Ochigava, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, told investigators he couldn't remember how he did it.
ADVERTISEMENTHow did one man manage to evade all the security checks at European airports?
A Russian national who allegedly snuck onto a plane and flew from Denmark to Los Angeles in November without a passport or ticket is being investigated by US authorities.
He told investigators he couldn't remember how he got through security in Europe, according to a federal complaint filed by the FBI.
Sergei Vladimirovich Ochigava arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on 4 November on Scandinavian Airlines Flight 931 from Copenhagen.
A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer could not find Ochigava on the flight manifest or on any other incoming international flights.
The man, described in court documents as a dual Russian-Israeli citizen in his mid-40s, did not go unnoticed on the flight, during which he attempted to speak to several passengers.
The flight crew told investigators that Ochigava was sitting in a seat that was supposed to be empty when the flight took off. After takeoff, he continued to wander around the plane, changing seats and trying to talk to other passengers, who ignored him, according to the FBI complaint.
He also "ate two meals during each meal service and at one point attempted to eat the chocolate that belonged to members of the cabin crew," according to the complaint.
A mysterious stowaway
Ochigava was charged with being a stowaway on an aircraft and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on 5 December. A trial is scheduled for 26 December.
He didn't have a passport or visa to enter the US, officials said. The man explained in English that he had left his passport on the plane.
CBP officers searched his bag and found "what appeared to be Russian identification and an Israeli identification card," federal officials said in court documents.
They also found a photo on his phone that partially showed a passport with his name, date of birth and passport number, though no photo, they said.
Ochigava "provided false and misleading information about his travel to the US, including initially telling CBP that he left his US passport on the plane," the complaint said.
The man told FBI agents he had a doctorate in economics and marketing, and that his last job was as an economist in Russia.
"Ochigava claimed he had not slept in three days and did not understand what was going on," the complaint said.
He told officers he may have had a plane ticket to the US, but he was not sure.
He also said he didn't remember how he got through security in Copenhagen and wouldn't explain what he was doing in the Scandinavian city, according to the complaint.