A Russian stowaway who snuck onboard a Paris-bound flight from JFK airport without a passport last year managed to gain access to the aircraft by blending in with a group of passengers and sneaking past distracted gate agents, surveillance footage shows. Svetlana Dali, 57, was spotted weaving through several security checkpoints at the New York airport on Nov. 26 last year taking advantage of the Thanksgiving chaos. After initially being turned away at one checkpoint for not having a boarding pass, she managed to sneak through a special screening area for airport employees and mingled with a group of passengers on the other side. She was then waved through a gate without having her ID checked and managed to gain access to the flight unnoticed. Dali hid in the plane’s bathroom during take-off but was eventually spotted by crew members and detained, and was extradited back to New York where she was arrested. She was then made to wear an ankle monitor, and was arrested again after cutting it off and attempting to cross the Canadian border on a Greyhound bus. Dali remains in custody and pleaded not guilty to one count of stowing away on an aircraft. Her trial will commence in May, although her attorneys are reportedly working on a plea deal.
