September 11, 2001,  U.S. airspace closes after the terrorist attacks in New York. Dozens of transatlantic flights are diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Thousands of passengers and crew from around the world landed in the small town, nearly doubling its population within minutes. Their story later inspired the Broadway musical Come From Away.

Today, Sheryl McCollum is joined by her sister, Sharlene Bowen. Sharlene was a flight attendant aboard Delta Flight 15 from Frankfurt, Germany, to Atlanta when the plane was ordered to land in Gander. Sharlene recalls 30 hours grounded on the tarmac with little information, and the moment she finally saw the attacks on television, and the note that led her to Constable Oswald “Oz” Fudge and a hug from Sheryl back in Atlanta. Over the next five days,  the people of Gander open their schools, homes, and churches to the “plane people," as the locals called them. Listen to this inspiring, truthful tale. 

Highlights:

(0:00) Sheryl introduces the story of Gander, Newfoundland, and her sister Sharlene Bowen’s experience on September 11, 2001

(3:00) Sharlene remembers when an ordinary flight from Frankfurt to Atlanta suddenly changed and the crew learned something had happened in New York

(7:00) “All US airspace has been closed.” The announcement that silenced an entire cabin

(11:45) How passengers and crew worked together during 30 hours aboard the grounded plane●

(16:00) Why every passenger had to be cleared before leaving the aircraft and how Gander prepared for thousands of unexpected guests

(20:45) Sharlene finally sees the attacks on a TV at Walmart more than a day after they happened

(23:00) A note and a police hat lead Sharlene to Oz Fudge and a message from her sister

(28:00) Teenagers give free rides, Walmart hands over its keys, and the hockey rink becomes the town’s refrigerator

(36:45) Local teenagers create a special experience for stranded Make-A-Wish kids who missed their trip to Disney World

(41:45) Returning to Gander, hearing the original air traffic control recording, and seeing Come From Away with the people who lived the story

(46:30) How the hug from Oz Fudge delivered on Sheryl’s behalf became part of the production of Come From Away

(51:45) A scholarship fund started on the flight home has now sent more than 300 Gander students to college

(56:45) Delta employees wave American flags along the Atlanta taxiway, and Sharlene share a message about remembering the way people cared for one another after 9/11

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Sharlene Bowen spent 34 years as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant and was a crew member aboard Delta Flight 15 when it was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001. She later became a level one trauma nurse and charge nurse at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where she recently celebrated 20 years of service.

Related Episode

From Crisis to Compassion: A 9/11 Retrospective with Constable Oswald Fudge

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.

Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.

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Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.