Abdul Mudallah was named as the suspect in the Flight 253 explosion on a Northwest Airlines plane on December 25, 2009. He was identified by the New York State Representative Peter King as being 23-years-old and from Nigeria, with ties to Al Qaeda. He suffered third degree burns on his legs due to the explosion, and is currently undergoing treatment while in custody. It is rumored that Mudallah was treated at the University of Michigan Medical Center at Ann Arbor for treatment of his injuries.http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/passenger_ignites_firecrackers_on_gpt0DT8ybAlHzISjEW7BqL http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/25/airliner.firecrackers/index.html

Mudallah is accused of setting off an explosion aboard the flight as it was descending towards Detroit, Michigan, from Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was later found that the explosion was caused by PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, which is highly explosive. A syringe was also found near Mudallah's seat and is rumored to be the device which enabled the suspect to carry the explosive liquid on-board.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581180,00.html

The incident is under full investigation of the FBI according to a statement made by one of their spokeswomen Sandra Berchtold.