Stowaway flies from Denmark to LA with no ticket or passport

[EddyCurr]

This must have already been discussed, but searches don't bring it up:
.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67699117
Accused stowaway flies from Denmark to LA with no ticket or passport
By Max Matza
BBC News 2023.12.12

US officials have charged a man with being a stowaway after he disembarked in Los Angeles from a Copenhagen flight without a ticket or passport.

... had Israeli and Russian ID cards with him, citizenship is currently unknown
... said he might have had a plane ticket... but was not sure
... no record of him being booked for any flights to the US or having requested any visa for entry
... Officials were also unable to determine how he came to be in Denmark in the first place
... had no memory of how he found himself on a Scandinavian Airlines flight to the US,
... crew members said he moved throughout the plane, switching seats several times

[Eutychus]

What's to say this person did not have a ticket, passport, and boarding pass in another name and destroyed those documents during the flight, which I think is widespread practice for asylum seekers?

That to me sounds far more plausible a scenario than somehow managing to evade security and being missed in the pre-flight headcount.

How can investigators be sure that there was a supernumerary on board? I find it hard to believe they checked the entire flight manifest against passport scans at US immigration, or that such a method would be foolproof.

[172_driver]

The article is true, he managed to get through security, border police and gate without ticket/US travel docs. Investigation is ongoing. He also tried to get on other flights in the non-schengen area (but was stopped at the gate) before finally sneaking on to the LAX one.

[Eutychus]

I've found the relevant affidavit (https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24196213/govuscourtscacd90624010.pdf) now. It certainly makes interesting reading, and suggests that while the cabin crew did not complete a full headcount (!) US customs and border control did after the fact and accounted for all other passengers, meaning he must have avoided gate security:The CBP control booth was responsible for keeping track
of all the passengers arriving into the United States from every
international flight, and where the passengers were in the
processing system within CBP (...) CBP officers in the control
booth queried all of the passengers from SK 931, along with all
the passengers who had arrived at LAX on every European flight
before 3:00 p.m. on November 4, 2023. The control booth
confirmed that all of those passengers were accounted for.
OCHIGAVA had not yet processed through CBP at the time that CBP
showed that 100% of the passengers who arrived from Europe
before 3:00 p.m. had been accounted for. According to CBP
records, there were no additional passengers from SK 931 to
process, and no additional passengers to process who arrived
from Europe before 3:00 p.m.

[Eutychus]

The article is true, he managed to get through security, border police and gate without ticket/US travel docs. Investigation is ongoing. He also tried to get on other flights in the non-schengen area (but was stopped at the gate) before finally sneaking on to the LAX one.Interesting! Do you have a source for that?

[jolihokistix]

Haha, sounds like Lee Harvey Oswald!

Many years ago I was in Florida at an event where I met an Israeli girl I knew, who had flown from Israel to Europe and managed to get to Florida, carrying her baby the whole way, with no money and no tickets. I asked her how she could have done that, and she shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's a question of watching people's eyes and timing". In the same way she had boarded various connecting buses etc, again without any tickets. It sounded like some kind of magic, but in retrospect there were probably some failures along the way, as in the story above, which she did not mention at the time.

[wiggy]

I've found the relevant affidavit (https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24196213/govuscourtscacd90624010.pdf) now. It certainly makes interesting reading, and suggests that while the cabin crew did not complete a full headcount (!).....

and from another post.

and being missed in the pre-flight headcount.
​

Just for info unless/until the airline have confirmed there was a requirement I'd be wary of assuming one was needed.

Not all airlines require their cabin crew to perform a post boarding pre-departure headcount to reconcile actual total on board against the manifested number, even on flights to the US.

[172_driver]

Interesting! Do you have a source for that?

That would be the relevant airline’s own security department. Not all airlines do headcounts as part of SOP. I have worked for both kinds and managed to transport passengers who shouldn’t be onboard on both. Getting through the gate is one thing (timing and luck). Getting through security, border police and loitering airside for 16 hrs is another. The person in question should’ve drawn some attention as he tried to board several other flights beforehand (and was rejected).

[Eutychus]

The person in question should’ve drawn some attention as he tried to board several other flights beforehand (and was rejected).

That's the part of your quote I was seeking a source for; thanks.

[172_driver]

That's the part of your quote I was seeking a source for; thanks.

OK, not sure if you were happy with the source but it’s all described in the summary of the event that has been shared.

[Eutychus]

OK, not sure if you were happy with the source but it’s all described in the summary of the event that has been shared.
The BBC source in the OP doesn't mention multiple attempts to board different flights out of Copenhagen. I haven't seen a reputable source for that specific information and am not sure if you are claiming insider knowledge or not.

[Uplinker]

I know that magicians and card sharks can 'force' you to choose the card they want you to choose, but I am wondering how a person can get past the gate and onto the aircraft without having their ticket scanned and passport checked - no matter how carefully they might be watching people's eyes?

Unless they used fake documents that somehow look genuine to the computer scanner. Hard to see how a person in the queue who does not produce any documents would be allowed past.

Are there airports where these documents are not always checked at the gate? (probably best not to be too specific !).

[Eutychus]

Hard to see how a person in the queue who does not produce any documents would be allowed past.

I would guess a high-vis jacket and a clipboard might do the trick, but that would not make sense here if, as has been claimed, the person tried to board multiple flights from the departure lounge.

[EddyCurr]

With the benefit of nearly six weeks of investigation and hindsight since this incident occurred (11/04), I am prepared to believe that authorities now have more knowledge about how the man circumvented multiple layers of security than has been disclosed to the media.

As much as I'd like to learn what the authorities pieced together to date, I am content not to have such details laid bare in the wild. Although a statement to the effect of "We know how this happened and have implemented changes aimed at closing the loopholes" would seem to be in order.

Additionally, it seems to me that hiring the fellow in the capacity of a consultant could be worthwhile. Provided nothing nefarious turns up in background checks, he has a demonstrated talent for social engineering which could be useful for the purposes of probing airline security. After Kevin Mitnick (1963 - 2023) exchanged his black hat for a white one, he enjoyed a good deal of success and status.

[zerograv]

The whole story stinks a lot to being an arrangement, or a setup, to make Copenhagen Airport and/or SAS look bad in terms of security.

He also tried to get on other flights in the non-schengen area (but was stopped at the gate) before finally sneaking on to the LAX one.
This is just to pretend, or give the impression, that he/she was confused, and to a certain extend generate confusion on the subsequente investigation.

no record of him being booked for any flights to the US
Of course there were records. There is plenty of time until the flight gets to LA for the 'intelligence comunity' to delete all of those records and achive the above-mentioned outcome. Even to subtract the payed fare from the SAS bank account so as not to leave any loose ties.

The pertinent question is what wants to be achieved by the other side of the pond with this event ? Replace SAS on that route by someone else ?

[Bksmithca]

The whole story stinks a lot to being an arrangement, or a setup, to make Copenhagen Airport and/or SAS look bad in terms of security.


This is just to pretend, or give the impression, that he/she was confused, and to a certain extend generate confusion on the subsequente investigation.


Of course there were records. There is plenty of time until the flight gets to LA for the 'intelligence comunity' to delete all of those records and achive the above-mentioned outcome. Even to subtract the payed fare from the SAS bank account so as not to leave any loose ties.

The pertinent question is what wants to be achieved by the other side of the pond with this event ? Replace SAS on that route by someone else ?
zero gravity, please take your conspiracy theories back to where ever you came from please

[Gordomac]

C'mon folk. . What a serious bunch . It was, o b v i o u s l y Santa. How else can he get t o the States for the annual delivery project ? And if you think flying the N Atlantic with no critical fuel and only125kgs of contingency was tough, try it in a RTOW ,all cargo, single crew Sleigh op !

Seasonal cheer to all .

[421dog]

Why is this even an item?
Passenger wasn’t authorized to be in the US,
Airline did not exercise due diligence as is required.
Airline needs to take said criminal back where he came from, per a bunch of treaties.

[CW247]

Just yesterday, I witnessed a passenger walk unsupervised down some stairs from a gate at Dublin and instead of making his way to the plane he was meant to, he walked across the apron and up some other set of stairs. This is how it happens ladies and gents. Airport staff not doing their job properly.

On this occasion though, come on...Russian and Israeli identities swiped through a database to see if he had any flight ticket booked only for none to be found....Those are obviously very good faked documents or legit fake identities....."By way of deception thou shalt make war."

[jolihokistix]

So Dublin has not changed much then. Some years ago as I was in the boarding line, I watched a person walking in through the exit corridor with no one looking or stopping them.

[Eutychus]

On this occasion though, come on...Russian and Israeli identities swiped through a database to see if he had any flight ticket booked only for none to be found....Those are obviously very good faked documents or legit fake identities....."By way of deception thou shalt make war."

From the available information
a) what makes you think the documents were very good fakes or 'legit fake' identities (whatever you mean by that last one)?
b) what gives you reason to believe the documents found on him weren't genuine (just not enough to grant admission to the US)?
c) what makes you think either the Russian or the Israeli authorities searched databases looking for a booked ticket?

[Gargleblaster]

In the press this morning (Berlingske):

The passenger was Sergej Ochigava, 46 years old. Arrived by Metro at the airport. Without a boarding card, he got through the gates to security by following another passenger. Then, at passport control for entering the non-Schengen area, he was stopped due to not having a boarding card, and his passport was taken for checking. He was ordered to sit down on a bench and wait. At some point he gave up waiting and somehow entered the area anyway. Then, same night, he tried to board SAS flight to Bangkok by presenting Russian ID and a note written in Russian. He got rejected. Next morning he tried a flight to London, but got rejected. A little later, he lined up for boarding a SAS flight to LA. He got on board by going through the boarding gate with a family with three children. He went to business class, where staff tried to talk to him. He didn't reply and went into economy and found a vacant seat. The plane took off. During the flight he had multiple conversations with crew, and changed seats multiple times, and thus managed to get food served multiple times. He also obtained some chocolate belonging to the crew. Upon landing in LA, he small-talked with another passenger and they exchanged phone numbers. He then contacted ground staff and told them he'd lost his passport on the plane. The aircraft was searched with no luck. He got detained and searched, which produced a Russian and an Israeli ID card. The next day FBI arrested him.

According to New York times he has a PhD in economics and marketing, and worked with that in Russia. His phone was a picture of Copenhagen airport, a screenshot of Google Maps showing a hostel in Kiel, Germany and a map showing an unknown town. He risks 5 years in prison.

According to the article security has been tightened so won't happen again :-)

[Luc Lion]

I don't understand laws that put such trespassers in prison.
Expulsing them make sense. Keeping them in administrative custody until expulsion make sense.
Fining them and freezing whatever asset they have for paying the incurred costs make sense.
But in what way will putting them behind bars protect the public and make the society more secure?
Such laws looks to be made for punishing rather than made for protecting and organising.
Is that civilisation?
That baffles me.

[Less Hair]

One could even argue there is a value in behaviour like this. He has demonstrated weaknesses of the system without any violence or actual bad intention. Who would have expected this to be possible? Aside from what he did, he sounds more like being in need of some psychological support instead of a prison cell.

[hoistop]

I don't understand laws that put such trespassers in prison.
Expulsing them make sense. Keeping them in administrative custody until expulsion make sense.
Fining them and freezing whatever asset they have for paying the incurred costs make sense.
But in what way will putting them behind bars protect the public and make the society more secure?
Such laws looks to be made for punishing rather than made for protecting and organising.
Is that civilisation?
That baffles me.

If you do not understand, .... just follow the money. So, who will profit from having him in prison for years?
Answer: U.S. prison industry. More people are booked in, longer the sentences, more public money towards businesses, running the prisons.
https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/private-prisons-in-the-united-states/
Totally agree, serving 5 years is out of touch of anything civilized. Would that mean that any immigrant, illegally crossing the border into U.S. shall be sentenced the same?

It looks more that this guy needs psychological treatment and/or expulsion at the expense of the airline that brought him in.