Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, one of the most haunting phone calls from that morning has brought two families together. On Sept. 11, 2001, American Airlines flight attendant Betty Ong was aboard hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 when she made a call to an American Airlines reservations center. On the other end was reservations agent Vanessa Minter, who would become the last person Ong spoke to before the plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Now, a quarter-century after that call, Minter has finally met Ong's family in person.
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Who was Betty Ong?
Betty Ong was an American Airlines flight attendant aboard Flight 11, which had departed Boston for Los Angeles on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. As the hijacking unfolded, Ong used an onboard phone to contact American Airlines. Her call became one of the earliest warnings that something was seriously wrong aboard the aircraft. Speaking to CBS News, Minter recalled Ong's first words: "She said, 'I think we're being hijacked,'" Minter recalled.
Minter said Ong's tone immediately told her that the situation was real. "I had to ask myself, could I have done that? Because she was literally a pillar. She knew what she was doing. She knew what information we needed, and she was all business," Minter said.
During the conversation, Ong provided critical information about what was happening aboard Flight 11. Her call ultimately contributed to the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to close U.S. airspace, according to CBS News.
The significance of those few minutes became clearer as the morning unfolded. Flight 11 was one of four commercial airplanes hijacked during the 9/11 attacks. It crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Minter was the person who remained connected to Ong during those final moments.
