'Nothing happens here.
asserted
Nothing → happen → ?
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.
asserted
Collenette → recall → Sept.
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.
asserted
he → begin → speech
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.
asserted
jets → hijack → 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.
asserted
that → scramble → Gander
Then, he ordered everyone to remain on the planes for hours until officials could be sure there were no more security threats.
"
uncertain
officials → order → hours
I think we made the right decisions," Collenette said during an event at Gander International Airport Thursday evening called "Untold Stories — Reconnected."
asserted
Collenette → think → Airport
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.
asserted
Collenette → gather → history
Just under 3,000 people were killed.
asserted
people → kill → ?
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.
asserted
airspace → touch → 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.
asserted
who → spark → 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.
asserted
One → land → Gander
'What kindness, compassion and humanity looks like'
asserted
kindness → look → What
After landing, Gullick wondered why there wasn't any security around the planes, an issue he raised when an airport employee boarded his jet.
asserted
employee → wonder → jet
Gullick said he'll never forget the answer to a very serious question: "He said, 'nothing happens here.
asserted
nothing → say → question
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.
asserted
plans → set → 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.
asserted
we → make → rooms
"
"You showed the world what kindness, compassion and humanity looks like," said Gullick.
asserted
Gullick → show → what
"You're an example for the world, and the world needs that right now."
asserted
world → need → that
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."
asserted
you → recall → place
She said area residents responded with "genuine love" to the so-called "plane people."
asserted
residents → say → people
Striking school bus driver and Gambo resident, Frazer Lush, was among those who abandoned their picket lines to land a hand.
"
asserted
who → strike → hand
It's about helping people who needed us," said Lush, who also helped clean schools that had become emergency shelters.
asserted
that → help → schools
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.
uncertain
one → recall → threat
"We all had a job to do, and we reacted instinctively," he said.
asserted
he → have → job
"Let's hope it doesn't happen again."
asserted
it → let → ?
The Aporia
