Getting ready for an international flight can be stressful, especially when it comes to organizing the necessary paperwork and documentation.
Reportedly, Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, a Russian-Israeli dual national, managed to travel from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Los Angeles, California, aboard a Scandinavian Airlines flight on November 4, leaving no trace of his presence on the plane's records- with the passenger claiming he’s “not sure” how he did it.
Adding to the intrigue, officers at a customs and border check in California discovered that Ochigava was not listed on the passenger manifest for the flight from Denmark, or on any other flights entering the United States.
According to the report on the incident, "most" of the flight crew took notice of Mr. Ochigava as he “wandered around the plane and kept changing his seat”.
Additionally, he requested two meals during each meal service and, at one point, made an attempt to consume chocolate that belonged to the cabin crew members, as per the incident report.
The crew members did not see his boarding pass, and they remarked that the seat he initially occupied during boarding was intended to be unoccupied.
“Some members of the crew conducted head counts for their specific sections, but only to make sure that the aircraft was balanced for take-off and landing. They did not tally the numbers up,” the report stated.
The FBI is currently investigating how the passenger managed to travel from Denmark to the US. An agent has confirmed that the individual, now facing charges of stowing away on an aircraft, is in custody, as reported by Fox News.
Caroline Walling, the agent who filed the complaint, noted that Mr. Ochigava stated “he had not been sleeping for three days and did not understand what was going on.”
He “stated he might have had a plane ticket to come to the United States but he was not sure”, and “did not remember how he got on the plane in Copenhagen”.
In the course of his interview, Mr. Ochigava permitted officers to review the photos on his device. The latest photograph in the camera roll depicted television screens showcasing flight information for various destinations worldwide, including flights to Amsterdam, Munich, Lisbon, Malaga, London, and more, as outlined in the report.
Ochigava, claiming to be a Russian economist, is facing charges of stowing away on a flight, with no additional information disclosed at this time.
