Washington, December 27: The man who grappled with a passenger allegedly trying to detonate explosives on a flight to the US is achieving cult status as a Hollywood-style hero.
Dutch video producer and director Jasper Schuringa is being dubbed the hero of flight 253, which landed safely in Detroit on Christmas Day after the alleged bomb attack was foiled.
Nigerian man Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, has been charged over the alleged attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253, carrying 290 passengers.
A judge read the charges against him during a 20-minute hearing. Reporters allowed to witness the event said Abdulmutallab was handcuffed to a wheelchair and sported bandages on both wrists and parts of his hands.
Officials now believe tragedy was averted only because the makeshift detonator failed to work properly.
Hero
Mr Schuringa told CNN he had jumped over the passenger next to him and lunged onto Mr Abdulmutallab’s seat as the suspect held a burning object between his legs.
“I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” said Mr Schuringa, adding that he stripped off the suspect’s clothes to check for explosives before a crew member helped handcuff him.
“My hands are pretty burned. I am fine,” he said.
He then managed to snap this photo of a handcuffed Mr Abdulmutallab being taken off the plane.
Mr Schuringa already has four Facebook sites dedicated in his honour. He is being feted online for his “Jack Bauer” response – a reference to the character on 24.
Meanwhile new details emerging about Mr Abdulmutallab suggest his alleged attack was planned in Yemen by al-Qaeda members who even sewed an explosive device into his uderwear.
Law enforcement officials told US media that he had offered several details about his links to al-Qaeda and his plan to take down the flight en route from Amsterdam.
Investigation of the incident was still ongoing but a preliminary FBI analysis found the device contained the explosive material PETN, or pentaerythritol, the DoJ said. It is described as being similar to nitro-glycerin.
FBI agents also uncovered a syringe from the aircraft, which is believed to have been part of the explosive device.
The US Justice Department alleged in charging documents that he went to the bathroom before the plane began its final descent, spending 20 minutes away from his seat before returning and saying he had an upset stomach.
“He pulled a blanket over himself. Passengers then heard popping noises similar to firecrackers, smelled an odour and observed Abdulmutallab’s pants leg and the wall of the airplane on fire,” the affidavit said.
“One flight attendant… stated that she asked Abdulmutallab what he had had in his pocket and he replied ‘explosive device’.
“A passenger stated that he observed Abdulmutallab holding what appeared to be a partially melted syringe, which was smoking. The passenger took the syringe from Abdulmutallab, shook it to stop it from smoking and threw it to the floor of the aircraft,” the affidavit added.
Mr Abdulmutallab was barred from returning to the UK earlier this year, a government source said. He is believed to have studied mechanical engineering at University College London (UCL) between 2005 and 2008 and, according to a newspaper report, tried to return for another course in May.
—Agencies