Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Betty Ong’s family is still marking the day that changed their lives. In San Francisco, her oldest brother, Harry Ong, says the anniversary still brings a wave of tension and stress as the family gathers to remember the American Airlines Flight 11 flight attendant who made the first hijacking report.
Betty Ong’s call lasted 23 minutes and helped alert American Airlines that something was badly wrong on Flight 11. About 20 minutes after the plane left Boston Logan International Airport, she called the reservation desk and reported that someone had been stabbed in business class and that the cockpit was not answering. She also said, “I think we’re getting hijacked,” and gave information on where the terrorists were seated before the call ended when Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
That is why her name still carries such weight 25 years later. She was the first person to report what was happening on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane hijacked by terrorists on September 11, and her family has spent the years since trying to hold onto that legacy. Harry Ong said the family continues its annual retreat in her memory every year around the anniversary, a way to stay close to Betty Ong even as the date itself keeps reopening the wound.
The family also carries the more difficult part of her story. Six months after the attacks, Betty Ong’s thigh bone was found two blocks away from the World Trade Center, later cremated and interred in the Ong family plot in Colma. Harry Ong said that remains mean a great deal to the family and noted that about 40% of families still have not received any remains of their loved ones. For his family, he said, it is “very, very meaningful” to have her home, even if only a knee bone was recovered.
Still, the comfort does not erase the hurt. Harry Ong said the family tries to move on, stay positive and help other people through community and volunteering work, but the pain and anguish remain. Twenty-five years on, the family’s retreat is both remembrance and endurance: a yearly act of love for Betty Ong, and a reminder that some parts of 9/11 never stop arriving on the calendar.
