Who is Gerald Earwood?

Answer 1

Gerald Earwood is an airline captain for Midwest Airlines and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On September 11, 2001, he was flying Midwest Express flight 7. Midwest Express has since changed its name to Midwest Airlines. His flight was on approach into New York's LaGuardia trying to see through the smoke of the fist World Trade Center tower that was hit by hijacked American flight 11 when he was ordered by air traffic controllers to execute evasive turns to avoid an aircraft, most likely hijacked United flight 175. He was one of the last aircraft to land that day in New York and witnessed the Horror of that event from the air. Two days later, Midwest received permission to fly even though the rest of the nation was not flying yet. Captain Earwood and his first Officer, Eric Fjelstad, flew 35 stranded crewmembers home being the first commercial airplane to fly after the attacks. On the morning they were to depart LaGuardia, they had to evacuate the aircraft due to a bomb threat. They stood out on runway 31 for about 20 minutes until it was clear for them to return. Captain Earwood was concerned about a shoulder launched missle and terrorist around the perimeter of LaGuardia and had numerous conversations with company and law enforcement officials before he left. His story is featured in the book: Touching History, The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded Over the Skies of America on 9/11, by Lynn Spencer.