GANDER
21/01/21 14:25 Filed in: Once upon a time | My adventures
'Come From Away' - the Australian and Broadway smash-hit musical, is about the day the two towers of New York's World Trade Centre were attacked, on the 11th. September 2001.
38 airliners were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, in Canada and 6,595 passengers and crew were accommodated by the locals for days.
One family, who found themselves occupying three pews in the local church, was that of Sheikh Maan Al-Sanea, who owned Saad Corporation. He recounted how well he and his family were cared-for by the townspeople.
Later, in 2005, his company acquired an Airbus A320 which I delivered, after its registration in the Cayman Islands, to Bahrain, via Gander and Luton.
Our arrival in Gander was during an unforecast snow-storm, with an 18 knot crosswind and snow drifts racing across the grooved runway. The same weather system had taken-out our alternate, St.John … so there was pressure to get in.
The 'Newfies' showed-us the hospitality for which they are world renown, despite 'Happy Hour' ending before we could finish checking-in at the hotel. (Nothing hurts more than missing Happy Hour by a few minutes).
Even though the kitchen was closed, the cook stayed back and made us a newfie-sized bowl of soup.
The next morning, minus 9C, they de-iced our aircraft and cleared the runway so we could fly off to Luton in London.
A year later I joined Emirates and spent a decade talking to the ATC at Gander Control every time I crossed the Atlantic.
During very crossing of The Atlantic, Pilots add Gander into the secondary flight plans which can be activated at the click of a button, in case an emergency landing is needed.
Every year many airliners divert to Gander with medical and technical emergencies.
Prior to the jet age all the turboprop airliners dropped-in for fuel, as they couldn't make JFK in one hop from Europe due to the westerly winds.
It was also the place where the WW2 fighters and bombers made their last fuel stop before heading out over the Atlantic on their delivery flights to the UK, and the fighting.
The delivery flights were usually made by female pilots, and some Aussies and members of the Commonwealth allies.
There are quite a few graves as a result of the many crashes, the weather is not for the faint-hearted, including two Australians. Gander is the location of the only Commonwealth War Grave in the North Americas.
Come From Away is particularly poignant for airline pilots, particularly the song 'Me and the sky' which deals the struggle to become a pilot, particularly for women, and the guilt we have all felt after the tools of our trade were used to kill 2,977 people in the 9/11 attacks.
Within four days after the attacks 23 airlines around the world went broke —their assets worthless— Ansett Australia was one of them.
The Producer of Come From Away, is Australian Rodney Rigby.
38 airliners were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, in Canada and 6,595 passengers and crew were accommodated by the locals for days.
One family, who found themselves occupying three pews in the local church, was that of Sheikh Maan Al-Sanea, who owned Saad Corporation. He recounted how well he and his family were cared-for by the townspeople.
Later, in 2005, his company acquired an Airbus A320 which I delivered, after its registration in the Cayman Islands, to Bahrain, via Gander and Luton.
Our arrival in Gander was during an unforecast snow-storm, with an 18 knot crosswind and snow drifts racing across the grooved runway. The same weather system had taken-out our alternate, St.John … so there was pressure to get in.
The 'Newfies' showed-us the hospitality for which they are world renown, despite 'Happy Hour' ending before we could finish checking-in at the hotel. (Nothing hurts more than missing Happy Hour by a few minutes).
Even though the kitchen was closed, the cook stayed back and made us a newfie-sized bowl of soup.
The next morning, minus 9C, they de-iced our aircraft and cleared the runway so we could fly off to Luton in London.
A year later I joined Emirates and spent a decade talking to the ATC at Gander Control every time I crossed the Atlantic.
During very crossing of The Atlantic, Pilots add Gander into the secondary flight plans which can be activated at the click of a button, in case an emergency landing is needed.
Every year many airliners divert to Gander with medical and technical emergencies.
Prior to the jet age all the turboprop airliners dropped-in for fuel, as they couldn't make JFK in one hop from Europe due to the westerly winds.
It was also the place where the WW2 fighters and bombers made their last fuel stop before heading out over the Atlantic on their delivery flights to the UK, and the fighting.
The delivery flights were usually made by female pilots, and some Aussies and members of the Commonwealth allies.
There are quite a few graves as a result of the many crashes, the weather is not for the faint-hearted, including two Australians. Gander is the location of the only Commonwealth War Grave in the North Americas.
Come From Away is particularly poignant for airline pilots, particularly the song 'Me and the sky' which deals the struggle to become a pilot, particularly for women, and the guilt we have all felt after the tools of our trade were used to kill 2,977 people in the 9/11 attacks.
Within four days after the attacks 23 airlines around the world went broke —their assets worthless— Ansett Australia was one of them.
The Producer of Come From Away, is Australian Rodney Rigby.
Breaking-out of cloud, about to get serious.
Snow drifting across the runway in an 18 knot breeze.
Tippy-toeing to find the taxiways.
Our first Newfie.
'Go and stand in the snowstorm and I'll take your photo!'
Everything at the airport stops while a freighter arrives
for a quick splash-and-dash fuel stop.
Warren Appleton, our Engineer, 'bunged the aircraft up' and drained its galley water
in preparation for the low overnight temperatures.
Next morning, -9C.
Ice from the drain hole.
The walk-around.
Clearing our runway.
Snow and ice removal
From the air.
Get your COME FROM AWAY tickets HERE
Move fast, it leaves Melbourne soon.
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