The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

The only pilot perspective in the book is that of 30-year veteran Lufthansa pilot Captain Reinhard Knoth. On September 11, Knoth was flying from Frankfurt to New York with 354 passengers on board, including Werner Baldessarini. His radio was tuned to Unicom, through which pilots communicate with each other “about weather conditions or delays at airports” (22). When a pilot reported “something happening in New York” (22), Knoth switched to the BBC, heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, and wondered how such an accident could be possible. When the second plane crash was reported, he and his copilots understood that a pilot could not have been in control of the planes.

Shortly after the second plane hit, Knoth learned that New York City airports had closed and sent a message to his base for guidance. He had little time to wait for a decision. Still four hours from New York, he was almost halfway across the Atlantic, typically the threshold for pilots to continue their journey or turn around. Knoth wondered whether any of his passengers were planning a similar attack and whether they would wait until they were closer to New York to act. He glanced at his cockpit, noticing both how flimsy it was and that it was unlocked, and notified the chief purser of the attacks, telling him not to discuss the news with other flight attendants. To prevent panic from breaking out or mobilization of potential hijackers, Knoth told the purser not to disclose any news to passengers. Additionally, he told him to use a food and beverage cart to barricade the stairway to the upper deck, which provided access to the first-class cabin and cockpit. Reaching the Atlantic’s halfway point without hearing back from his base, Knoth opted to continue and eventually landed in Gander (per instructions), relieved to have arrived safely.

Knoth felt deeply responsible for his passengers and visited them every morning at the school where they were housed. Without fail, each day as he walked to and from the school, locals would stop and offer him a ride. At the shelter, he enjoyed the camaraderie with his passengers and the volunteers, striking up a friendship with the school principal. Everyone seemed “determined to make the best of the situation” (122). When the time came to depart, he offered his passengers a choice and found a way to accommodate them all, determined that they would see the journey through together. Knoth never considered giving up flying after 9/11 but retired after 45 years.

When Knoth was preparing for his final descent into Gander, he informed the passengers that “problems” in the US prevented them from landing there but did not disclose what problems. Fifty-six-year-old Hugo Boss chairman Werner Baldessarini wondered what these problems could be and worried about getting to New York for Fashion Week, an event with considerable financial implications for the brand: He would be premiering its Spring 2002 line. It would be one of his final Fashion Weeks, since he intended to retire in 2002. After they had landed, and Knoth revealed the scope of events in the US and the number of lives lost, Baldessarini “felt ashamed” that he had worried about Fashion Week, observing “[h]ow quickly a person’s priorities could shift” (44).

The number of volunteers in Gander waiting to greet passengers and provide food, water, and toiletries overwhelmed Baldessarini. At the school where his flight was housed, cots had not yet arrived, but the exhausted CEO made a bed on the gym floor with a pillow and blanket, “curl[ing] up in his cashmere suit” (66) and promptly falling asleep. The following day, he notified his company where he was and confirmed that staff in New York were safe. Fashion Week was canceled and the Spring Line’s premier delayed, but the financial losses were “trivial details to Baldessarini” (134).

Baldessarini’s staff worked behind the scenes to help him. When he complained that the underwear he bought at Wal-Mart was uncomfortable, his staff contacted the president of Hugo Boss subsidiary, Les Minion, who reached out to the owner of the closest Hugo Boss outlet to Gander, Byron Murphy. Murphy offered to drive two hundred miles to personally deliver underwear, along with a gift basket of food and wine. Though Baldessarini gratefully accepted the underwear, he declined the food and wine. He wanted to eat whatever his fellow passengers were eating and did not want to offend the volunteers by offering them the gift basket, since that might suggest their efforts were subpar. Baldessarini then spent several hours chatting with Murphy about the spring line, asking him about his store, and inviting him to Europe to tour the company’s headquarters and attend a fashion show. The entire episode seemed like a dream to Murphy and was a story he looked forward to sharing with his customers.

A friend offered the use of a private jet to help Baldessarini leave Gander early, but he turned it down. He and his fellow passengers had developed “an incredible bond” (161), spending all their time together, whether eating, playing cards, watching television, or sleeping. In addition, he had become deeply attached to the overwhelmingly compassionate and caring volunteers, who treated the passengers like “long-lost relatives,” (161), taking them on tours and into their homes. Having grown accustomed to the “cutthroat” fashion industry, Baldessarini did not take what he was experiencing for granted. He did not want to do anything to set himself apart, noting, “There was no hatred. No anger. No fear in Gander. Only the spirit of community. Here, everyone was equal, everyone was treated the same” (161). He remained with his flight until it returned to Germany.

Previously with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Oz Fudge was a Gander town constable on 9/11. His role centered on keeping the community safe, whether this meant breaking up bar fights, cooling domestic disputes, or making traffic stops. Fudge did not carry a gun, believing they “make people nervous” (21). A husband and father of three, he coached his daughter’s basketball team. His favorite movie was It’s a Wonderful Life, and his first son was named after Jimmy Stewart, his favorite actor. Because the bus drivers were on strike on September 11, Fudge was monitoring crosswalks and streets around the local schools. After completing his morning patrol, Fudge was pondering what would keep him busy for the remainder of the day when he received a call to turn on his radio. Hearing the news, he immediately headed for town hall.

Speaking with DeFede, Fudge said, “A Newfoundlander likes to put his arm around a person” (21) and tell him everything will be fine because they’re among friends. He put his words into practice in a highly personal way, as flight attendant Sharlene Bowen learned. Her sister, Sheryl McCollum, worked for the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia, and she reached out to Fudge, telling him where her sister was staying and asking him to find her to “give her a hug and tell her that we miss her and we can’t wait for her to come home” (90). Fudge promised to fulfill the request. When he first arrived at Bowen’s hotel, she was out, so he left a note and a Gander Police Department patch. When Bowen and several flight attendants went to the police department to find him, assuming he had a message for the crew, Fudge was out providing security at the airport. The mayor offered to give the flight attendants a guided tour. When Bowen returned to her hotel, another message from Fudge was waiting for her, along with a police department baseball cap. She called the number he left in the note and rushed over. After wrapping her into his arms, he said, “That’s from your sister” (91).

DeFede spoke with Fudge for his Afterword, asking him how Gander fared during pandemic social distancing restrictions. Fudge conceded that it was difficult but a matter of recognizing the long-term benefits of short-term discomfort. Fudge was one of several Gander community members who traveled to several cities for productions of Come From Away, the Broadway musical inspired by The Day the World Came to Town. He shared that he continued to receive messages of thanks from the public, always says that “for us, it’s normal,” and did not understand “what all the fuss is about” (204). Fudge left his post as town constable after 30 years to run for town council and won.