LAX’s Russian mystery man: A chatty, chocolate-stealing passenger — with no passport, no ticket
Without a passport or even a ticket, a mysterious man with apparent ties to Russia slipped onto a flight from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, hiding in plain sight until he was apprehended after landing in Los Angeles, an extraordinary federal criminal filing reveals.
The man, identified as Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, a seemingly gregarious flier who constantly shifted seats, spoke to several passengers, asked for two in-flight meals and even tried to snack on a cabin crew member’s chocolate bar during the more than 12-hour flight aboard Scandinavian Airlines Flight 931 on Nov. 4, court documents filed by federal prosecutors allege.
But when he disembarked at Los Angeles International Airport at about 1 p.m., officials quickly discovered he was a stowaway without a passport and not listed on the passenger manifest, and was taken into custody, according to a federal court filing. He carried domestic identification for Russia and Israel and that said he was born in 1977.
After an FBI investigation, Ochigava pleaded not guilty earlier this month to violating a federal law that prevents anyone from boarding or secreting themselves on an airplane or vessel without the consent of the owner or person in command.
Aviation experts called the incident unusual and suggested that Ochigava may have relied on inside knowledge of airline operations.
“I have never heard of such a robust effort,” said Mark Gerchick, former chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration. “I have heard of cases of people sneaking on planes, but this is another level.”
He noted that the U.S. certifies the security status of various countries and said the incident will certainly raise some questions about how Ochigava avoided security measures when he boarded the plane in Copenhagen.
Barry Schiff, an aviation consultant and former airline pilot for more than three decades, said Ochigava “knew the way to avoid suspicion” by engaging other passengers and crew members. “The guy had some courage, you could say,” said Schiff, adding that it remains a mystery why he did it.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said the investigation into Ochigava remains ongoing, but authorities believe he is a Russian citizen who, based on documentation, is 46 years of age.
Brentwood’s Barrington post office wants to help travelers with their U.S. passport applications at Sunday’s passport fair. It starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.
FBI special agent Caroline A. Walling wrote in a sworn affidavit attached to the criminal complaint that the flight crew noticed Ochigava “because he wandered around the plane and kept changing his seat. In addition, he asked for two meals during each meal service, and at one point attempted to eat the chocolate that belonged to members of the cabin crew.”
“The crew members did not see his boarding pass but did note that the seat he initially took during boarding (i.e., seat 36D) was supposed to be an unoccupied seat. Some members of the crew conducted head counts for their specific sections, but only to make sure that the aircraft was balanced for takeoff and landing. They did not tally the numbers up,” according to Walling.
Scandinavian Airlines officials would only say they are aware of the investigation in the U.S. and Denmark.
The alleged stowaway, once in custody, told Walling and a colleague during a Nov. 5 interview that he had not slept for three days.
“Ochigava did not remember how he got on the plane in Copenhagen. Ochigava also would not explain how or when he got to Copenhagen or what he was doing there,” Walling said in the affidavit. She wrote that the man stated he had a doctorate in economics and marketing and claimed to have worked in Russia “long ago,” but he denied knowing how he had passed through security checks without a ticket.
Seeking to verify his story, agents convinced Ochigava to let them look through the photos on his cellphone. According to Walling, they found images of television screens displaying flight information for destinations worldwide written in Danish. “The interviewers were allowed to look at five more photographs on the subject device before Ochigava turned off the phone.” They also found a screenshot of a map showing the location of a hostel in Kiel, Germany, and a map of an unknown city, Walling wrote.
Ticketed travelers suddenly have the freedom to roam all nine terminals. So, what should you do, see and eat?
Ochigava at the Customs and Border Protection was unable to produce a passport or a visa to enter the United States, Walling wrote in the affidavit. Ochigava allegedly told border officials in English that he had left his passport on the plane. But border officials quickly discovered he was not on the passenger manifest and a plane search yielded nothing. “When asked what documents he had left on the plane, the man allegedly said, “that he left his United States passport on the plane,” the FBI agent said.
A search of his bag uncovered Russian and Israeli identity documents, according to Walling. “CBP officers discovered a partial photograph of a passport in images on a device he was carrying,” but the device did not show the passport holder’s photograph, according to Walling. Federal officials, however, said he is not an Israeli.
In a statement, a Danish airport official said, “Copenhagen Airport has provided photo and video material to the authorities who are investigating the case.”
“We take the matter very seriously, and it will be included in the work we continuously do to adjust and tighten our guidelines to improve security.”
Ochigava, since the initial charge, has been indicted on the same criminal violation of being a stowaway. At the end of November, court minutes noted he did not appear because of hospitalization. He remains in federal custody in Los Angeles. He is due back in court on Dec. 26, potentially for a trial.
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