ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- Passengers aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 prayed, sent text messages and clutched children moments after a botched Christmas Day terrorist attempt aboard a jet bound for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Passengers tell The Detroit News that chaos and an eery quiet followed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's unsuccessful attempt to detonate an explosive concealed in his underwear.
Twenty-three-year-old Jay Howard of Grand Rapids said following a loud pop, he removed a blanket from Abdulmutallab, revealing the suspect's hands were on fire.
Passengers pulled down Abdulmutallab's pants, searched for more bombs, then shoved the badly burned Nigerian to the floor.
The News says many of the plane's nearly 300 passengers never saw what happened.
Abdulmutallab is charged with trying to blow up the plane.