Latest news with #stowaway
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Delta stowaway sentenced after sneaking on flight out of JFK
A woman found guilty of sneaking onto a flight out of JFK Airport has been sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. Svetlana Dali stowed away on a Delta flight from New York to Paris last year and was sentenced Thursday. She told the judge that she snuck onto the plane because the U.S. military had poisoned her, ABC News reported. Through a Russian interpreter before the sentence was handed down, Dali said, 'My actions were directed toward only one purpose: to save my life.' Dali is a Russian citizen and a U.S. permanent resident who recently lived in Philadelphia. In a lengthy statement in court lasting more than half an hour, she blamed 'circumstances beyond my control' for her stowing away on the flight, claiming that the U.S. military had subjected her to poisonous chemicals. "I was forced to escape from the United States because I was poisoned," she said. "I can draw a conclusion that I was poisoned by those military chemicals in the United States." The FBI arrested her following her deportation from France to the U.S. Dali has spent the last seven months in jail, which federal prosecutors said was enough, as sentencing guidelines suggested zero to six months behind bars. In a sentencing memo, prosecutors argued that "Stowaway travel is a serious offense that endangers both the offender and other air passengers. Deterrence is particularly important in stowaway cases, as publicized incidents encourage copycat behavior that threatens the safety of air travel and undermines the integrity of airport security systems.' Judge Ann Donnelly noted that Dali has had a 'difficult life' but added that deterrence was required. "When someone gets onto a plane without a seat, without a ticket, it's a danger," she said. "It's possible that other people would try to do the same thing, and that's a situation our society cannot tolerate." The judge said the year of supervised release was intended to help Dali get mental health treatment. "I hope you will work with all the people who are trying to help you," said Donnelly. A jury in Brooklyn convicted Dali in May of a federal stowaway charge after she slipped past gate agents onto a flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport on November 26 last year. She didn't have a ticket and bypassed a number of boarding pass and identification checkpoints. Prosecutors said she entered the plane and hid in one of the bathrooms for several hours. When she was discovered, Dali faked vomiting as an excuse for spending such an extensive amount of time in the bathroom. When a flight attendant asked for her name and her boarding pass, Dali provided two fake names and was unable to produce a boarding pass or identification, prosecutors said. The flight attendant then told Dali to sit in a seat reserved for the flight crew as the plane was about to land. Dali was flown back to the U.S. on December 4 last year. Prosecutors said attempts were made to fly her back sooner, but they were unable to do so due to her disruptive behavior. After her release in early December, Dali allegedly removed her ankle monitor and traveled to Buffalo, where she was unable to cross into Canada on a bus on December 16. She has since been in custody. According to prosecutors, Dali has attempted to fly as a stowaway on two previous occasions at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut and Miami International Airport. As the Connecticut State Police has an active case against her, she won't be released at this time.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- The Independent
Delta stowaway sentenced after sneaking on flight out of JFK
A woman found guilty of sneaking onto a flight out of JFK Airport has been sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. Svetlana Dali stowed away on a Delta flight from New York to Paris last year and was sentenced Thursday. She told the judge that she snuck onto the plane because the U.S. military had poisoned her, ABC News reported. Through a Russian interpreter before the sentence was handed down, Dali said, 'My actions were directed toward only one purpose: to save my life.' Dali is a Russian citizen and a U.S. permanent resident who recently lived in Philadelphia. In a lengthy statement in court lasting more than half an hour, she blamed 'circumstances beyond my control' for her stowing away on the flight, claiming that the U.S. military had subjected her to poisonous chemicals. "I was forced to escape from the United States because I was poisoned," she said. "I can draw a conclusion that I was poisoned by those military chemicals in the United States." Svetlana Dali, a 57–year–old Russian national who slipped through security and boarded a Delta Airlines flight out of John F. Kennedy International Airport without a ticket, has been sentenced (Niagara County Sheriff's Office) The FBI arrested her following her deportation from France to the U.S. Dali has spent the last seven months in jail, which federal prosecutors said was enough, as sentencing guidelines suggested zero to six months behind bars. In a sentencing memo, prosecutors argued that "Stowaway travel is a serious offense that endangers both the offender and other air passengers. Deterrence is particularly important in stowaway cases, as publicized incidents encourage copycat behavior that threatens the safety of air travel and undermines the integrity of airport security systems.' Judge Ann Donnelly noted that Dali has had a 'difficult life' but added that deterrence was required. "When someone gets onto a plane without a seat, without a ticket, it's a danger," she said. "It's possible that other people would try to do the same thing, and that's a situation our society cannot tolerate." Svetlana Dali snuck onto a flight to Paris from New York late last year (AP) The judge said the year of supervised release was intended to help Dali get mental health treatment. "I hope you will work with all the people who are trying to help you," said Donnelly. A jury in Brooklyn convicted Dali in May of a federal stowaway charge after she slipped past gate agents onto a flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport on November 26 last year. She didn't have a ticket and bypassed a number of boarding pass and identification checkpoints. Prosecutors said she entered the plane and hid in one of the bathrooms for several hours. When she was discovered, Dali faked vomiting as an excuse for spending such an extensive amount of time in the bathroom. When a flight attendant asked for her name and her boarding pass, Dali provided two fake names and was unable to produce a boarding pass or identification, prosecutors said. The flight attendant then told Dali to sit in a seat reserved for the flight crew as the plane was about to land. Dali was flown back to the U.S. after she was found to have snuck onto the flight to Europe (AP/ Port Authority) Dali was flown back to the U.S. on December 4 last year. Prosecutors said attempts were made to fly her back sooner, but they were unable to do so due to her disruptive behavior. After her release in early December, Dali allegedly removed her ankle monitor and traveled to Buffalo, where she was unable to cross into Canada on a bus on December 16. She has since been in custody. According to prosecutors, Dali has attempted to fly as a stowaway on two previous occasions at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut and Miami International Airport. As the Connecticut State Police has an active case against her, she won't be released at this time.
CTV News
10-07-2025
- CTV News
Woman convicted of stowing away on flight to Paris faces extradition to Connecticut
A vehicle stops at Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Feb. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) NEW YORK — A woman convicted of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass or a passport won't be released from custody as she faces new charges of breaching security at a Connecticut airport. Svetlana Dali was sentenced Thursday to time already served for her illegal ride to Paris last year. But a federal judge in Brooklyn said she would not be released as Connecticut authorities are seeking to extradite her to face felony charges that could have her serving up to five years behind bars if convicted. The 57-year-old, who is originally from Russia but has a green card, has been held in a federal lockup in Brooklyn for roughly seven months. Connecticut State Police confirmed after the hearing that they have an active arrest warrant against Dali, but, in an emailed statement, said release of any further information would be 'dependent on an arrest being made' in Connecticut. During her sentencing Thursday, Dali spoke for more than half an hour, repeating in detail her claim that she believes she is being poisoned by unknown persons. She pleaded with the judge to order medical tests to prove her fears, which she said had prompted her to attempt to flee the country by boarding the Paris flight illegally. 'All of these actions were taken in order to save my life,' Dali said in Russian through a translator. Prosecutors say that on Nov. 24, 2024, Dali was able to get through security checkpoints at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, by hiding among other passengers. She wasn't able to board a plane, but two days later, she successfully evaded security at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and boarded a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Prosecutors said Dali was initially rebuffed by a Transportation Security Administration official when she was unable to produce a boarding pass. But she was able to get through a special security lane for airline employees by joining a large flight crew for Air Europa as they were screened and patted down. At the gate for the Paris flight, surveillance video showed Dali sneaking past Delta Air Lines staff checking tickets by again blending into a large group of passengers. On the plane, prosecutors say Dali hid in a bathroom for hours and wasn't discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. During her trial, Dali took the stand in her defense, maintaining she was never asked to show her boarding pass at the gate in JFK and had gone into the airplane bathroom because she was feeling sick. She was initially released after her arrest, but was apprehended in Buffalo, New York, after authorities said she cut off her electronic monitor and attempted to enter Canada. Prosecutors have said Dali also appears to have flown into Miami International Airport illegally. In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered her hiding in a bathroom in a secured area in the international arrivals zone. Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
National Post
02-07-2025
- National Post
Snake on a plane delays Australia flight as snake catcher summoned
MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian domestic flight was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane's cargo hold, officials said on Wednesday. Article content The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane, according to snake catcher Mark Pelley. Article content The snake turned out to be a harmless 60-centimetre green tree snake. But Pelly said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold. Article content Article content 'It wasn't until after I caught the snake that I realized that it wasn't venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,' Pelley said. Article content Article content When Pelley entered the cargo hold, the snake was half hidden behind a panel and could have disappeared deeper into the plane. Article content Pelley said he told an aircraft engineer and airline staff that they would have to evacuate the aircraft if the snake disappeared inside the plane. Article content 'I said to them if I don't get this in one shot, it's going to sneak through the panels and you're going to have to evacuate the plane, because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was,' Pelley said. Article content 'But thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it,' Pelley added. 'If I didn't get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a (Boeing) 737 looking for a snake still right now.' Article content Pelley said he had taken 30 minutes to drive to the airport and was then delayed by security before he could reach the airliner. Article content Article content Article content Because the snake is native to the Brisbane region, Pelley suspects it came aboard inside a passenger's luggage and escaped during the two-hour flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. Article content The snake, which is a protected species, has been given to a Melbourne veterinarian to find a home with a licensed snake keeper. Article content
CBS News
02-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Snake found on passenger jet in Australia, delaying flight 2 hours: "It looked very dangerous to me"
An Australian domestic flight was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane's cargo hold, officials said on Wednesday. The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane, according to snake catcher Mark Pelley. The snake turned out to be a harmless 2-foot green tree snake. But Pelly said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold. "It wasn't until after I caught the snake that I realized that it wasn't venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me," Pelley said. In this photo released by The Snake Hunter, snake handler Mark Pelley lifts a a 2-foot green tree snake in the cargo hold of a plane at Melbourne Airport, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. The Snake Hunter via AP Most of the world's most venomous snakes are native to Australia. When Pelley entered the cargo hold, the snake was half hidden behind a panel and could have disappeared deeper into the plane. Pelley said he told an aircraft engineer and airline staff that they would have to evacuate the aircraft if the snake disappeared inside the plane. "I said to them if I don't get this in one shot, it's going to sneak through the panels and you're going to have to evacuate the plane because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was," Pelley said. "But thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it," Pelley added. "If I didn't get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a (Boeing) 737 looking for a snake still right now." Pelley said he had taken 30 minutes to drive to the airport and was then delayed by security before he could reach the airliner. An airline official said the flight was delayed around two hours. Because the snake is native to the Brisbane region, Pelley suspects it came aboard inside a passenger's luggage and escaped during the two-hour flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. For quarantine reasons, the snake can't be returned to the wild. The snake, which is a protected species, has been given to a Melbourne veterinarian to find a home with a licensed snake keeper. According to the Department of Biology at Lamar University, green tree snakes can live almost anywhere there is warm brush and shrubs. They eat frogs as well as lizards, small birds and eggs. Snakes have made cameos on Australian jetliners before. In 2013, stunned Qantas Airways passengers watched out their windows as a large python clung to a plane's wing during a two-hour flight from Australia's northeastern city of Cairns to Papua New Guinea. Snakes have been spotted on passenger jets in other countries. In 2022, a snake was discovered on board a United Airlines passenger flight from Tampa Bay, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey. The non-venomous snake was removed from the plane by airport staff after the flight landed in Newark. That same year, an AirAsia passenger plane was forced to divert and make an unscheduled landing after a snake was spotted slithering through the overhead lights.
