Northwest Airlines announced it made a small profit during the third quarter of the year. The period includes the month of September, when the government shut down air travel for four days following the terrorist attacks. Passenger numbers plunged even when the skies reopened. The only reason Northwest ended up in the black for the months of July, August and September was nearly a quarter of a BILLION dollars in emergency government assistance. The aid was its share of the congressional airline industry bailout package. Northwest's third quarter turned out considerably better than Wall Street had anticipated.