Eyewitness to Terror

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," December 28, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS GUEST HOST: Well, Daniel Huisinga was on flight 253. What happened as the alleged terrorist tried to blow the plane out of the sky? Daniel now joins us live. Daniel, thank you so much. I got to ask you, what were those moments like?

DANIEL HUISINGA, PASSENGER ON FLIGHT 253: Well, Shannon, we were coming in for descent. We were already in the descent pattern. And the -- there was a pop in the cabin, a large -- you know, a noise like a firecracker. And a few moments later, people started screaming, yelling "fire." And I looked back behind me, and a few rows back, there were flames. There was smoke. I saw a lot of commotion, someone being tackled, dragged into the aisle of the airplane. I saw people running back there with bottles of water, people yelling for a fire extinguisher, and just chaos all around me.

BREAM: Daniel, I got to ask you, did your mind immediately go to the events of 9/11? What were you thinking at that point?

HUISINGA: Well, in a situation like that, you really don't have a lot of time to think. But I definitely thought to myself, This is a terrorist attack. There's a fire on board. You know, I was waiting for an imminent explosion. And at that moment in time, you know, I thought that I would not be alive in the next hour.

BREAM: Well, we're certainly glad that this ended the way that it did, that you and all the other passengers and crew survived there. Let me ask you, as the events wrapped up, what can you tell us about this gentleman and his demeanor, his reaction after the fact? Obviously, we hear that he was burned. He was subdued. Any reaction from him at that point?

HUISINGA: Well, Shannon, that's one of the strangest things about the whole experience is he was burned very badly. He was in a situation where he was being put in a headlock, dragged into the aisle, handcuffed, but he wasn't screaming. He wasn't yelling. He wasn't really struggling. And the scariest part of the whole experience was looking into the eyes of the person who at that time I thought had just sealed my death warrant and seeing no emotion -- not even anger, no fear, just a blank stare, a blank expression in the face of this unbelievable evil that he was attempting to commit against all of these innocent people.

BREAM: Now, after you left the plane, you and the other passengers, I understand, were questioned by the FBI. There were also bomb-sniffing dogs that were brought in. What happened at that point?

HUISINGA: That's correct. After we were able to deboard the aircraft, we were brought into the customs area in Detroit and we were told to wait there. The people on the ground, the security, was being told nothing. They were telling us nothing. And then bomb-sniffing dogs were brought into the area, where a few people were -- their carry-on baggage was searched.

And one gentleman, especially, the dog sat right in front of his bags, indicating pretty strongly that he smelled something. And the gentleman's bags were searched, and shortly thereafter, he was brought to a corner of the area we were in and put in handcuffs and taken away. And following that, the rest of the passengers were moved to a different area of the airport, into a little hallway, we were told because they had found something in the baggage that was a security threat and we needed to be moved to a different location for security reasons. And it wasn't until three or four hours that we were actually able to get out.

BREAM: And Daniel, I just want to clarify, you're saying that the dog lit on a bag that was not Abdulmutallab's, you're saying a different person on the plane?

HUISINGA: That's correct. There was a Middle Eastern man of possibly late 30s, maybe younger, whose bags were hit on by the dogs, and he was handcuffed and taken off kind of quietly.

BREAM: Very interesting. We know the FBI and a number of agencies are plugged into this. It'll be very interesting to see if we hear any more about that gentleman. So thank you very much for sharing for us -- with us, and your experience, as well. We are so glad you got safely home, a little late, but eventually to celebrate Christmas with your family. Thank you, Daniel.

HUISINGA: Thank you, Shannon.

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