A Ghanaian business executive aboard the Northwest Airline plane which was nearly downed by Abudul Mutallab, another passenger on the flight, says he thought the ‘pop’ sound he heard was that of ice hitting against the plane. Desmond Nartey, the Acting Chief Executive of CDH Commodities, said it was after security officials had subdued and arrested Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab that he realised there had been a bombing attempt on the flight. According to Nartey, the shock that gripped him was as humbling as it was strong enough to make one “appreciate life a bit more,…because tomorrow might not be for you,” he told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah. Abudul Mutallab was arrested on Christmas Day (December 25) when he attempted to set off explosives while on board the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route to Detroit from Amsterdam. His mission was however thwarted when the explosives only went off with a pop sound and small sparks of fire which only partially burnt its carrier - his underwear. Nartey said his flight from Ghana left on Christmas eve after executing his schedules at the office. Around 5:45 am local time on Christmas Day his plane touched down in Amsterdam. According to him, the next flight bound for Detroit took off at 8:45 am local time after a rigorous screening by airport security. What perhaps came as a strong precursor to what could have been a major disaster midair was ice on the wings of the plane. Because of the cold weather the Northwest Airliner jet went through de-icing to melt away ice that had gathered on its wings overnight. “In this particular flight, I was pretty much glued to my seat,” he said. To keep him company, he had bought a copy of The Economist magazine which he would read while on the flight. Although he was allocated seat number 24b, five seats away from the seat Abdul Mutallab was reportedly allocated, a young lady approached him pleading for an exchange of seats so she could sit by her dad. Nartey consequently moved to seat 19b where he sat next to an Indian lady wearing a typical Arabian veil. The lady had, before take-off, been taking photographs of landmark buildings and structures as the plane flew above Amsterdam city. Although he was taken aback initially as he pondered over the Arabians and their association with suicide bombings, he quickly calmed down to flip through his magazine. “For me my attention was pretty much on her because if you look at the profile of most of these people who commit these suicide bombings,…in a lot of cases, they are young female individuals…especially with the experience in Iraq,” he related. The pilot had announced an hour after take-off that the plane was soon to touch down at Detroit. But minutes after, Nartey, who was one of three Ghanaians aboard, said he heard a pop sound. “Initially, I wasn’t too bothered because I was of the view that it could have come from an ice that had formed on the wings and hit one of the windows,” he said. “We realized that there was smoke coming from seat number 19a…and then in a matter of seconds, a ball of flame followed the flame and that was when we realized something was amiss.” Two ladies who sat in the middle seats who thought Engineer Abdul Mutallab had lighted a firecracker started screaming: “What a f..k is that, how the f..k can you light a firecracker on an airplane.” “But it didn’t take long for us to realize that it was more than a firecracker and then all hell broke lose.” According to him, two strongly built fire officers arrested Abdul Mutallab and tied him into one of the front seats. The young man was rushed to a London hospital immediately after the plane touched down. Nartey successfully undertook his business engagements as well secure a place to cool off for vacation. But back here in Ghana, he insists, it was a humbling experience. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana