Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for attempting to detonate a bomb sewn into his underwear aboard a Northwest Airlines flight on December 25, 2009.
The attempted Christmas Day terror attack was hatched by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen. Abdulmutallab, a native of Nigeria, boarded a KLM flight from Ghana to Amsterdam, and then transferred to Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus A330-300 (N820NW) bound for Detroit.
According to witnesses, Abdulmutallab spent about 20 minutes in the bathroom as the plane approached Detroit, and then covered himself with a blanket when he returned to his seat. Shortly thereafter, fellow passengers said they heard a popping sound, followed by the sight of flames on Abdulmutallab’s pants and the wall of the plane. Two passengers wrestled Abdulmutallab to the ground and doused the flames.
Abdulmutallab had pleaded guilty to six counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism.