2026-09-11 上午09:21 美东夏令时 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：乔纳·卡普兰
乔纳·卡普兰 调查记者
乔纳·卡普兰是屡获殊荣的驻外记者与调查记者，以其平衡客观的报道、深思熟虑的访谈以及对影响全美各地社区的重大事件的深度调研报道而享誉业内。他驻点明尼阿波利斯，其作品见于哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的所有节目与平台，包括《哥伦比亚广播公司晚间新闻》《CBS晨间新闻》以及CBS 24/7频道。
乔纳·卡普兰
在北卡罗来纳州卡里镇，瓦妮莎·明特是最早得知2001年9月11日空中恐怖袭击事件的地面人员之一。
明特是美国航空公司的预订代理，她接到了乘务员贝蒂·昂的电话，当时贝蒂·昂正坐在被劫持的美国航空11号航班后部厨房中。该航班从波士顿起飞，原定飞往洛杉矶。
“她说：‘我觉得我们被劫持了’，”明特在接受《CBS晨间新闻》采访时回忆道。
明特表示，从贝蒂·昂的语气中她就能感受到威胁的真实性。
“我不禁自问，我能做到那样吗？因为她简直是支柱一般的存在。她清楚自己在做什么，清楚我们需要哪些信息，全程都保持着专业态度，”明特解释道。在通话中，贝蒂·昂传递了关键信息，这促成了美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）关闭美国空域的决定。
她是贝蒂·昂坠机前最后通话的对象。明特回忆起两人交谈时贝蒂·昂的最后几句话：“为我们祈祷吧。”
“我是她最后对话的人，可我却无力扭转局面，甚至连帮上忙都做不到，”明特说道。
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9·11袭击发生三周后，明特给远在加利福尼亚州的昂的家人写了一封信。她在信中描述了贝蒂·昂的勇敢，以及她对乘客和机上人员安全的关切。
“我想让你们知道，在我的余生里，她将永远留在我的心中和我的祈祷里，”她写道。
瓦妮莎·明特在9·11袭击后写给贝蒂·昂家人的信
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这封信被交给了贝蒂·昂的哥哥哈里，哈里现年77岁，是五个孩子的祖父。哈里表示，这是家人第一次得知贝蒂·昂在高空通话的事。
“我们听了（通话记录）之后，为贝蒂感到无比骄傲，”哈里说道。
每个月，哈里都会前往位于加利福尼亚州科尔马的赛普拉斯草坪纪念公园，看望为贝蒂·昂设立的纪念牌——那里距旧金山市区不远，设有她的骨灰龛和墓碑。2002年，搜救人员在距世贸中心遗址两个街区的地方找到了一块带有她DNA的骨片。
“贝蒂是英雄，但不是说只有她一个英雄，对吧？那天我们失去了近3000名同胞，我们必须铭记他们，要告诉所有人他们都是英雄，而且还有许许多多的英雄，”哈里说道。
25年来，明特从未专程前往西部与昂的家人见面——直到这次。
她最近在贝蒂·昂的纪念地与哈里重逢。之后，哈里邀请她到家中做客，向她展示了一些家族珍藏，其中包括贝蒂·昂的身份牌和布什总统写来的一封信。她还见到了贝蒂·昂99岁的母亲格姆。
“你有一个如此勇敢的女儿。我感觉自己已经是这个家庭的一员了，”明特对格姆说道。
She made the historic first call from a hijacked plane on 9/11. 25 years later, her family met the woman who answered.
2026-09-11 09:21 AM EDT / CBS News
By Jonah Kaplan
Jonah Kaplan Investigative Reporter
Jonah Kaplan is an award-winning correspondent and investigative journalist who has built a strong reputation for his balanced reporting, thoughtful interviews, and deeply researched coverage of high-impact issues affecting the communities across the country. Based in Minneapolis, his work appears on all of CBS News’ programs and platforms, including the CBS Evening News, CBS Mornings and CBS 24/7.
Jonah Kaplan
In Cary, North Carolina, Vanessa Minter was among the first people on the ground to learn about the terror unfolding in the air on Sept. 11, 2001.
Minter, an American Airlines reservations agent, was on the other end of a phone call with flight attendant Betty Ong, who was sitting in the back galley of hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, which had departed Boston for Los Angeles.
“She said, ‘I think we’re being hijacked,’” Minter recalled in an interview with “CBS Mornings.”
Minter said she knew the threat was real from the tone of Ong’s voice.
“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 explained. Ong relayed critical information during the call that contributed to the FAA’s decision to close U.S. airspace.
She would be the last person Ong spoke with before the plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Minter recalled some of Ong’s final words during their conversation: “Pray for us.”
“I was the last person that she spoke to, and I couldn’t make it better. I couldn’t even help,” Minter said.
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Three weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Minter penned a letter to Ong’s family in California. She described Ong’s bravery and concern for passengers and their safety.
“I want you to know that she will always be in my heart and my prayers as I go through life,” she wrote.
Vanessa Minter’s letter to Betty Ong’s family after 9/11 attacks
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The letter was given to Ong’s older brother Harry, who is now 77 and a grandfather of five. Harry said that was the first time the family learned about the midair call.
“When we listened to it, we were so proud of Betty,” Harry said.
Every month, Harry visits a memorial for Ong at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California — just outside of San Francisco — where she has a niche and a grave. Crews recovered a bone fragment with her DNA two blocks from Ground Zero in 2002.
“Betty was a hero, but not — not the fact that she’s the only hero, right? We envelope almost 3,000 people who have perished that day, and we have to just remember them and to say that they’re all heroes, and many, many more,” Harry said.
For 25 years, Minter never made the journey out west to meet Ong’s family — until now.
She recently reunited with Harry at Ong’s memorial. Afterward, he invited her to his home, where he shared some of the family’s keepsakes, including Ong’s ID tags and a letter from President Bush. She was also able to meet Ong’s mother, Gum, who is 99 years old.
“You have such a brave daughter. I feel like I’m a member of this family already,” Minter told Gum.
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