In a bizarre turn of events, a Russian man managed to board a flight from Denmark to Los Angeles in November without a passport or ticket, as detailed in a federal complaint by the FBI.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava landed at Los Angeles International Airport on November 4, traveling on Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 from Copenhagen. Upon arrival, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer could not locate Ochigava’s name on the flight’s manifest or on any other lists of passengers from incoming international flights, as outlined in the complaint filed on November 6 in a federal court in Los Angeles.
Ochigava faced charges of stowing away on an aircraft and entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment on December 5. His trial was set for December 26. Efforts to reach Ochigava’s federal public defender for comments were unsuccessful, as they did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press.
According to the FBI’s complaint, the flight crew observed Ochigava occupying a seat that should have been empty during the flight’s departure. Throughout the journey, he was seen moving around the aircraft, switching seats and attempting to engage with other passengers, who did not respond to him.
