A woman already serving probation for flying without a ticket apparently was a stowaway on another flight.
Svetlana Dali was taken into custody when the plane that had taken off from Newark, New Jersey, landed in Milan, Italy, The Associated Press reported.
WNBC said that she wasn’t discovered until the flight was already airborne and over the Atlantic.
The flight lasts more than seven hours, CNN reported.
United Airlines, which operated the trans-Atlantic flight, said it is investigating and is working with authorities, the AP reported.
FBI Newark office spokesperson Emily Molinari said the agency was “aware of the alleged stowaway,” but did not release any additional details other than to say that the FBI was working with other agencies on the open investigation.
Investigators are reviewing security footage from Newark Liberty International Airport and the surrounding area, The New York Times reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration, when asked about the alleged incident, referred questions to local authorities and United Airlines, the newspaper reported.
Dali, a Russian national, had been convicted last year for flying to Paris without a passport or ticket in 2024. She was seen blending in with airline staff to bypass a security station, CNN reported. She then blended in with what appeared to be a family to board that flight.
She had hidden in a bathroom for most of that flight, gave a false name when asked, and eventually took a seat before being arrested by French police.
She is appealing the conviction, the AP reported. Dali had been released in July for time served, but is not allowed to knowingly leave the federal judicial district where she was allowed to live without getting permission first.
Her attorney in that case said she wasn’t aware that she needed a ticket, blaming airport security and the airline for not stopping her, the Times reported.
CNN reported Dali had tried to stowaway at least two times before the flight that led to her conviction. She also
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