Amelia Earhart: Pioneering Aviator and Force for Women's Rights

Amelia Earhart: Pioneering Aviator and Force for Women's Rights — page 3
A Port in A Storm And other emergencieS From the 1940s until the early 1960s Gander Airport in Newfoundland The coast of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada is the most easterly point in North America Because of that it has been a safe haven for transatlantic air travelers for more than a century It has also been the launch point or a port-of-call on at least ten historic flights and flight attempts across the Atlantic including both of Amelia’s transatlantic flights was a final refueling stop for commercial airlines heading overseas After longer-range aircraft were developed flights no longer needed to stop for a fill-up Newfoundland also has a long history of helping aircraft pilots and passengers in emergency situations The best-known example happened following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11 2001 On that day following the hijackings and crashes of four passenger planes including the ones that resulted in the collapse of New York’s World Trade Center aircraft were forbidden to enter U S airspace More than 200 planes that were already in flight were diverted to airports in Canada Of the 53 that were sent to Newfoundland 38 landed in the small town of Gander More than 6,000 passengers and almost 500 crewmembers were stranded there for a week The people of Gander opened their homes and their hearts to the tired travelers They were supposed to be in Ireland Instead they had set down in the small town of Burry Port Wales Eventually a few curious local boaters approached the floating aircraft When they discovered who was on board news spread like wildfire In no time thousands of townspeople flocked to the seashore They wanted to see Amelia Earhart the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air 66