On December 25 , 2009 , PETN was found in the underwear of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , the " Underwear bomber " , a Nigerian with links to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . According to US law enforcement officials , he had attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 while approaching Detroit from Amsterdam . Abdulmutallab had tried , unsuccessfully , to detonate approximately of PETN sewn into his underwear by adding liquid from a syringe ; however , only a small fire resulted
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate