Your Feel-Good Story of the Year, So Far

Korean-American Richard Cho has been hailed as a hero for helping subdue a terrorist and putting out a fire aboard a U.S. airliner heading for Detroit last Christmas. Cho, 40, immigrated with his family to the U.S. at age seven, and went to high school in Chicago. He majored in political science and sociology at Iowa State University, and since graduation has been working as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines.

On Dec. 25, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian with ties to al Qaeda, attempted to detonate a bomb aboard Northwest Flight 253, which was traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit with 290 passengers.

Jasper Schuringa, a director from Amsterdam, was the first to subdue Abdulmutallab after hearing a bang and seeing smoke. Cho rushed to help Schuringa. When the blanket that was covering the bomb caught fire, Cho quickly put it out with a fire extinguisher and prevented a major disaster aboard the flight.

U.S. President Barack Obama sent Cho a handwritten letter thanking him for his heroic act. Obama said in the letter that Americans will “forever remember” his heroism in saving the lives of passengers and protecting the U.S., and he offered his gratitude for Cho’s “dedication and courage.” [Chosun Ilbo]

I wonder if Cho had self-defense training. I will say this: passengers and crew certainly seem to been more effective than Federal Air Marshals at stopping things like this. Maybe instead of taking pointy things away from passengers, we should issue them.