September 11, 2001 Research & Archives

Nydia Gonzalez, a supervisor at the American Airlines Southeastern Reservations Office in Cary, North Carolina, tells colleagues of hers to keep the information they have received about the hijacking of Flight 11 to themselves. [American Airlines, 9/11/2001, pp. 7-19]

Gonzalez and two of her colleagues—Vanessa Minter and Winston Sadler—are on the phone with Betty Ong, a flight attendant on Flight 11 who called the reservations office to report the hijacking of her plane (see 8:18 a.m. September 11, 2001, 8:19 a.m. September 11, 2001, and 8:21 a.m. September 11, 2001). [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/12/2001, pp. 38-41; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 5, 453]

Gonzalez reassures Ong, telling her, "Okay, sweetie... we've got security working on [dealing with the hijacking] right now." [American Airlines, 9/11/2001, pp. 7-19]

(Gonzalez is referring to the fact that she has contacted the American Airlines System Operations Control center in Texas and alerted it to the trouble on Flight 11 (see (8:21 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 9] )

Gonzalez adds, "We're gonna maintain this line open as much as we can." Presumably addressing all of the other participants in the call—Ong, Minter, and Sadler—she then says: "We don't want to spread anything around. Okay?" The others apparently agree to keep quiet about the hijacking, as Gonzalez responds to them, "Excellent." [American Airlines, 9/11/2001, pp. 7-19]