Betty Ann Ong (; February 5, 1956 September 11, 2001) was an American Airlines flight attendant who was on board American Airlines Flight 11, the first airplane hijacked during the September 11 attacks. Ong was the first person to alert authorities to the hijackings taking place that day.
Shortly after the hijacking, Ong notified the American Airlines ground crew of the hijacking, staying on the radiophone for 23 minutes to relay vital information that led to the closing of airspace by the FAA, a first in United States history. For this, the 9/11 Commission declared Ong a hero.
Life and career
Betty Ann Ong was born on February 5, 1956, in San Francisco. She was of Kaiping descent, a branch of Sze Yup Cantonese, and as the youngest in her family, had two sisters, Cathie and Gloria, and a brother named Harry. She attended George Washington High School, graduating in 1974. Among her hobbies as an adult was collecting Beanie Babies.
In 1987, Betty was driving south on U.S. Highway 101 in San Francisco when she witnessed a car roll over twice after it was hit by a speeding pickup truck. Betty ran to the car and saw that its occupant was Jo Ellen Chew, a woman she met a month prior at a bowling alley, who later described the "courage, kindness, [and] compassion" exhibited by Ong, saying, "Most people would just pass by. But to stop and run up to me? A miracle!" At the time of her death, Ong lived in Andover, Massachusetts.
Phone call
Transcript of the last 8-minute 26-second conversation between Ong, American Airlines' operations/Raleigh reservations, Nydia Gonzalez (Operations Specialist on duty on September 11) and American Airlines' emergency line, beginning with Ong in mid-sentence, her voice audible only during its first four minutes: