There was nothing suspicious about a man alleged to have carried an explosive device onto a Detroit-bound flight in Amsterdam on Christmas Day, the Dutch government said Wednesday.
Interior Minister Guusje Ter Horst spoke to reporters as her government released the results of its investigation into how 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 while allegedly having an explosive device strapped to his leg and despite his being on a terror watch list.
Abdulmutallab was carrying a valid Nigerian passport and a valid U.S. travel visa and did not appear on any Dutch lists of terror suspects.
"No suspicious matters which would give reason to classify the person involved as a high-risk passenger were identified during the security check," Ter Horst said.
A preliminary report on the investigation labelled the plan to blow up the airplane professional, but called the plan's execution "amateurish."
According to Ter Horst, it appears the explosive device contained 80 grams of Pentrite, or PETN, a highly explosive chemical. It was assembled in the airplane's washroom and was to be detonated with a syringe of chemicals, she said.
"It is not exaggerating to say the world has escaped a disaster," Ter Horst said.
Full body scans
During Wednesday's news conference, Ter Horst announced that the Netherlands will immediately begin using full body scanners for flights headed to the United States.
According to Ter Horst, the U.S. officials had not wanted such scanners to be used due to privacy concerns, but the Obama administration has now agreed that "all possible measures will be used on flights to the U.S."
A previous investigation by Dutch authorities had determined that officials carried out all appropriate security checks before the flight took off. It also found that American authorities approved the flight's passenger list, which included Abdulmutallab's name.
Abdulmutallab had been placed on the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database, known as TIDE, but not on the "no-fly list," which would have caught the attention of U.S. customs and border officials in Amsterdam.
Abdulmutallab's father had also raised concerns to officials at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had become radicalized. However, little seems to have been done with that information.
U.S. officials say they are now looking into communication between Abdulmutallab and at least one al Qaeda member, while officials in Yemen are investigating whether Abdulmutallab had contact with al Qaeda militants while he studied Arabic there earlier this year.
U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered his own two-part investigation into how officials compile data for the so-called "no-fly list," and if government agencies are following the right procedures to use that data effectively.
The Department of Homeland Security is also reviewing its passenger screening procedures.
On Tuesday, Obama said a "mix of human and systemic" failures contributed to what he called a "potentially catastrophic breach of security."
Suspect's journey began in Nigeria
Abdulmutallab's trip began in Lagos, Nigeria, where he boarded a KLM flight to Amsterdam. He arrived on Christmas Day.
After a layover that lasted less than three hours, Abdulmutallab passed through security, including a metal detector and a scan of his carry-on baggage, before boarding the flight to Detroit.
A commotion erupted on board the flight about an hour before it was scheduled to descend into Detroit, as Abdulmutallab tried to ignite the device strapped to his leg.
The device failed and he was subdued by crew members and a passenger.
The explosives may have been constructed by a professional, Ter Horst said, before being given to Abdulmutallab. She did not elaborate on that claim.
"Pentrite is a very powerful conventional explosive, which is not easy to produce yourself, nor is its production without risk," she said.
"If you want to detonate it, you have to do that another way than he did. That is why we talk about amateurism."
Abdulmutallab has been charged with trying to destroy an aircraft, and is being held in a federal prison in Michigan.
With files from The Associated Press
