Self-Made Hero in Airport Attack

July 11, 2007 — -- Ten days ago, John Smeaton was just an average baggage handler.

Nothing had prepared the 31-year-old senior ramp assistant for the events that would unfold, as he got out of bed on June 30, had breakfast with his parents and headed over to Glasgow Airport for his afternoon shift.

"It was one of the busiest days of the year," Smeaton said, "and I just thought 'Here we go again.'"

A few hours later, he was famous.

At 3:15 p.m., a Jeep Cherokee rigged with gas canisters drove into the front facade of Glasgow Airport's Terminal 1, 20 yards from the spot where Smeaton was taking his cigarette break.

The car, driven by suspected jihadists Kafeel Ahmed and Bilal Abdulla, burst into flames, setting the outside of the terminal on fire.

According to eyewitnesses, Abdulla was arrested on the spot. Ahmed, the driver, poured a can of petrol over his head and set himself on fire.

When a police officer tried to assist him, Ahmed fought back, and that's when Smeaton intervened. "I just ran over and tried to kick the guy," he told ABC News.

A few minutes later, the man was successfully tackled and driven to a nearby hospital.

When the media arrived, Smeaton was made into an instant hero. He was interviewed by ABC News and other major international media and was quoted by major newspapers.

No fewer than 14 fan clubs, saluting his bravery, opened on the networking Web site Facebook within hours of the attacks, including a campaign to rename Glasgow Airport Smeaton International Airport, the John Smeaton Appreciation Society and a few John Smeaton-is-a-legend groups.

Taking advantage of the momentum, the new hero launched his own Web site, www.johnsmeaton.com, where he takes his newfound celebrity lightly.

Smeaton calls himself the "British Airport Authority's answer to Jack Bauer" and collects beer pint pledges for a party he's organized in his honor, slugged as the "Big Night Out for the Big Man." So far, he's received pledges worth more than $8,100.

"It would be a lot of drinks so I'm going to donate half of it to the Erskine Hospital," Smeaton said, referring to the war veteran hospital in his hometown on the outskirts of Glasgow.

"Anyway, I don't think I did anything special."

In fact, Smeaton didn't.

Some British newspapers, including The Guardian and The Daily Mirror, reported that the driver was apprehended, not by two but five men, and that Steven Clarkson, a holidaymaker, was the one who gave the punch that brought the suspect to the ground.

If that scenario is correct, Smeaton was just one of five who kicked Ahmed but failed, in spite of their number, to control him.

So, instead of an everyday hero, Smeaton may be no different from 45-year-old cabdriver Alex McIlveen, who told The Daily Record he hit Ahmed so hard that he tore a tendon.

Yet, Smeaton's fans agree that he showed courage.

"When it came to fight or flight, he chose the former," said Chris Hildrey, an Edinburgh University student and administrator of the John Smeaton — Hero for Our Time Facebook group. "The fact that he did this in a split second to protect the policeman under attack underlines his heroism and makes him a symbol for the British people's resilient, caring spirit."

Although he told ABC News that he appreciated the support he had received so far, Smeaton doesn't take his newfound fame too seriously.

It's now known that Ahmed was carrying a suspicious device, believed to have been a suicide belt. If such a device had detonated during the brawl, one can imagine what would have happened to Smeaton and the rest of the men who apprehended Ahmed. Most people would have frozen on the spot or run in the other direction, but Smeaton, putting his life at risk, ran toward the man who was ablaze.

"I never thought anything like that could really happen," Smeaton said. "At the end of the day, I was just lucky."