On Christmas day, when most people are spending time at home with their families, a man unsuccessfully attempted to detonate explosives on an airplane.
According to officials and witness reports, the man was sitting in his seat when something on his lap, which was covered by a blanket, made a loud popping sound. “It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase,” said Peter Smith, a passenger on the plane. At the noise, many people on the plane were alerted, and several passengers reported smelling something burning.
Almost immediately after this, a passenger several rows away from the suspect leaped into action, restraining the man and putting out the fire. The man’s name was Jasper Schuringa, a 23 year old passenger of the flight who is originally from Holland.
“I jumped to the suspect,” Shuringa said. ”I was thinking like, he’s trying to blow up the plane. I was trying to search his body for any explosives. I took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking out of him.”
It could be argued that Shuringa’s quick response was largely responsible for the suspect being able to be brought swiftly into custody. In a crisis, it is too-often apparent that many people are more willing to simply be a bystander instead of becoming directly involved in the situation. This controversial social psychological phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the “Bystander Effect”. In this theory, the chance that a person will assist in an emergency situation is directly proportional to the number of bystanders present. The theory states that the larger the number of bystanders, the lower the chance that someone will offer assistance.
Thankfully, it seems that Jasper Shuringa was unfamiliar with the influence of the “Bystander Effect”, and his quick actions helped to bring an end to a potentially life-threatening situation. You can see Shuringa’s interview about his heroic actions here:
Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_airliner_disturbance
http://www.examiner.com/x-7311-Cultural-Trends-Examiner~y2009m12d26-Hero-of-attempted-airline-terrorist-attack-Jasper-Schuringa-burned-but-in-stable-condition-video?cid=channel-rss-Society_and_Culture
