Mark Bingham’s Calls
According to the FBI, Mark Bingham, a passenger, made 4 telephone calls from Air-phone located in Row 23 DEF, only one of which was successful, namely at 9:37, lasting 166 seconds.
(a) FBI document 302 63761. Interview with Alice Hoglan. September 11, 2001
Carol Phipps, a family friend of Mark Bingham’s mother, Alice Hoglan, answered the phone at about 9:35 but no one was on the line. A few minutes later the phone rang again. The caller, a male, stated, “Get Alice or Kathy quickly.” Kathy Hoglan took the phone. As she ran to answer the phone, she looked at the clock. The time was 6:44 (EDT) or 9:44 (EST). Hoglan recognized the caller’s voice as that of her nephew, Mark Bingham. Bingham stated, “This is Mark. I want to let you guys know that I love you, in case I don’t see you again. I’m on UA Flight 93. It’s being hijacked.” Hoglan said, “We love you too. Let me get your mom.” Alice, Mark’s mother, who was staying with her sister-in-law Kathy, came and picked up the phone. Mark stated the following: “Hello mom, this is Mark Bingham. I’m flying from Newark to San Francisco. I’m calling from the Airfone. The plane has been taken over by three guys. They say they have a bomb.” Hoglan asked: “Who are these guys?” Mark answered, “Yes. It’s true...” The phone went dead in the middle of the sentence. Alice Hoglan advised that the entire time Bingham was on the telephone was no more than three minutes.
(b) FBI document 302 31805. Interview with [redacted]. September 17, 2001
According to the [redacted], a successful call from Mark Bingham was made at 9:44. It was answered by a family friend (Carol Phipps). Mark told Phipps that he needed to speak to Alice or Kathy [Hoglan] and that it was an emergency. [Redacted] ran down the hall to [redacted] bedroom and knocked on the door...When [redacted] answered the phone, the caller was Bingham. Bingham said [to redacted], “this is Mark. I just want to tell you I’m on a plane and it’s being hijacked.” [Redacted] then got a piece of paper and asked Bingham what flight he was on. Bingham replied “United Flight 93.” [Redacted] told Bingham to stay on the telephone and that she was going to get [redacted]. As [redacted] proceeded down the hall, she was met [by redacted who] heard the telephone ring and exited her bedroom. It is probable that [redacted] was Kathy Hoglan, Alice Hoglan’s sister.
(c) FBI document 302 8422. Interview with [probably Alice Hoglan]. September 17, 2001
Alice Hoglan essentially repeated what she told the FBI on September 11, 2001. She described in greater detail his answer to her question about the identities of the “hijackers.” Alice said she asked Mark, “Who are they, Mark?” She said Bingham was distracted and did not answer. Hoglan was not sure if Mark had heard the question. There was an interruption for approximately five seconds. Bingham then stated to his mother, “You’ve got to believe me. It’s true.” His mother responded and asked again: “I do believe you, Mark. Who are they”? There was another approximate five-second pause, similar to the first, wherein his mother heard activity and voices in the background. People were murmuring. There were no screams. Alice got the impression that Mark was distracted because someone was speaking to him. Then the phone went dead.
If there were “hijackers” on board, it is surprising that Bingham had no clue who they were and was not even able (or willing) to describe them, because he was sitting in row 4, very close to the cockpit. Alice said that her account of the conversation was nearly verbatim. Throughout the entire call Mark sounded calm, controlled, matter-of-fact, and focused. She called immediately 911 and was patched through to the FBI. When interviewed on CNN Live Event/Special on September 12, 2001, Alice Hoglan quoted her son in the following manner:
I’m on a flight from Newark to San Francisco and there are three guys have to taken [sic] over the plane and they say they have a bomb. And I said, Mark, who are they? I said, Mark, I love you too. And I said, who are these guys?—and then he seemed to be pulled away from the phone for a minute [and never answered this question].1
(d) Discussion
Some observers find it puzzling—or even suspicious—that Mark Bingham should have introduced himself to his mother with his full name. And indeed, his mother said, chuckling, to national networks that when he called, he introduced himself not as Mark, but as Mark Bingham. This is cited by some observers as evidence that this call was made by an impersonator. However, it is possible that Mark did so by sheer habit. He actually talked first to Carol Phipps, then to his mother’s sister-in-law, and then to his mother. Were he an impersonator, he would hardly have known that his mother was staying with his aunt and distinguish the voice of his aunt from that of his mother.
We note, however, that he avoided answering his mother’s repeated question Who are they? This avoidance is significant, for if they had been Arab or Muslim, he most probably would have mentioned this fact. His repeated avoidance suggests that “someone” prevented him from answering this question. We note, also, that he did not mention any violent action aboard the aircraft.