Canadian PAX Called A "Quiet Hero"

They only knew his first name - a purser aboard Qantas Flight 1737 from Melbourne to Launceston, Australia (shown below at gate back in Melbourne). But they credit him and a passenger, both, with saving their lives, when a 40-year-old man apparently went berserk and attacked crewmembers with two sharpened wood stakes, a cigarette lighter and a can of aerosol spray.

Derek Finlay, a former UN peacekeeper, watched in stunned horror as the hijacking suspect bound out of his seat and attacked the Boeing's purser, identified only as Greg. Finlay says the suspect used a sharp wooden stick to stab Greg repeatedly. "I heard a woman scream and the flight attendant fell backwards with the guy stabbing to his head," he said. "There were heaps of stabs as fast as he could go. I tackled him to the ground and six people or so also tackled him."

Former UN Peacekeeper Tries To Restore The Peace

Passengers say Finlay (right, shown with his partner, the Mayor of Launceston) may well have saved their lives. But Finlay doesn't see it that way. "It's the purser who was heroic - he was stabbed in the head but still managed to push the attacker back into the plane and then was helped by male passengers," he said.

"Greg is definitely the hero, he thanked me and I thanked him and I definitely want to get in contact with him," he said. Again dismissing his own courage, he said: "I saw a someone stabbing a person so I was more worried about that."

Greg and a flight attendant who was also stabbed in the neck and head, were rushed to a Melbourne hospital, where they are now listed in stable condition.

FMI: www.qantas.com.au