As the world's attention was glued to New York City on September 11, 2001, 38 passenger planes were diverted to the small town of Gander on the Canadian island of Newfoundland.
The United States' airspace was closed. No planes could land in the country, grounding flights around the world and diverting those already in the air.
The tiny Canadian town of Gander suddenly found itself host to 6600 stranded passengers, 66 per cent of the local population.
Over the following days, the people of Gander volunteered to house, feed, and entertain the travellers, many of whom were stuck for days.