Since November 4th, an incredible story has shaken the world of aviation: an Israeli-Russian man flew from Copenhagen to Los Angeles in complete secrecy. Without a passport or ticket, he managed to gain access to the plane and discreetly sat down in an empty seat. When his trial begins on December 26, he plans to plead not guilty and says he can't remember how he managed to get through security at the airport. The Washington Post returns to the affair.
Caroline Walling, an FBI agent in charge of the investigation, describes the situation: “The crew members noticed that Mr. Ochigava was seated in seat 36D, which was supposed to be unoccupied. They didn't see a boarding pass in his hand. The stowaway then changed seats several times and demanded two meals from the crew. He also tried to eat chocolate that was reserved for her.”
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“He wasn’t on the passenger list for the flight.”
“When Mr. Ochigava appeared at the customs checkpoint at Los Angeles Airport, agents discovered that he was not on the passenger list of the flight from which he arrived, nor on that of any other incoming international flight,” she continues. The defendant did not have a passport with him, only Russian and Israeli identification documents. The plane was searched for his passport, claiming he had forgotten it, but to no avail.
During his FBI interrogation, the defendant claimed in an absent-minded tone that he had not slept for three days. He couldn't explain how he managed to get on the plane and didn't seem to remember what he'd done in Copenhagen. To try to reconstruct his movements and locate travel documents or visa applications, the FBI applied for a search warrant to search his phone.
The airline affected by the case, Scandinavian Airlines, said it had “already changed certain gate procedures since the incident.”