Betty Ong called the American Airlines reservation desk about 20 minutes after Flight 11 left Boston Logan International Airport. She said someone had been stabbed in business class and that the cockpit was not answering.
“I think we're getting hijacked,” Ong said during the 23-minute call. The call ended when Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Harry Ong on Betty Ong
Harry Ong, Betty Ong’s oldest brother, said the family still feels the anniversary every year. “As September 11th approaches each and every year, the tension just builds up and the stress, sometimes debilitation. We never forget,” he said in San Francisco.
He said the family marks the date with an annual retreat in her memory. “We're very proud of Betty and what she did,” he said, adding, “It still hurts and the pain and anguish is still there, but we try to move on and be more positive, helping other people through the community and volunteering work.”
Flight 11 and the call
Betty Ong was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane hijacked by terrorists on September 11. During the call, she also gave information on where the terrorists were seated, giving the reservation desk a clearer picture of what was unfolding in the cabin.
That call became the first hijacking report from the day’s attacks. It connected a crew member inside the plane with people on the ground while the flight was still in the air, and it did so before the aircraft reached the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Colma and the remains
Six months after the attacks, Betty Ong’s thigh bone was found two blocks away from the World Trade Center. Her thigh bone was cremated and her ashes were interred in the Ong family plot in Colma.
Harry Ong said, “It's very, very meaningful to have her home, even though it's just a knee bone, but she's home.” He also said, “About 40% of the families have not received any remains of their loved ones,” a reminder of how partial the recovery was for many families after 9/11.
For the Ong family, the annual remembrance now carries both pride and loss: Betty Ong is remembered as the first person to report the hijacking, while her brother says the date still brings the same stress each September. The family’s retreat keeps that memory active, and their next step is the same one they return to every year — to mark it together and keep helping through community work.
