MIAMI -- A man credited with helping to thwart an alleged terror attack attempt aboard a Detroit-bound plane on Friday said he does not want to be called a hero.

Jasper Schuringa was onboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day when he heard a loud bang as the plane made its final approach to Detroit. The plane had left Amsterdam hours earlier.

Schuringa said he was seated one row behind Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab, the man accused of the attempt, and on the opposite side of the plane.

"Some passengers started to scream, 'Fire, fire!' I looked to the left side and there was this person sitting across the aisle and there was smoke coming beneath his seat, and I just knew, this is bad, you know?" Schuringa said.

Schuringa said that without thinking, he jumped over the seats to subdue the man, who appeared to be unusually calm.

"The bomb was smoking. There was smoke coming out of it and fire coming out of it. So I had to pull it out of his hands and then take the flames off," Schuringa said.

Several other passengers helped to extinguish the flames while crewmembers rushed to grab water and fire extinguishers.The plane made a safe landing moments later.

Schuringa described the device as a plastic object that dripped flammable liquid.

"It was about 6 inches long and it was hidden in his underpants, like his pants were almost fire-melted. It looked like a long banana, basically," Schuringa said.

Schuringa was on his way to South Florida to visit friends but has been fielding numerous calls about his journey.

"I don’t see myself as a hero. Of course there were other people helping us, as well, while we were waiting for flight attendants," Schuringa said.

Three days after the attack, Schuringa's burn wounds are bandaged and his memories are fresh.

"We were just incredibly lucky because the first pop was actually the end of my life. It was actually supposed to be the end of my life because apparently the bomb didn't ignite correctly, and I'm happy that I had a second chance to make sure the bomb didn't explode," Schuringa said. "He was still trying. It was on fire."

The questions continue to mount over how Abdulmutallab allegedly got the bomb-making materials past security screenings.

Schuringa said that when he flies again, he does not feel comfortable with the security procedures that are in place.

"I'm not, actually, because it shouldn't have happened," Schuringa said.