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Pilot who was diverted to Canada after 9/11 attacks reflects on emotional flight
Among them is Nick Dobi, a pilot who was flying across the Atlantic when the U.S. suddenly closed its airspace. With thousands of aircraft forced to change course, Dobi and his passengers were among those diverted to Gander, Newfoundland — a small Canadian community that unexpectedly became a place of refuge during one of the darkest days in modern history.
A Flight Suddenly Without a Destination
On the morning of September 11, 2001, news of the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. quickly spread through the aviation system.
As the scope of the attacks became clear, the United States made the unprecedented decision to shut down its airspace. Aircraft already crossing the Atlantic could no longer continue toward American airports.
Canada launched what became known as Operation Yellow Ribbon, directing hundreds of international flights to airports across the country.
Gander received 38 commercial aircraft — more than 6,000 passengers and hundreds of crew members — dramatically changing the rhythm of a town that had fewer than 10,000 residents.
Landing in a Town No One Expected to Visit
For passengers on Dobi's flight, the diversion brought uncertainty and fear.
They were far from home, unsure what was happening and with little idea when they would be able to continue their journeys. The passengers weren't simply dealing with an unexpected delay. They were trying to process news of an attack that had fundamentally changed the world while sitting inside an aircraft thousands of miles from the United States.
For many, Gander became the first safe place they could reach.
An Entire Community Opens Its Doors
What happened after the planes landed became one of the most enduring stories of compassion to emerge from September 11.
Gander residents and people from surrounding communities quickly mobilized to care for the unexpected arrivals. Schools, churches, community centers and private homes became places for passengers to sleep and regroup.
Residents organized food, clothing and other necessities, while strangers welcomed people who had arrived with little more than the belongings they had carried onto their planes.
At its peak, the number of passengers and crew in the area approached the population of the town itself.
A Memory That Stayed With the Pilot
For Dobi, the experience was not simply an unusual aviation story. It became an emotional chapter of his life.
Now 84, he is looking back on the flight and the people of Newfoundland with the perspective of someone who witnessed an extraordinary moment firsthand.
The experience also reflected something larger about that day: while the attacks brought fear and grief across the United States, acts of kindness were unfolding far beyond American borders.
In Gander, people who had never met the stranded passengers chose to help them without knowing how long they would stay or when the crisis would end.
From Emergency to Lasting Connection
The passengers eventually continued their journeys, but the connection between them and the people of Gander did not end when the planes departed.
Many returned to Newfoundland over the years, maintaining friendships with the residents who had helped them during those uncertain days.
The story eventually became internationally known and inspired the Broadway musical Come From Away, which tells the story of the stranded passengers and the Newfoundland community that welcomed them.
25 Years Later, Gander Still Remembers
As the world marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Gander's role in the aftermath remains a powerful reminder that history is not only defined by tragedy.
It is also remembered through the people who stepped forward when others needed help.
Thirty-eight planes arrived in Gander because they had nowhere else to go. Thousands of passengers stepped into an unfamiliar town carrying fear, confusion and grief.
What they found was a community willing to open its doors.
For pilots like Nick Dobi, that flight remains more than a story about an emergency diversion. It is a memory of a frightening day — and of the extraordinary kindness that followed.
Source: CBS News
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