Twenty years after 9/11, Elias Kanaris shares an insider's view of being on one of the diverted planes to Gander International Airport and lessons learnt during that fateful time.
Elias Kanaris offers an insider's view of what happened on 9/11 when the plane he was flying on was diverted, alongside another 37 planes, to Gander International Airport due to the terrorist acts in NYC and DC. What the passengers expected was going to be a short layover, turned into five days as they were hosted by the Salvation Army in Newfoundland, Canada.
After spending 24 hours on the tarmac, with only the BBC World Service providing them with an update on what had happened, they were finally cleared to disembark. Expecting a short layover and a quick return to the plane,they were instead instructed to board a bus and head over to the Salvation Army Church in Gambo, Newfoundland.
What Other Leaders Have To Say About The Book
“Leading from the Stop is the book we all need now.”
— Martin Brooker, Australia
“Elias shares some of the lessons he learned and offers readers key reflections to apply in tackling challenges in their own lives.”
— John Dunning, New Zealand
“Reading this will take you on a journey into your own soul, the way you see life.”
— Mike Handcock, South Africa
“Wow loved this book. I sat up until midnight reading it.”
— Sam Watkins, UK
Having settled into the Salvation Army, we found out that there was a funeral scheduled...
What I hoped would be a short turnaround stretched into a five-day stay. Nobody had anticipated this arrangement, least of all the SA church we now called ‘home’. Two days into our stay, we were made aware that there was a funeral planned to take place in it on Friday afternoon.
No alternative option was available, so we had to come up with a strategy to clean the church from top to bottom out of respect for the grieving family.
It wasn’t hard enough that we were stranded in Gambo, amongst strangers, in unfamiliar surroundings. We now had to make sure that we vacated the premises for a funeral in a short time period.
The formation of the ‘escape committee’
Leadership always has a way of showing up. In our case, it came in the form of a Dutch man, called Montiano Blom (affectionately called ‘Monti’).
He asked for individuals to put their hands up to take ownership of certain areas of the clean-up.
Without his leadership, I dread to think what impact we would have had on the bereaved family.
It is safe to say that during the funeral, nobody would have suspected that 198 stranded plane people were lurking in the church’s depths. The deceased was given a dignified send-off and the event passed.
What People Are Saying About The Book
“Elias has cleverly lent on his personal experiences to teach us sound leadership lessons. This book is an easy read, very relatable and applicable across a wide age group.”
— Angela Holland, New Zealand
“This book, and Elias' story, so beautifully, honestly and thoughtfully told, harnesses the power of storytelling to shine a light on the messages we need to be reminded of now more than ever.”
— Rabia Siddique, Australia
What were the top 4 lessons that we learned?
-
It takes community
We couldn’t have made it through by ourselves. The community searched their pantries, raided their fridges and emptied their freezers to meet our needs. But most importantly they opened their hearts and poured out unconditional love. They taught us that they could drop everything that they were planning to do and pivot at a moment’s notice, without the need for a detailed plan, just a selfless urge to help others in need.
-
It takes a framework
There were daily updates from Captain Mike Ballard and the crew of UA929. They were open and honest with their daily communication to keep us updated on progress. It started off whilst we were flying with the announcement from Capt. Mike that “there was nothing wrong with the plane…” What they effectively said was that :
1) We were not in trouble
2) They believed in us
3) They were here to help
-
It takes observation
Theresa Antonietti’s official title at the time was the Secretary of the Gambo Salvation Army Citadel, but during September’s hospitality campaign, she unofficially became field commander. She paid attention to the people who were lost, broken or in pain and helped them as much as she could. She taught us that it was important to walk slowly amongst the crowd.
-
It takes time to unwind
We made sure that we contributed as much as we could to our situation. While the Newfies prepared, cooked and served us our meals, we took up the slack by preparing the room and washing up the dishes. It created a sense of community within the passengers. We were able to connect, strong bonds and relationships were formed. But first we had to learn how to relax and unwind.
Find out what was said straight after 9/11.
When the dust started to settle, we eventually all made it home. Thankfully, one of the passengers, Craig Fisher, put together a website where we shared photos and various posts as soon as we were able. These have stood the test of time and still appear online.
If you are concerned about how to cope with change, then we recommend that you seek professional support and counselling. There are many local organisations that can help you. In the interim, here is a resource page to help those in New Zealand seek help.
In addition to the website that was set up straight after 9/11, we also have a FB page for the passengers and crew of UA929. This contains further information, pictures and interviews that were captured and shared by others.