Christmas Hero

Jasper Schuringa, Christmas hero:

"Jasper Schuringa, a 32-year-old film maker from Amsterdam is being hailed as a hero in America.

He was applauded by fellow passengers after he and cabin crew subdued Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as their Northwest flight was about to land at Detroit airport.

Mr Schuringa was sitting one row behind the suspect but on the other side of the plane when he heard what he said sounded like a firecracker going off.

"When [it] went off, everybody panicked then somebody screamed, 'Fire! Fire!'," he said.

Looking across the plane, he saw smoke rising from a seat. "I didn't hesitate. I just jumped," he said."

True heroes are usually modest that way.  But there's more:

"Mr Schuringa said his hands were "pretty burned" and he was shaken, but was just "happy to be alive."

He added: "I don't feel like a hero. It was something where I had to do something or it was too late." Mr Schuringa, who was reportedly visiting a friend in Miami before flying on to Costa Rica for a holiday, runs a video production company.

Bob and Ingrid Schuringa, his parents, told the Telegraaf newspaper that they were "extremely proud of him but also really shocked because, in one second, it could have ended up very differently."

Indeed.  We were fortunate this time, thanks to this one man.

Time for a top-to-bottom overhaul of our security system, Mr. President?