services in Eastern Newfoundland, activated and staffed its EOC. The City of St. John’s opened its EOC, and the mayor began to make radio announcements requesting private accommodations for the thousands of stranded passengers. The mayor’s actions caused some problems. Also, the large number of Emergency Operations Centres in St. John’s caused some issues in staffing them with high-level decision makers, but again, things got sorted out rather quickly.

In Gander, it was different again. The 9 Wing Gander Canadian Forces base was first to act in setting up its Emergency Command Centre and raising base perimeter security to its highest level. This was, at the time, not connected to the possibility of aircraft being diverted to Gander International Airport, because that number wasn’t known. Rather, it was the possibility of terrorist activity of unknown origin that might affect the base.

Gander International Airport, apprised of the situation by NAV CANADA Area Control Centre, activated its Emergency Communications Centre and called in its partners: the NAV CANADA airport tower controllers, the RCMP, Allied Aviation (the largest aircraft servicing company—fixed-base operator—at the airport), airport fire and emergency services, and 9 Wing Gander Canadian Forces Base. The fire inspector from the town of Gander eventually joined this group to be the liaison person with the town of Gander’s EOC.

Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Emergency Measures Organization (EMO), Fred Hollett standing. (Karen Alexander photo)

Some of the Department of Human Resources and Employment (HRE) staff on shift at Mile One Stadium. L-R: Redfus Gosse, Wanda Young, Roxie Wheaton, Sharon Knott, Judy Strong, Linda Magnussen, Rolayne Lewis-Bartlett, Karen Alexander, and Walt Marvin. Karen Alexander was the regional manager … a superhero among heroes! (Karen Alexander photo)

After getting a report from the Airport Authority through the town fire chief, the town of Gander opened its EOC at 11:45 a.m. The participating partners on that day were the town manager, town fire chief, town director of operations, town clerk, James Paton Memorial Hospital, RCMP, Human Resources and Employment (HRE), and NewTel, the local telephone company.

Shortly after the Emergency Operations Centre opening, James Paton Memorial Hospital quickly set up and staffed its EOC in response to a call from the town EOC and a phone call from the provincial Department of Health.

One private jet was diverted to the airport in Deer Lake. The airport had no problems with that, and the five passengers plus crew obtained accommodations at a local hotel. That flight had a particularly important passenger!

So, with all of these emergency centres activated, where was the emergency? When a commercial flight has mechanical or electrical or electronic issues, an on-board medical issue, or a passenger who might become unruly during flight, the normal procedure is for the pilot to contact the airline company, who in turn contacts an airline service company at a designated airport to make whatever preparations are necessary to receive the flight. When the aircraft lands, the on-board situation is dealt with, the aircraft refuelled, and the plane is on its way once again. If the issue is serious and the plane is to be kept on the ground for an extended period of time, the airline service company may have to make hotel reservations for the passengers, notify Customs and Immigration officials that the passengers will be disembarking, and make other arrangements as necessary. No matter what the reason, even severe weather at the intended destination, aircraft diversions are not seen as local, regional, provincial, or national emergencies. As a matter of fact, the four airports involved regularly receive such diversions, often several a week.

None of the incoming aircraft reported any mechanical or other problems. There were no reports of medical emergencies or sickness among the passengers or flight crews. No aircraft reported suspicious activity or threats, and all were eventually safely landed and parked. However, because of potential security issues, the pilots were told that all passengers and crew must remain on board. These instructions came from Transport Canada, as the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, FBI, and CIA, in the US, were checking passenger lists of each aircraft for suspected terrorists. While no persons of interest were identified, local organizations were not informed of the outcome. The relatively healthy passengers remained on board anywhere from seven to 24 hours after landing.

There were emergencies, but these emergencies were in New York City, Washington, and Pennsylvania, where the hijacked aircraft had crashed thousands of kilometres away from Newfoundland and Labrador. So, with all of these emergency centres now operational, was it going to be a case of all dressed up and nowhere to go? Not really. The way it unfolded was quite beautiful and, in the end, an excellent example of the importance of having Emergency Management Plans along with disaster or emergency response plans.

Perhaps the answer can be found in examining the definitions of emergency and crisis.

An emergency is a situation that poses a serious and immediate risk to health, life, or property. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines emergency as an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word as a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action. The common theme is that emergency always implies that it requires urgent intervention. Natural disasters, such as raging forest fires, tsunamis, floods, and tornadoes can be classified as emergencies since victims of such incidents need urgent assistance. Major road accidents, strokes, heart attacks, outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and smallpox or measles, and most recently COVID-19, are also examples of emergencies.

A crisis is an event that leads to an unstable or crucial time. Crisis is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as a crucial or decisive point or situation, especially a difficult or unstable situation involving an impending change. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word as a time of intense difficulty or danger. Crises can be described also as negative changes that take place in the security, political, economic, environmental, and societal situation of a country. Crises are always unexpected and a cause of uncertainty. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes a crisis as a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger; and a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.

Some would argue that NAV CANADA Area Control Centre, the airports, towns, and federal and provincial government agencies were responding to a crisis rather than an emergency. No aircraft or passenger was in immediate danger, and the diversion of the incoming aircraft was orderly and controlled. If it took one or two or even three hours to land them, it had to be done safely. Once on the ground, the aircraft were parked according to parking plans developed to address the Y2K computer issue. The passengers kept on board were not in any danger. There were uncomfortable moments caused by nicotine withdrawal, and some passengers had diabetic medication or other prescription drugs in their checked luggage that was not accessible. There were a few issues of stress-induced sicknesses and food shortages, but all of these were handled by the airline servicing companies, paramedics from the local hospitals, or local pharmacies supplying nicotine patches.

Keeping the passengers on board while security checks were being done also gave time to the airports, towns, and other agencies to figure out ways for the orderly disembarkation, Customs and Immigration screening, transportation to processing sites, and finding suitable shelter accommodations for the 13,000 unexpected guests. It was an exceptionally busy time!

Reg Batson, an air traffic controller at Gander ACC, was somewhat surprised when I mentioned NAV CANADA’s role in the emergency. He said, They didn’t think of it as an emergency. It started as a regular day with east-bound and westbound aircraft reporting their positions on a regular basis, so Gander ACC knew where each aircraft was. Yes, it got a bit hectic, and yes, some flight captains did not want to listen to the orders to land in Canada, but that got sorted out when they were told that if they proceeded to the United States they would be shot down. There was a minor crisis in staffing that quickly resolved itself as off-duty controllers came in to help out. Reg said, At Gander ACC, there was no emergency, no crisis, just doing what we are trained to do.

Part II

Deer Lake

In the retelling of 9/11 stories associated with Newfoundland and Labrador, one airport is often overlooked, and several unsung heroes had stories to be told.

Of the 79 aircraft stranded in Newfoundland and Labrador, only one landed at Deer Lake Airport. Deer Lake does not have an international airport, and it has no permanent Canadian Customs and Immigration services. The 8,005-foot (2,440-metre) runway can accommodate aircraft up to the Boeing 737–700 series jet, but it has extremely limited parking space for large aircraft. On September 11, 2001, only one aircraft was directed to Deer Lake, a Gulfstream V private jet belonging to Aon Corporation.

According to Transport Canada sources, there were five passengers, plus flight crew, on board. The aircraft was flying from Monte Carlo, Monaco, to Chicago, Illinois. Among the passengers was Patrick Ryan and his wife, Shirley. Patrick was the head of Aon Corporation, one of the largest insurance brokers in the world. That morning, Patrick and Shirley were flying back from the Monte Carlo Reinsurance Conference. They were sleeping and were awakened by a flight attendant who told them a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. Like most people when they heard the news, the Ryans thought the incident must have involved a small aircraft. They were told their aircraft was being temporarily diverted to an airport in Newfoundland. Once they landed in Deer Lake and saw the news reports, they learned the situation was far worse than a small aircraft crashing into the towers.

To make matters worse, Aon Corporation had approximately 1,100 employees working in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, so Patrick was genuinely concerned for the safety of his employees. They took up residence in a motel in Deer Lake and were given unlimited access to several telephone lines. From that motel room in Deer Lake, Patrick Ryan directed the operation of searching for, and accounting for, his New York City employees.

The following account of how that aircraft was permitted to fly while Canadian airspace was closed to commercial or private aircraft, and how the occupants eventually left Canada, is a little different in context than the Aon account of the flight. That the flight was permitted to fly under humanitarian grounds is without doubt.

Good Samaritans in the Situation Centre

Among the tens of thousands of foreign nationals who suddenly found themselves stranded in Canada on September 11, Pat Ryan had an urgent