Topics: US News, World News, Crime, Travel
A man who flew from Denmark to Los Angeles without a ticket or even a passport faces up to five years behind bars after being found guilty of being a stowaway.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, 46, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on November 4 via Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Somehow, he managed to make the trip without a boarding pass or even a passport.
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Officials were initially confused as to how Ochigava could have completed the journey without any documentation, while for his part he reportedly claimed he 'did not remember how he got on the plane in Copenhagen', or how he got through security.
His alleged amnesia did not prove a successful defence on court, however, with prosecutors outlining how he actually managed to illegally board the plane.
It turns out Ochigava followed another flyer through a security turnstile at Copenhagen Airport the day before on 3 November.
This allowed him to gain access to one of the terminals, where he remained overnight to get some kip.
The next day, the man - who holds both Russian and Israeli passports - managed to board the Scandinavian Airlines flight undetected.
After boarding the long-haul 11-hour flight, cabin crew members noticed Ochigava switching seats on a regular occurrence to ones that were listed as unoccupied.
However, Ochigava's illegal mission came to an end as he touched down in Hollywood, as he was stopped by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at LAX.
This came after officials became suspicious of Ochigava as his name failed to appear on any incoming international flight records, including flight 931 he was on.
Prosecutors say he also failed to provide any form of identification to officials on the ground in Los Angeles, while none of his stories seemed to add up.
"Ochigava gave false and misleading information about his travel to the United States, including telling CBP that he left his passport on the airplane," a statement from local officials read.
CBP officers found a photo on the man's phone that partially showed a passport containing his name, date of birth and a passport number.
One thing missing there though? A photograph, of course.
Officials also found what 'appeared to be Russian identification cards and an Israeli identification card'.
Court documents also state that Ochigava 'claimed he had not been sleeping for three days and did not understand what was going on'.
And after a three-day trial, the jury found Ochigava guilty of one count of being a stowaway on an aircraft.
He is now facing a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison as a result of his travel stunt.
He will be sentenced on 5 February.
