The White House is now calling the frightening incident on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit an attempted terrorist attack.

Passengers on that Northwest flight are talking about the experience.

Administration officials say a passenger ignited a small explosive device at the end of the flight.

Three people were injured, one of them the suspect.

A federal bulletin lists the suspect as a Nigerian national who claims to have extremist affiliations.

One passenger describes what she saw: "He stood up, he was belligerent, he was yelling... swearing. He... screaming about Afghanistan. Um, he was fighting with the stewardesses. There were five men on the flight. I said to my husband I was thankful that there were five men on the flight and I kept tapping him because I was nervous and he kept telling me relax, relax."

The suspect has been taken into custody and is being treated for burns from the explosion.

Northwest Airlines is a subsidiary of Delta.

A passenger who witnessed the alleged attempt to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit says the incident took place during the plane's descent.

Syed Jafri says he was seated three rows behind the passenger who's now accused of trying to blow up the plane. Jafri says he saw a glow and noticed a smoke smell.

He says a young man who'd been sitting behind him then jumped on the man with the device.

Jafri says, "Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic."

Passenger Rich Griffith says he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he says he didn't mind being detained on the plane for several hours because of it. He adds, "We can't have what's going on everywhere else happening here."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)