Russian-Israeli man is charged with being a STOWAWAY after he arrived at LAX without a passport, visa or ticket last month: Flight attendants say he sat in different seats, ordered two meals and tried to eat staff’s chocolate ‘but nothing seemed amiss’

A mysterious Russian-Israeli man flew into LAX on a Scandinavian Airlines flight last month without a passport, visa or ticket, claiming he was “not sure” how he did it.

Sergei Vladimirovich Ochigava is now accused of being a stowaway as the FBI tries to find out how he ended up on the flight from Copenhagen after claiming 'he could not remember how he got through security without a ticket'.

He was not a stowaway in the traditional sense of the word: he enjoyed five-star treatment, ate double meal portions and even tried to eat “the chocolate that belonged to the cabin crew members.”

And when later questioned by the FBI, airline staff said that “nothing seemed wrong” with Ochigava, even though he had changed seats several times during the flight.

But there was one problem: he wasn't supposed to be on board at all. It was only when border staff at LAX discovered he did not have a passport that the alarm was raised.

Ochigava was not on the manifest for flight SK 931, nor was he on the passenger list of any other international flight.

He had apparently managed to bypass international security and passport controls in Copenhagen, Denmark to board the plane.

He later told the FBI “that he hadn't slept in three days and didn't understand what was going on.

An affidavit written by FBI officer Caroline Walling said: “When asked how he got through security in Copenhagen, Ochigava claimed he did not remember how he got through security without a ticket.”

The affidavit added: “The crew noticed Ochigava because he was wandering around the aircraft and kept changing seats.

'In addition, he requested two meals per meal service, and at one point attempted to eat the chocolate belonging to cabin crew members.

“The crew members did not see his boarding pass, but did note that the seat he initially occupied during boarding (seat 36D) would be an unoccupied seat.”

She said staff did not notice there was an extra passenger on board because although they counted the passengers in each section to check the plane was balanced, they did not add them up or compare them with the flight log.

When the flight arrived at LAX, Ochigava disembarked as normal and presented himself at customs.

Staff on board the flight told the FBI that nothing “seemed wrong” with Ochigava and he even asked for double portions and tried to eat their chocolate.

But when he was unable to produce a passport or visa, he was interviewed by the FBI, telling staff he had a PhD in economics and management and had left his passport on the plane.

But when a search failed to turn up the passport, he claimed he hadn't slept in three days and wasn't sure what was going on, or how he got there.

Walling said, “When questioned, Ochigava provided false and misleading information about his trip to the United States, including initially telling CBP that he had left his U.S. passport on the plane.”

Agents then searched his bag and found “Russian ID cards and an Israeli ID card,” as well as “a partial photo of a passport.”

They also searched his phone and found a photo of the flight board at Copenhagen airport and “screenshots of the 'Maps' app showing a hostel in Kiel, Germany, and maps of an unknown foreign city.”

A spokesperson for Scandinavian Airlines told CourtWatch: 'I can confirm that an incident has occurred involving a passenger in the scenario below when departing from Copehnagen on an SAS flight.

'The matter is being handled by the relevant authorities in both the US and Denmark and we cannot comment further. It is the authorities who will have to provide further details.”