[stlnative]

Most likely it was not an incoming call to the cell phone since the plane was over the Atlantic. Most likely the alarm clock timer went off which causes the phone to ring.

Cell phones have alarm clocks in them now that their owners can set for specific times - like if they need a "alarm" type reminder to take medication at a certain time of the day.

[Southack]

"Most likely it was not an incoming call to the cell phone since the plane was over the Atlantic."

Can't say. The phone rang 20 minutes after takeoff from London, meaning the NYC-bound plane would have been over Ireland or Wales/Scotland (you're in the climb phase of flight, averaging perhaps a mere 300mph net ground speed, which for 20 minutes is only 100 miles horizontal from London).

Also, the article doesn't really detail if the phone was a true cell phone or a satellite phone.

But, the record of who dialed the phone will be interesting (if it did receive a call instead of just having an alarm go off). Since no mention of that is made, one can presume that it was censored by the police (i.e. no one spoke to the reporter about it) if it was applicable.

If a dry run, then I'd guess the dialing phone number would be from a public pay phone or "anonymous" pre-paid cell or hacked/chipped sat phone...but I'd put the dry run option low on the list.

[jwparkerjr]

Probably was someone on board for the sole purpose of observing how the crew reacted. How long before they turned back, did they spend anytime trying to find the owner, etc.