This pilot, a Charlotte native, lived through the real-life ‘Come From Away’ on 9/11
Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?
It’s a question we’ve all been asking each other for closing in on two decades at this point. Those who were alive and old enough to remember can likely recount every single moment of that day.
For one Charlotte native, it would take him to an adventure he never could have predicted when he woke up that morning a world away — in Rome, Italy.
U.S. Airways pilot Guy Gullick attended elementary, middle, and high school in Charlotte before moving away to attend pilot school at 19. In 2001, he was based in Greensboro. On Sept. 11, his job was to fly 266 passengers across the Atlantic to Philadelphia.
Around 6 a.m., Gullick took off in a U.S. Airways Airbus 330. With him were the passengers, including two others in the cockpit and the cabin crew. This was Gullick’s last route of a three-day shift. Once he landed in Philly, he would fly home to North Carolina.
The moment everything changed
Almost 3 hours into the flight, while the plane was mid-ocean, an FAA warning came through. An event had taken place in the United States and no planes could land.
The attacks on New York and D.C. and the crash in a Pennsylvania field would change the world. For Gullick, his world changed in the middle of the ocean.
Gullick would not make it to North Carolina or Philadelphia that day — and neither would the other 265 people he was responsible for.
For those on the flight, what followed was a five-day journey so emotional and unexpected — even heartwarming during this time of darkness — that it became the award-winning Broadway musical “Come From Away”. If you can score tickets to the basically sold-out show, you have until Sunday to see it for yourself at Belk Theater.
Rome, Portugal or Gander
With only the limited information sent via the plane’s communication device, no one knew the full scope of what was happening back in the U.S.
Gullick had a choice to make: He could turn around and head back to Rome. He could fly south to Portugal’s Azores islands. Or he could find somewhere else in North America to land. Whatever he did, he had to think fast — he was directed to land as quickly as possible. He opted for a final destination of Canada.
Meantime, the crew picked up British Broadcast Channel’s radio frequencies. This means they could hear every single detail of the events that would forever change all of our lives. But, with extensive training and roughly 25 years flying for an international airline, Gullick said he stayed calm and so did the rest of the cockpit crew.
As for the passengers, the less they knew, the better. “We chose not to tell our passengers what was happening or that we were diverting,” Gullick told CharlotteFive.
“My crew and I began putting a plan in place in case the worst was to happen for us. We asked ourselves: Where would we go and what would we do if someone took over our plane next?”
Hello to Newfoundland
Two and a half hours later, the crew touched down in Gander, a small Newfoundland town of 10,000 residents. Gullick’s was the 38th plane — of 38 — to land in that town that day.
If you’re wondering about the math, that’s 7,000 people stranded.
Gander’s population would nearly double over the next several days.
Far from home
Once they landed in Gander, it was time to let the passengers know about the terrible acts that had taken place in the States. The crew did the best they could to explain the events of the day and how planes — similar to what they were sitting in right then — were used in the deadliest attack ever on U.S. soil. Some passengers on board had language barriers, making the difficult news even harder to understand.
Imagine hearing the worst had happened, and then not being able to get to your loved ones, to check on them, to be there, to hug them. That’s what happened in Gander. That’s what happened on Gullick’s plane.
On top of that, all 266 passengers had to stay on board for 31 hours to await being cleared by customs. What does it feel like to spend 31 hours on a plane that’s not traveling anywhere, without access to luggage, a shower, a change of clothes, a bed?
Those who had working cell phones were able to check in with worried family members. They would then share their phones with others to do the same. “Our passengers were amazingly calm and understanding about everything that was happening,” Gullick said.
In Come From Away, the actors give us a glimpse into the nightmare that must have been, Broadway-style: the boredom, the lack of sleep, lack of space, frustrations and annoyances. In the play, even free booze from flight attendants only temporarily help.
But no one could deplane. The terrible events that had taken place meant new security measures were in place, immediately. Customs agents were required to scan every single item that each of the thousands of passengers had brought along with them. Newfoundland had to fly in additional customs agents just to help out.
When they finally deplaned, passengers could only take their carry-on items. Checked baggage had to remain locked under the plane, leaving many without clean clothes and medications. Gullick and the rest of the crew had their luggage stowed with them, so they were the only ones with all of their belongings.
Off the plane, but the adventure was just beginning
Once each of the passengers on Gullick’s flight cleared customs, they were loaded onto buses and taken to the nearby town of Lewisporte, an hour outside of Gander.
Customs agents in Gander reiterated to all crews and their passengers that no one could leave their group for any reason while in Newfoundland. If anyone had failed to show up for boarding when it was time to leave, it would have been a red flag for security agents, and all luggage would need to be taken out of the cargo hold and scanned thoroughly.
As the thousands of passengers arrived in Gander and the surrounding towns on the island, residents all around the island stopped what they were doing and immediately began to care for them. They provided clothes and meals to those who needed them, and local pharmacies filled crucial prescriptions for free.
Gullick’s passengers were housed in a local school, sleeping on cots and air mattresses set up in classrooms as well as the gym. A local Salvation Army provided meals and necessities over the five days they stayed. They were given three meals a day and even live entertainment at the hands of the residents.
“The people of Newfoundled were amazingly gracious and wanted to help. We had most anything that we needed,” Gullick said.
Pilots and crew at hotel
The pilots and crew remained in Gander, staying in a hotel. Each member of the cockpit was given their own room while flight attendants voluntarily doubled up. The FAA informed customs agents in Gander of any updates. Those updates would then be communicated with all pilots and crew. There were two official briefings within the five-day span in which pilots had to be transported back to the airport to meet with security officials at the direction of the FAA.
A local hospital provided buses so that Gullick and other pilots could have dinner each night with their passengers and provide updates from the day’s meetings.
Through it all, one thing was on everyone’s minds: “We were all just anxious to get home and get to our families,” Gullick said.
Back at home, Gullick’s family worried. His sister Eugenia Gallick Marcotte, also from Charlotte, recalls not being able to initially remember her brother’s route that day. With the help of their other brother, they were able to track his plane through an Air Traffic Control forum that showed plane locations in real time.
“For a while, we were able to see his plane on the system, but then it disappeared,” Marcotte said. “We were worried, but we knew my brother’s flying ability and were confident that he would be OK.”
He called them once he landed in Gander to let them know he was safe.
On Sept. 16, it was finally time to go home. Gullick’s passengers were cleared to re-board their plane and make their way to the United States. What a journey.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
