9/11: Control the Skies

4500 planes are in the air over North America on the morning of September 11, 2001. After four horrifying crashes, no one knows if any other aircraft might be highjacked by terrorists, about to commit further acts of destruction. Where can 4500 planes, and thousands of passengers, safely land? And which might be Al-Qaeda missiles? At that very moment, 500 planes are westbound toward the US. 233 turn back to where they came from, but 167 are past the point of no return. And there is one tiny place on the map that has eyes on them all: Gander, Newfoundland. The lives of 45,000 people over the Atlantic are now in the hands of small team of air traffic controllers in remote, rural Gander, population 10,000. These unsung ATC heroes from a draw on their skills, experience and raw talent to together achieve the impossible, landing 167 planes in three hours without a single incident.