In Memory of Thomas F. McGuinness, Jr.

Thomas McGuinness was 42 years old and from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Thomas, a former Navy fighter pilot was the co-pilot and first officer on American Airlines Flight 11.


The names of John A Ogonowski, Thomas F. McGuinness, Betty Ann Ong, and other 9/11 victims from American Airlines Flight 11, inscribed on bronze panel N-74 of the North Pool of the National September 11 Memorial

In Memory of Betty Ann Ong

Betty Ann Ong was 45 years old and from San Francisco, California. Betty was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11.

On September 11, 2001, shortly after the takeoff of American Airlines Flight 11 from Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts bound for Los Angeles, California, the airplane was hijacked.

During the hijacking, Betty placed a call to American Airlines reservation agents in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and relayed vital information about the identities of the hijackers and the hijacking situation on board the airplane. Betty's telephone call was the first call and indication that America was under attack, and her call eventually led to the shutdown of all flights nationwide. Under extreme duress and horrific circumstances, Betty remained calm and professional during her 23 minute telephone call. Prior to the crash of the airplane at the North World Trade Center in New York, Betty selflessly asked the ground crew to "Pray for Us", and not just for herself.

At 8.46am on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the northern facade of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

The Betty Ann Ong Foundation is a non-profit public charity that helps overweight and obese children. Please remember and honor Betty with your support to the Betty Ann Ong Foundation.

Family wants local school named after 9/11 victim

The Bakersfield City School District Board will hear from a family who wants to rename Downtown Elementary School after their family member who died on 9/11, but some parents don't like the idea.

Cathie Ong-Herrera hopes the BCSD board will consider renaming the school after her sister Betty Ann Ong, a flight attendant who first alerted authorities of terrorists on board American Airlines Flight 11. Herrera calls her sister a national hero and wants the school to be renamed in her honor to teach children about the history of 9/11.

But, some parents are opposed to the idea saying Ong has little connection to the school and the school's name is supposed to reflect the community it serves.

Remembering American Airlines Flight 11

American Airlines Flight 11 was a passenger flight which was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. They deliberately crashed it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing all 87 people aboard plus the hijackers, and an unconfirmed number in the building's impact zone.

The 11 crew members on the flight included pilot John Ogonowski, First Officer Thomas McGuinness, and flight attendants Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ann Ong, Jean Roger, Dianne Snyder, and Madeline Sweeney.

10 Years Later - Lest We Forget

Firstly, I would just like to say I am from England and I didn't know anyone connected to what happened that terrible day in America on 11th, September 2001. Like many millions of people across the world I watched it all happen live on TV. That day in New York and all those horrible events have affected me ever since.

It is now 10 years since the 9/11 attacks in America, and it only seems like yesterday. For several years I have been studying the events of 9/11: looking at images, watching videos, reading articles, and remembering the victims. I feel so sorry for those people who suffered such terror.

What I can't get out of my mind are those people waving from the windows and holes in the WTC, those people who decided to jump from the towers, and those who made phone calls just before they died.

When I hear Melissa Doi's and Betty Ann Ong's telephone calls, I cry. Kevin Cosgrove's desperate 911 call from the South Tower of the WTC as it collapses is truly terrifying. The site of Edna Cintron (the Waving Woman), makes me feel so helpless. The pain and terror that these people felt still haunts me. I often think about them. It's a strange feeling really, it's almost as if I knew them personally. Today, I just wish I could help or speak to them, and say hey, I care, I am thinking about you today - 10 years later.

In total nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks on September 11, 2001

On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth jet, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to take control before it could reach the hijacker's intended target in Washington, D.C.

The Innocent Victims
2,753 civilians at the World Trade Center.
40 passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93.
59 passengers and crew aboard American Airlines Flight 77.
125 people in the Pentagon.

World Trade Center 9/11
20,000 body parts were recovered from Ground Zero. Up to 200 remains were linked to a single person. Only 293 intact bodies were found. Only twelve could be identified by sight. After 10 years, there are still NO remains for 1,123 of the victims who died at the World Trade Center.

I will never forget those poor people who suffered, and my heart goes out to their families -