>> it thought, what, what? i was flying from paris to dallas, i was the captain of a very large airplane, a triple 7. it was a gorgeous day. >> were coming home from paris. >> i was a passenger on air france zero zero four. >> flew into kazakhstan for an adoption and we adopted a little girl while they are. >> we left frankfurt on her way to dallas. it was flight 3299. we had already been out of the country for 25 days. we were more than anxious to get home. i was thinking it's a matter of hours now we will be home. we had family waiting for us. >> all the sudden all the flight attendants went white as a sheet. >> the plane slowed considerably, took a hard bank to the right. my first impression, i knew something was wrong. i thought there is probably another airplane nearby or something too. >> the flight attendant started clearing trays and closing doors. just kinda battening down the hatches it. >> we are merely of the middle of the north atlantic we got word one of the towers had been hit. >> and very tragic alert for right now put an incredible plane crash into the world trade center. ♪ ♪ ♪ there is a jet plane inside that tower of the world trade center. ♪ ♪ ♪ close world trade center buildings absolutely gone. >> this is horrible. >> we knew very little pride we did not of the airplanes have been hijacked. we did not know how the crews at throats had been selected. then shortly thereafter we heard all of the u.s. airspace was closed. and of course that became a whole different story. >> in the u.s., for the first time in history all united states commercial aircraft have been grounded. when a sump international inbound flights landed in canada. but now canadian airlines and airports have been shut down as well. >> returned to our computers for a diversion. we assumed it would be one of the larger cities like toronto, montréal, edmonton, calgary, any other places in canada. we were ordered to land immediately and gander newfoundland. and, as airline pilots we don't normally get orders. >> he quickly rushed in we had a real crisis on our hands. was happening and now, not tomorrow or not six or seven hours a day. now. >> a pilot made an announcement terrorist activity new york said we would be taking a turn up the coast. we had no idea where we were going. it was really frightening. >> and received a report there are communication lines that what would appear to be maybe a terrorist activity or hiking hijacking has occurred for quickness and ladies and gentlemen is captain bass. there's been a crisis in the united states. all the airspace is close were going to be landing and dander, newfoundland purnell get back to with more information will be get on the ground. >> will be landing in gander. i thought what? at the time i'd not tried ever heard of gander. i did not know where it was very. >> where is newfoundland? a lot of people had no idea. >> i was so naïve at the time i could not wrap my brain around what terrorism was. i thought that was something to happen somewhere else in the world preyed not on u.s. soil. the hardest part for me at that time was of figuring out what i was going to say to the passengers. because i'd made up my mind i wanted to tell the truth. but i did not to tell too much. because i did not want to cause havoc in the back of the plane. >> that news would filter from the front of the plane down to the back of the plane. just like that game as a kid you say something and pass it along, it changes from the beginning to the end. we were hearing the white house has been destroyed. there is a lot of confusion. can't really speculation. people wondering what is it? what is going on. how many people are being affected? who is hurt? where are we going was really the big question. where is it gander, newfoundland? on how long are we going to be there? >> most people did not believe what the pilot said. it just seemed too unreal. it is impossible for the world trade center to fall. >> 74 gander good day you identified clear on course 513,000. quickset morning we saw the activity went on in new york or saying there's going to be some tangle today trying to cope with this mess and of course it was in our lap. >> reduce simulation exercises for hectic situations. but we've never had anything like that. never seen anything like that. it was beyond the wildest very. >> gander was by the u.s. military. they were looking for a place to land their planes to refuel to go across to partake in the second world war. this was the best location. gander it was known a crossroads of the world. >> goes on 20 minutes i got a call from the time managers saying you better come in. it looks like the united states is going to be closing its airspace. he said it looks like we are expecting some planes. rocks at first i did as the mayor was declared a state of emergency. by declaring a state of emergency, they gave me access to everything in town. realizing we only have 500 hotel rooms with 7000 people. >> i was the town constable. schools were just opening up. it's beginning in september. i sat there with my radar on. that is my normal thing for the school year when it starts i am in front of the schools. and this morning, i don't know why i did it but i turned off my music radio i even turned off my work radios. >> pulled into the parking lot was next to me i've known him for years. i motioned for him to roll down his window. he rolled down his window and it's a turn on your radio. he turned it on and within seconds he was gone. >> i got a call from the attachment to get back to the airport get up there now. there is at least 1000 cars of their looking was going on. this is a rare recent planes coming and going but not to this extent. i looked in here is a jumbo jet coming in right over me. and it landed pretty but it looked again i could see another one. and it was coming in. i'm going oh my god. and then when i look you could see lights in the aircraft stacked up. circling the town waiting for their turn to land. >> there'd been that many are finding gander at one time with those during world war ii. they were all small airplanes. never, ever in the history of gander landing. in the three hour time frame. >> apparently there was another plane on the runway. so our plane did a very sharp turn upwards. we avoided something. the runners were full and they're having to find places to park planes. >> there were literally parked nose to tail on every piece of concrete that you could see at the airport. quickset eight or ten airplanes dumping fuel there too heavy to land. they would normally burn off the fuel and the rest of their flight precooked i learned i was would be 7000 pounds overweight for landing. so i had to make the decision whether i was going to jettison what could be precious fuel because i did not know how much fuel was available in gander as far as departures. i did not know how many airplanes had landed there before or would be landing after me. boxer running 12 miles apart which the equivalent of three minutes apart. the airspace was literally sterilized after they all land landed. we went from craziness to nothing. it was eerie. the silence was deafening parade there were no airplanes. once i got on the ground it was over. >> headphones you could swipe the credit card of the back of the seat i tried, and tried, and tried. no calls were going through to the united states. >> i think it was better not knowing what had actually happened while the passengers were captive on the airplane pretty think that would've caused them to be more agitated. i actually turn the phones off there were in the airplane. because i did not rumors to be flying around. i wanted to keep the details to a minimum at that time. >> the hardest part is not knowing. not knowing what is going on in the world. not knowing of being able to communicate with your family and friends to tell them that you are okay. >> just managing the aircraft, the crew, and the passengers was my job at the time. that was very important to me too do it correctly. i looked out the window and i saw trees, rocks, and nothing. welcome to unexpected visit to canada. we are in gander, like a gander. just in form there's a horrible tragedy in washington and new york city. and every single plaint over the ocean is being diverted here i think. we are not sure where were going to go or how long we are going to be here. could be for a while per. >> were actually on her airplane 28 hours. we had flown for seven. and when we touch down they came on the airplane after we got parked in said you will not be getting off the airplane until tomorrow. so we knew we were in for the long haul. >> the only thing i could say possible about this experience is. >> we're on the plane for about 15 hours on the tarmac. >> trying to make. let's watch doctor doolittle. we started three times or cook is no food, no water, nothing. they were babies, there are dogs very. >> you don't be the people on the plane with a crying baby. >> she had never been out of an orphanage. so she was an unfamiliar surroundings. she was around people that she really did not know yet. she was eating the food that she had never eaten before. so everything was different for her part. >> time zones were off by 12 hours per. >> that was wrong. and she had an ear infection. >> we didn't think it will be staying just landing for a few hours, straighten things and people would be gone. but we realize the longer the day went, the longer we knew this was not going to happen. it was starting to get dark and i've been staring out that window, looking at other planes ahead that had armed guards at the foot of every plane. >> now it is 6:10 p.m. been on the same plane on the ground for eight hours. and on the plane for 15 hours but i don't even know. >> the pirate said well, they're going to let you off. but we are not sure where they are taking you. >> week get off and spend the night in the shelter in gander. should be interesting. >> in gander, we have 12 taxis. we do not have a bus system here parts of the only bus system we had is the school bus system. in the drivers are on strike. >> all the kids had to walk to school or get their parents or drop them off it. you can imagine the chaos of traffic with that. >> about the union and they agreed look, our beef is not with those people for those people need our help. so all the bus drivers decided to come off the picket line, volunteered their time and took people to and from wherever they wanted to go by. >> we were on the plane for nine hours. i remember staring out the window and watching schoolbus to start lining up. and i said to marine, we are not going anywhere. we are not leaving this, wherever we are, until we don't know when. >> agassi a long line of school buses with headlights. what what are school buses doing on the runway? >> we basically set up emergency operation center at the town recalled and everybody that would be involved. there is nowhere in that plan that said what you do a 7000 people drops in for a few nights? we never had to take a look at what to do. our job was to make their stay in gander as comfortable as possible under a difficult situation they're going through very. >> my name is bonnie harris i cared for the animals drink 911 there on the planes. my husband had mentioned this probably animals on the plane you just can't leave them. >> there were 11 dogs, nine cats and two. these are living, breathing creatures here. these are somebody's pets. they had been on there at least 24 hours. and somebody needs to go in and at least give them water and check on them. these animals were stressed to the max. they were panting, they were thirsty, they were hungry, their bedding was dirty. we go in and take them for short walks and walk them around to give them a bit of exercise. bucks we contacted every church, every organization, every school, how many can you take? that is when we started to put the plan in place and started transporting people. >> finally it we are free. we are free precooked so i see this big sign gander sign lit up at the airport. there is no gates to pull up too. who had to walk down the stairs, scold that we are wearing shorts. >> what all the planes are still 20 other planes it had to d board. they have no idea where we are going but we are going. >> we walked into the terminal which look like something from decades ago. and it was lined with tables and tables of cooked food. and it told me that every stove in gander had been turned on all night long. because they made enough food to feed 7000 passengers. they only have a population of 9400. >> they're giving us little bags of food, supplies, toothbrushes. everything we might need before we got on the buses. >> they're getting off that point the look that was on their faces, where am i? oh my god, where am i? and what is happening? works the people in town started to go door to door collecting blankets, pillows, and they started cooking for us while we were sitting on that plane watching the school buses line up for us. they had already sprung into action. they were forming groups and going house to house. people were emptying their closets and not even expecting it back. >> we have you. we have you. do not worry about a thing. >> our flight air france zero zero four we were all taken to a community college. college of north atlantic gander campus precooked had the cafeteria they put a map up and they said you are here. people did not know where newfoundland was. we literally doubled the population of gander and one day. >> i heard there's a plane loaded coming in for the first thing i said was thank god they are coming here. i know they will be looked after. not saying they would not be looked after elsewhere, but i know they will be looked after here. and they were. >> the cool thing that night on suppertime of september the 11th was how fast we sell stuff coming into the venues, sleeping bags, air mattresses, foam pads frequency basically slept on the college classroom floor with a faux meat mattress the spiky faux meat sleeping bags, blankets that people had collected from their homes. >> i think it was on the second day the canadian military flew in 5000 cots. i had a credit card it could have purchased a hotel room but there's no hotels. and so i had to rely on a complete stranger to give me a bed. i got choked up because i have never had to rely on somebody else to put my head down. >> there's a big common area and on the wall was a fight tiny box tv. we stood in front of that tv and watch that plane crash over and over. >> is closer to maybe 10:00 p.m. at that time. in the first think we saw were those images of what was happening in new york. >> all of us looked up at that television and saw what you all had been watching for hours. it was horrifying. >> 12 hours after everybody else knew what had happened we were finally seeing the reality of the horror of what was happening in america. >> you have to remember that some people had relatives and friends working downtown in manhattan. and to see that for the first time and not know where they were, it was horrifying and terrifying. >> i could not sleep. everything running through my mind. i had the tv on with the volume of this is john. he never gives up—no matter what life throws his way. high cholesterol. heart disease. 17 fad diets... 5 kids... 3 grandkids... 1 heart attack. and 18 passwords that seem to change daily. with leqvio, john can lower his cholesterol— and so can you. when taken with a statin, leqvio is proven to lower bad cholesterol by over 50% and keep it low with two doses a year. common side effects of leqvio were injection site reaction, joint pain, urinary tract infection, diarrhea, chest cold, pain in legs or arms, and shortness of breath. with leqvio, lowering cholesterol becomes just one more thing life throws your way. ask your doctor if leqvio is right for you. lower. longer. leqvio. >> welcome to fox news live. americans are coming together on this day to mark 21 anniversary of 9/11, flowers and wreaths decorated the national memorial in new york city, vice president kamala harris joined mourners at ground zero. manhattan tribute included the annual reading of the victims names. president biden attended wreath laying ceremony at pentagon, offering words of unity. >> and great britain, stage set for what many call of funeral of the century, queen elizabeth ii will be laid to rest a week from now, her flag draped coffin is in edinburgh, scotland after the for example from balmoral. i am ashley now back to runway of hope, a 9/11 story. in 2001, i was the on air face of rogers community television here in gander. i was kind of like the only on-air person. >> they have been inconvenienced by it powers totally out of their control print major world events have grounded many aircraft for days. >> extreme reliance on tv, radio and newspaper print news sourc sources. that did not exist back then. people were glued to us for messages. the public buildings, the churches, all of them need their help. >> we do 12 live shows. we do noon, we would do them mid afternoon, we do want to suppertime. and we would regroup. >> officer rogers television i am brian mosher will see you tonight at 5:30 p.m. and i'll have more updates you at that time but thank you very much. >> not a lot of elect tronic messages in 2001. my messages came in by constable going around to the venues. picking up pieces of paper and bringing them into me. >> we have special pit from gander academy running low on lunch items. please look ahead as well to the supper meal as well thousands of people here in town and many more in the surrounding areas. >> and affirm kim i'm from austin, texas. we are staying at knights of columbus from american airline precooked through the cables out of the window and went out into the streets and talk to people. >> height gander, we are poor people from paris too. >> hello from glasco precooked i am from france but i am from scottsdale arizona. >> we are from near london. >> at dallas, texas protects kansas city. >> tucson arizona precooked san diego. ask this town could not be nic nicer. i have been so impressed with everybody from the people at the airport to down to the people who have provided us with the places to stay pre-taken us into their homes. >> i got home, standing up and falling in the bed. that was my producer. i was on the air in an hour. at that point then i was 27 hours on the air. i would finally get to that bed that saturday. >> there is the sun rising. we are in gander, newfoundland at the college of north atlant atlantic. and they have been a wonderful people here precooked sniff and lenders try to keep our minds off what was happening at home. it took us on little tours of the pond. there is a little wooden boardwalk around the pond they took us on these mini hikes. they made sure we had music to listen to at night. they really tried to keep us calm and distracted from the horror of it all. they had the coaster rican white water rafting team was on our flight. they are playing soccer with the newfoundland children out the window. it was beautiful. air traffic controller made pat woodford met us at the comfort in which is where my crew stayed. my passengers were the knights of columbus lodge. we got to the comfort and i will never forget he reached in his pocket, handed me the keys to his brand-new truck and said here, you can use this the whole time you're here. i said but you do not even know me. and he said that doesn't matter. that is how the people in gander are pretty quick screws of the planes are going to need their rest for were the ones who going to be flying so we wanted the all the hotel room for the crew. >> was little hard knowing my passengers were sleeping on cots and on the floor. but i think it was also very important for the f