The man who smuggled a bomb in his underwear aboard a commercial airliner on Christmas Day in 2009 has been sentenced to life in prison , months after he pleaded guilty for his role in what officials later determined was an al Qaeda plot . U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds imposed a life sentence Thursday on Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab , who entered the courtroom in Detroit wearing an oversized white T-shirt and a white skull cap . His hands were unshackled once he entered . He argued a life sentence would be `` cruel and unusual punishment , '' as well as unconstitutional . The judge rejected the argument . Prosecutors brought a video showing the detonation of a replica of the device AbdulMutallab attempted to use . The judge ruled that the video could be shown during the sentencing hearing . In the sentencing report , prosecutors called now 25-year-old Nigerian `` an unrepentant would-be mass murderer , who views his crimes as divinely inspired and blessed . '' AbdulMutallab previously pleaded not guilty to the eight charges against him , which include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism . On December 25 , 2009 , passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam heard a loud noise on the plane as it descended toward Detroit . Witnesses described it as sounding much like a firecracker . The device failed , but AbdulMutallab became enveloped in a fireball that spread to the wall and carpeting of the plane . Meet al Qaeda 's chief bomb-maker . Four passengers quickly restrained him and helped put out the fire , witnesses said , and he was escorted up to the first-class section of the plane and taken into custody by authorities when it landed . AbdulMutallab later acknowledged in a courtroom statement that he had traveled to Yemen and was `` greatly inspired '' to participate in such a plot by U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki , who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in September . U.S. officials later said the terror group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had helped foment the failed attack . `` I carried with me an explosive device to avenge the killing of innocent Muslims , '' AbdulMutallab said in the statement , adding that the failed plot was in retaliation for `` U.S. tyranny and oppression of Muslims . '' The flight was carrying 289 people . The decision to try AbdulMutallab in a civilian court prompted controversy at the time , particularly among Republican lawmakers pushing for a military tribunal . He 's been held at a Michigan federal prison since 2009 . Prosecutors , however , said the case demonstrated the value of civilian courts . `` We should not limit ourselves to military tribunals , '' said U.S. District Attorney Barbara McQuade . The case shows `` the world that our system of justice works . ''
Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab is sentenced to life in prison . AbdulMutallab argued a life sentence would be unconstitutional . AbdulMutallab smuggled a bomb in his underwear aboard a commercial airliner . He was able to detonate the device on board and kill himself, but it caused an explosion that killed all 329 people on board.