“... . IIRC, the plane took off early because everyone was there. ...”
Was that flight the last departure and were there no more arrivals that day?
Maybe the employees left due to that?
But that doesn’t make any sense either ...
I think that was the last fight that day. Sure, island time and all but why close up early? If they had stayed open, they could have been able to call in the emergency immediately and send out boats to the passengers and Fuddy would likely still be alive. It was a miracle (tin foil maybe) that the other plane was in the area and was able to communicate with the tower. I’d have fired the employees immediately and they’d never work on the island again. If I were a passenger, the airport would be in court for years.