A man, accused by the FBI of being a stowaway on a Copenhagen to LA flight, reportedly helped himself to double meals and attempted to engage in conversations with passengers, all while allegedly having no passport or ticket. Sergey Ochigava, the Russian in question, has chosen not to disclose how he managed to bypass security measures in Europe, despite facing charges from the FBI.
Arriving in LA on a Scandinavian Airlines flight on November 4, Ochigava raised suspicions as he was not listed on passenger manifests and has been in custody since. According to the FBI, during take-off, he occupied a seat designated as unoccupied and later shuffled seats multiple times in an attempt to engage with fellow passengers, most of whom ignored him.
The complaint notes that he consumed “two meals during each meal service” and even tried to eat chocolate that belonged to cabin crew members. Border officials discovered what seemed to be Russian and Israeli identification but found no passport, except for a partial image on his phone that lacked his photo.
Upon investigation, a Scandinavian Airlines manager cross-referenced the passenger list and realized the flight had an unexpected “plus one,” as per the FBI.