The 46-year-old Russian man was able get on a flight destined for Los Angeles without being a listed passenger on the flight manifest, he now faces charges of being a stowaway. Bailey Miller reports for the NBC4 News on Dec. 11, 2023.
A Russian-speaking stowaway managed to fly from Denmark to Los Angeles without a passport, visa or plane ticket last month, according to a criminal complaint.
Sergey Ochigava arrived at LAX around 1 p.m. on Nov. 4 on a Scandinavian Airlines flight that took off from Copenhagen. But at the Customs and Border Protection checkpoint, officers discovered Ochigava was not listed as a passenger on the flight manifest.
When Ochigava was asked for his passport, he was unable to provide it and initially told officials he left it behind on the airplane, according to the criminal complaint. A search of the CBP database, which contains a list of everyone booked on all flights to the U.S., did not have Ochigava's name anywhere in the system.
In a search of his belongings, officials found a Russian ID and an Israeli ID, but no passport. Officers found a partial picture of a passport on Ochigava's phone, showing his name, date of birth and passport number. The complaint did not say whether he was a Russian or Israeli citizen, or a joint national.
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Ochigava told officers he had a Ph.D. in economics and marketing and worked as an economist in Russia a long time ago.
When asked how he boarded the flight, he claimed he had not slept for three days and was confused about what was going on. Ochigava stated that he could not remember how he got on the plane in Copenhagen and would not explain what he was doing in Denmark, authorities said.
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Crew members of flight SK 931 made note of the stowaway as he wandered around the plane changing his seat throughout the trip. According to the flight crew, Ochigava asked for two meals during each meal service and even attempted to eat chocolate that belonged to the crew members.
A Scandinavian Airlines station manager confirmed that he was not on the manifest and, when a headcount was done, there was a "plus one" on the passenger load aboard SK 931.
The 46-year-old stowaway is in federal custody and expected to be in court on Dec. 26. NBCLA reached out to Ochigava's attorney and LAX but did not hear back late Monday night.
