United Airlines Flight 943, September 11, 2001; St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

UNITED AIRLINES Flight UA-943

Paris to Chicago - September 11, 2001

Left Paris 12:00 PM, Paris time

Diverted to St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

@ 4:30 PM, Paris time

Important Addresses (please be generous):

West End Baptist Church; 314 Topsail Road; St. John's, Newfoundland A1E 2B5

Tel: (709) 368-1381 Gordon Sutherlund, Pastor; Blake Bartlett, Youth Pastor

Canadian Red Cross; 7 Wicklow St.; St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3Z9

Tel: (709) 758-8400

The Salvation Army; 21 Adams Avenue; St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 4Z1

Tel: (709) 579-2022

Email: telegram@thetelegram.com (St. John's Newspaper)

General Story:

Our Boeing 777 left Paris under normal conditions. About 4 hours into the flight, a medical emergency was announced. Shortly afterward, we noticed a drop in engine power (lowering altitude) and change of course. The captain then informed us that US air space was closed and that we will land at St. John's, Newfoundland. Then he gave the reason why and told us what he knew about the terroist attack upon the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

(The medical emergency had two stories: one, a passenger was having heart palpitations before any knowledge of what was happening; two, the flight crew wanted to know if we had medical assistance on-board before they informed us on what was occuring since there may be passengers having friends or relatives related to the tragedy)

The captain tied in BBC radio to the plane's audio system. Although hearing the horrific story unfolding, it was good to know what was happening. Later we heard that some other airlines never informed their passengers.

We were 19 out of 27 jumbo airplanes that landed at St. John's. Also we found out there were only a couple of movable stairs to deplane passengers. After several false deplanings, we were finally allowed to leave after being on-board for 17 hours (11:30 AM - 4:30 AM Paris time).

After clearing Canadian Customs, we were bused to Mile One Ice Hockey Stadium in St. John's. The Red Cross and Salvation Army greeted us with much needed sandwiches and drinks. It was there we first saw the unbelievable television images of the terrorist attacks.

After registering with the Red Cross, our UA 943 passengers were split up into 3-units. Our 104 passenger group (1/3 were French) was bused to the West End Baptist Church. Sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows were waiting for us. After our extended time on the plane and the stress of hearing about the terrorist attack, finding a quiet corner to stretch out was certainly welcomed.

Later that morning (9/12/01), the church and it's members had breakfast waiting for us. Bit by bit, we received more information and the possiblility of leaving St. John's within 12 hours. But this was not to be. The large number of displaced passengers - 6,000 at St. John's alone - and the time needed for reprocessing and securing the airplane made it where we knew we were refugees in Canada for a few days.

Several of us looked for other transportation. But, Newfoundland is an Island - and a major storm was approaching. Ferry service to the mainland was iffy, also, the borders were temporarily closed.

As it turned out, our stay was a spiritually rewarding experience - seeing how everyone came together during a challenging time. The church continued to have incredible pot luck lunch's and dinners for us. We organized a 3-hour bus tour of St. John's. Church volunteers drove us to a local health club for showers. Nearby was a small shopping mall which allowed us to buy extra clothes and personal items since nothing was allowed off the plane.

For two consecutive nights George ? organized a talent show. Lily Niu played superb classical piano - Mozart and Chopin; Donovan Wong (San Francisco) played popular songs on the piano and did some duets with organist Tom Reif (Chicago); Tom's father, Jack, did a very creative piano comedy routine; one French lady sang a traditional French song; one woman stood up and recited Emma Lazuru's Poem `The New Colossus' (about the Statue of Liberty); I played some classical guitar; folk singers Diane Sherbeck and Robert Eberley(?) sang Newfoundlander songs; one fellow (Phoenix) played guitar and sang some Christian songs; and one lady played piano and sang broadway songs.

Eventually we learned that we were leaving on Saturday (9/15/01). At 4 PM St. John's time (1-1/2 hours later than EST) we were bused back to the stadium to be deprocessed by the Red Cross and rejoined with the rest of our displaced passengers. At about 8 PM we were bused to the airport and slowly cleared customs. At 1AM (9/16/01) our plane rose off the runway. When landing at Chicago, plenty of cheers broke out!

John Benham's personal insights:

West End Baptist Church - no words can describe the compassion, love and hard work you gave to make our stay comfortable in an otherwise unusual situation - especially from Gordon Sutherlund, Blake Bartlett, Rod Pike, David Dawe, Zelma Rixmann- thank you.

Thanks to Don Rixmann who drove us around for a couple of hours to see the local color
Thanks to Mike who loaned his guitar to several of us
Thanks to Donna and Carl Burt who opened their home to us strangers for showers and laundry
Thanks to the Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army
Thanks to the Tim Hortons franchises which supplied coffee, OJ, and tons of goodies
Thanks to St. John's transit for the free bus trips
and, thanks to all of the citizens of St. John's (Email Major Andy Wells)

A special thanks to United Airlines flight 943 pilot, 1st officer, and flight attendents who kept us informed from the beginning of the tradgedy and attended our special memorial service (UA Customer Relations Email)

Terrorist Attack on World Trade Center and The Pentagon - Slide Show (850kB)

Pentagon Terroist Plane Bombing

1st Hand Account - Lt. Chris Ludmer, USN

A Tribute to the United States

By Gordon Sinclair - Canadian Television Commentator